The realignment era in athletics brought a lot of changes to college football but one of the worst parts was the loss of many longstanding rivalries that were played annually between schools. While it’s been disappointing not to see Nebraska and Oklahoma square off or Missouri and Kansas snipe at each other, perhaps the most notable rivalry that’s no longer around has been the battle of superiority in the Lone Star State between Texas and Texas A&M.
While there’s been discussion in recent years about bringing the annual post-Thanksgiving tradition back, school officials have generally kicked the can down the road or quickly moved on to different topics when the subject was brought up. Slowly but surely though, that line of thinking appears to be changing in both Austin and College Station.
On Wednesday, Texas students voted overwhelmingly to support reinstating the series on the Longhorns’ non-conference schedule as part of a referendum pushed by the school’s student government. The group posted the results on their Facebook page in a video and a whopping 96.71% of those voted to say that it’s time to say “goodbye to A&M” again. While the total number of votes cast was under 20% of the full student body, the survey found only 255 Longhorns who didn’t want to bring back the game.
While you might dismiss the results, keep in mind that there’s one big name who is on board with re-starting the venture in head coach Tom Herman.
“Any time the student body rallies around a cause, I think the powers that be listen,” Herman said Tuesday, according to the Dallas Morning News. “Now, the powers that be are in that position because they have to make decisions.”
Aggies and Longhorns together again? While we don’t want to get any hopes up, everybody’s tune is starting to change on the potential for a reunion. Let’s hope the athletic directors and coaches involve now do a lot more than talk about things and make something happen.