On Wednesday, a new batch of SEC coaches and administrators took to the podium to continue their verbal barrage, mainly concerning the wild nature of the NIL landscape; Texas A&M Athletic Director Ross Bjork shifted the conversation to the potential renewal of the Lone Star Showdown between the Aggies and the Texas Longhorns, who last played on the gridiron during the 2011 season.
With Texas and Oklahoma slated to join the SEC in 2024, the issue of future scheduling, specifically the debate between an eight and nine-game SEC schedule, has both Bjork and Longhorns AD Chris Del Conte in agreement that for the rivalry to resume finally, a 9-game conference schedule is the preferred path.
As usual, most of these potential changes involve monetary issues, especially ESPN’s financial burden of paying for additional conference matchups, as the network is slated to become the new home for SEC play next season.
So, assuming that all is well and Texas A&M will play Texas as soon as they become full-fledged SEC members in 2024, Ross Bjork stated on Wednesday that the first game would take place in College Station to kick things off after a 13-year drought. What time of the year will the game take place? Bjork favors resuming the usual Thanksgiving weekend slot, currently occupied by LSU but knows that the importance remains unchanged no matter when the matchup occurs.
“Doesn’t matter if it’s the first game of the season or in middle, it’ll be a monumental game.”
Bjork also had some fun sniping back at Alabama head coach Nick Saban and others who called out the Aggies, Texas, and USC’s “pay for play” spending habits due to their notable collectives, which are entirely legal and abide by NCAA rules.
“They’re speculating. .. The last two years our athletes have received more than $10 million in NIL across all sports. Our fans are passionate.”
As these issues will all (hopefully) be sorted out in time, this week is just a reminder that the 2023 college football season is getting closer and closer, and for Texas A&M, the stakes could not be higher for head coach Jimbo Fisher, who Ross Bjork has all the faith in the world in going forward.
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