Texas’ move to the Southeastern Conference this upcoming summer has received plenty of national attention, and there has been much speculation over the future of certain rivalry matchups.
Texas will now be in the same conference as two of its biggest rivals — Oklahoma and Texas A&M — setting up potential annual matchups with each.
“For us to be playing the schools we’re going to be playing, it’s going to be an exciting time,” athletic director Chris Del Conte told the crowd at a recent athletics “town hall” meeting. “I cannot wait to renew old rivalries.”
Del Conte also mentioned renewing an old rivalry with the University of Arkansas, but Texas A&M and Oklahoma remain at the forefront, and Del Conte’s concentration remains on elevating the Texas brand as those rivalries continue annually.
“That is the goal,” he explained of the A&M rivalry during a question-and-answer portion of the meeting. “I know we play them at their place, and they’ll come back here. It’s important for us to play that rivalry. … Obviously, this year, it’s going to be on Saturday, [but] my goal is that we move the game back to Thursday.”
Texas and Texas A&M played annually on Thanksgiving from 2008 to 2011 and during various other years throughout the history of their rivalry.
Del Conte’s vision for recreating the tradition is a positive sign of things to come. However, fans may have to wait a bit before the game returns to the holiday, as Del Conte believes the conference would have to adopt a nine-game conference schedule first.
The SEC’s Special Assistant to the Commissioner for Football Relations, David Cutcliffe, said in October that the soonest we could see a nine-game conference slate was probably 2025.
If and when the Texas-Texas A&M rivalry returns to Thanksgiving, it will have plenty to compete with for screen time. While the “Egg Bowl” between Ole Miss and Mississippi State was the only college game played on that day in 2023, the NFL has traditionally owned the holiday and has three nationally televised games occupying each significant time slot.
The annual “Red River Rivalry” game against Oklahoma has never been in doubt, but changes could still come. During the “town hall,” Del Conte briefly noted he was working on moving the game from an 11 a.m. CT kickoff to a 2:30 p.m. CT kickoff — citing the SEC’s usual later kickoff times and different network agreements.
In the Big 12, the Longhorns were part of a conference agreement with Fox, which has claimed the primary spot for big games during the 11 a.m. block and led to more early game times. The SEC has deals with ABC/ESPN, which tend to have fewer 11 a.m. CT kicks.
