Texas and Texas A&M had one of the longest-standing football rivalries in the country until the Aggies joined the SEC in 2012, effectively bringing the series to an end. But the hiatus could just be temporary now that the coaches of both teams have spoken out about rekindling the rivalry.
Texas' Charlie Strong and Texas A&M's Kevin Sumlin both respect the rivalry's tradition and would like to put each other on the schedule again.
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"That game is so much a part of this state," Strong, who is entering his second season at Texas, told ESPN. "Over 100 years, we've played that game. Why stop it now because we're in different conferences? At some point, when it's right for everybody with the different schedules, I would love to play Texas A&M again."
Sumlin is entering his fourth season as the Aggies' coach, and he respects the opinions of fans and alumni from both teams.
"Now, moving into Year 4 and listening to our former students and our alumni base and knowing a lot of Texas alums, it's important that we play again," Sumlin said, via ESPN. "I think it will happen somewhere down the road. The tough part for both parties, when we moved, was scheduling. The first two years we scrambled just to get anybody to play, and the SEC hadn't solidified their schedule until last year. We were at the mercy of whoever would play us.
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"Now that we've solidified what the SEC's scheduling theory is going to be, you've seen us become more aggressive with our nonconference schedule, and that was the knock on us early on," Sumlin continued. "People sometimes take scheduling for granted and say, 'Play this team.' They don't know the process. But I think the Texas series will happen. I just don't know when."
The two teams have played 118 times and suited up every year from 1915 to 2011. Texas leads the series 76-37-5, and it won the last meeting, 27-25, in 2011.
"Can you imagine Florida not playing Florida State or South Carolina not playing Clemson?" Strong, who was an assistant at Florida and South Carolina, said to ESPN. "We all love to see those games. Within the state, it would have such a buildup. It's a game that needs to be played."