DESTIN, Fl. – Day three of SEC Spring Meetings are in the books and Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte held court for nearly 20 minutes.
The most intriguing topic Del Conte was asked about was an eight-game SEC conference schedule versus nine games. If the SEC votes this week to have an eight-game conference schedule going forward, that means teams will only be able to schedule one permanent opponent. If it becomes nine games, teams will have the opportunity to schedule three permanent opponents.
As relates to Texas, an eight-game conference schedule means the Red River Showdown will continue when Oklahoma joins the Longhorns. However, that would eliminate the opportunity to play Texas A&M on an annual basis because league teams will only face one permanent opponent annually.
If the SEC approves a nine-game conference schedule, that opens up the opportunity for Texas to play against three permanent opponents. Oklahoma is one, leaving Texas A&M, Arkansas, or LSU annually.
“I love the fact that you get to go back. College athletics is about playing traditional rivals. OU is a traditional rival for us. For a lot of fans, it’s [Texas] A&M, but a lot of Kirk’s age group, Arkansas. Darrell Royal and coach [Frank] Broyles retired on the same day in 1976 in DKR. We played for national championships against those teams. We lost to Arkansas for the right to play for the national championship.
“So, we have a lot of fans looking for that Arkansas game. We have a lot of fans who are looking for the A&M game. Those water cooler conversations are spectacular. We just want to get back in the venue and play them.”
Del Conte said he would prefer to play a nine-game conference schedule in the SEC.
“I'm personally in favor of nine,” Del Conte said. “Partly because we have an unbalanced schedule. Remember, we play OU at a neutral site? Yeah. So, having four conference games at home and four on the road works well for us from a balance standpoint, and value added to our fan base in Austin. If you look at what Georgia and Florida go through, sometimes there’s a 3-5, and that makes it difficult. You're trying to balance out a schedule. We're coming from the Big 12. We're used to a nine-game schedule. It works well, especially the neutral site game.”
Del Conte said he has not heard anything about the first game between Texas and Texas A&M being played in College Station if the rivalry is renewed.
As a reminder, Texas does not have a vote on this proposal because the Longhorns are not officially in the SEC.
--- Here is Texas A&M’s view of a nine-game conference schedule
--- There is some smoke related to a potential eight-game conference schedule
The most intriguing topic Del Conte was asked about was an eight-game SEC conference schedule versus nine games. If the SEC votes this week to have an eight-game conference schedule going forward, that means teams will only be able to schedule one permanent opponent. If it becomes nine games, teams will have the opportunity to schedule three permanent opponents.
As relates to Texas, an eight-game conference schedule means the Red River Showdown will continue when Oklahoma joins the Longhorns. However, that would eliminate the opportunity to play Texas A&M on an annual basis because league teams will only face one permanent opponent annually.
If the SEC approves a nine-game conference schedule, that opens up the opportunity for Texas to play against three permanent opponents. Oklahoma is one, leaving Texas A&M, Arkansas, or LSU annually.
“I love the fact that you get to go back. College athletics is about playing traditional rivals. OU is a traditional rival for us. For a lot of fans, it’s [Texas] A&M, but a lot of Kirk’s age group, Arkansas. Darrell Royal and coach [Frank] Broyles retired on the same day in 1976 in DKR. We played for national championships against those teams. We lost to Arkansas for the right to play for the national championship.
“So, we have a lot of fans looking for that Arkansas game. We have a lot of fans who are looking for the A&M game. Those water cooler conversations are spectacular. We just want to get back in the venue and play them.”
Del Conte said he would prefer to play a nine-game conference schedule in the SEC.
“I'm personally in favor of nine,” Del Conte said. “Partly because we have an unbalanced schedule. Remember, we play OU at a neutral site? Yeah. So, having four conference games at home and four on the road works well for us from a balance standpoint, and value added to our fan base in Austin. If you look at what Georgia and Florida go through, sometimes there’s a 3-5, and that makes it difficult. You're trying to balance out a schedule. We're coming from the Big 12. We're used to a nine-game schedule. It works well, especially the neutral site game.”
Del Conte said he has not heard anything about the first game between Texas and Texas A&M being played in College Station if the rivalry is renewed.
As a reminder, Texas does not have a vote on this proposal because the Longhorns are not officially in the SEC.
--- Here is Texas A&M’s view of a nine-game conference schedule
--- There is some smoke related to a potential eight-game conference schedule
