Conference realignment put an end to a number of historically significant rivalries but none of those big time games has seen more words devoted to bringing it back than Texas and Texas A&M’s annual game has since the two last played in 2011.
We’ve seen students try to force a renewal of the series. We’ve seen school presidents voice support. School regents have gotten in on the fun too. And of course there have been numerous politicians looking to attach their name to reuniting the Aggies and Longhorns as well.
All have come, all have failed as the stalemate continues between College Station and Austin. That doesn’t mean some won’t stop trying though.
Case in point came Friday when Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a UT alum himself, called once again for the series to continue in the near future with at least one home-and-home matchup between the fierce rivals sooner rather than later.
“My goal is to get it set up to where at least we play A&M and Texas a couple of times and see where it could go in the future,” Abbott told radio station WTAW, according to the The Eagle.
The governor brought up a similar idea back in October 2017 and his comments come on the heels of the two schools agreeing to play a non-conference basketball game in Forth Worth during the upcoming college hoops season. Both the Horns and Aggies have their non-conference slates pretty full through the early 2030’s but this showdown between old conference mates has always come down to a want rather than worries over a schedule opening.
As with all efforts before, something says that not much will come out of somebody -- even the governor of the state itself -- bringing up Texas and Texas A&M playing again. But like many who want to see the burnt orange take on the maroon and white again, we’ll all hold out hope that something will eventually change and these rivals can finally play again for the first time since 2011 soon enough.