Under New SEC Ruling, Expect Longhorns And Aggies To Play In 2024
Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey said Thursday that the league will honor primary and secondary rivalries under the new 16-team format for the 2024 season. Best believe that Texas will be facing a longtime foe as the conference's newest member.
SEC schools voted to keep the eight-game schedule for the impending 2024 season with the arrivals and Texas and Oklahoma during league meetings this past week in Destin, Fla. Conversations are bound to eventually translate to a nine-game format in time, but the schools believed right now this was the best course of action with the expansion of the College Football Playoff from four to 12 teams.
“Nobody is shying away from anything,” Sankey told reporters after the verdict. “We just didn’t add another game during a period of transition … and if you’re that impatient (about this), I’m glad you’re not leading a conference.”
Sankey didn't specifically say that Texas and Texas A&M would meet on the gridiron in 2024. He also didn't have to when he mentioned "secondary rivalries." The Longhorns and Sooners made it clear that in an eight-game schedule, they would remain opponents due to the impact of the Red River Showdown at the Cotton Bowl.
As for the Aggies, they would be paired with LSU, their annual Week 13 opponent that's become a somewhat relevant rival due to geographical purposes. A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said earlier this week the Aggies consider the Longhorns their primary rival due to the impact of the Lonestar Showdown, a game that hasn't been played at Royal-Memorial Stadium or Kyle Field since 2011.
“When Texas comes into the thing, of course, you’d want Texas, because that’s the traditional rival and the things you have,” Fisher said of UT joining the SEC on July 1, 2024. “But there are a lot of great ones in the SEC, too. … LSU has become a great rivalry for us right there. But as you go traditional rivalries of A&M, you would probably say Texas.”
Everything for the rivalry between A&M and Texas remains in the balance of voters. If the league were to adopt the eight-game format past 2024, secondary rivalries could be lost in the process, as the initial idea was to have seven rotating SEC opponents and a lone annual rival.
In a nine-game format, every program would have three constant rivals and six rotating SEC opponents. The Longhorns would face Oklahoma and Texas A&M since those programs hold the most value to the state, as well as former Southwest Conference foe Arkansas.
For A&M, its permanent rivals would be LSU, Texas and Mississippi State, meaning the Southwest Classic game against Arkansas would be placed on the back burner. In the eight-game setup, Texas and A&M would meet bi-annually, meaning games would be in Austin once every four years and vice versa in College Station.
For now, that's out of sight and out of mind. Sankey mentioned that the current model is only temporary, and the league would again vote to adopt a long-term format between an eight- or nine-game league schedule next season. Both Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte and Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione were in attendance for the league meetings but did not have official votes since several of the rule changes were made for this season.
A&M athletic director Ross Bjork was vocal of the league adopting a nine-game schedule. While unable to vote, Del Conte also favors adding another game to the schedule.
The reasoning? Rivalries.
“College athletics is about playing traditional rivals,” Del Conte told reporters. “OU is a traditional rival for us, and for a lot of fans it’s A&M. For a lot of the (older) group, it’s Arkansas. … We have a lot of fans who are looking forward to the Arkansas game and a lot of fans who are looking forward to the A&M game."
The conference is expected to announce the 2024 schedule, minus the dates, on June 14 on an SEC Network show. Both A&M and Texas are projecting to see their names on each other's schedule, thus ensuring the rich rivalry separated by 106 miles will be renewed.
As for where the first matchup will be played, Bjork has said on multiple occasions that the Aggies will host the first matchup since they're the "old guys" in the conference. This seems to be news to everyone in the SEC.
Well, almost everyone.
“I have yet to hear that,” Del Conte responded of the Lonestar Showdown being played at Kyle Field. “There are a lot of things being written about it, but no one has told me that.”
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