COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M hopes to play Texas again in football, with an impractical caveat.
“If that happens, let’s make it happen in the College Football Playoff,” A&M athletic director Ross Bjork said Tuesday in reiterating the Aggies’ stance on a momentous matter of state.
“Our position remains the same, that we’re focused on other things right now,” Bjork added.
Reminded a long-fancied A&M-UT football reunion would pay off in a big way at a time when the state’s two largest universities could use a few (million) extra dollars, Bjork shrugged.
“If schedules get adjusted, and that’s our only option,” he said. “There are 11 (other) FBS teams in Texas, right? So who knows what would happen.”
Global pandemic or no, A&M’s shot-callers have made it clear they have no interest in facing the Longhorns in the regular season for the first time since 2011, before the Aggies exited the Big 12 for the SEC in the summer of 2012.
In another nod that the state’s once-grandest rivalry presses on, even off the field, Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte told 247Sports.com on Tuesday his “goal is to play anyone that’s won a national championship in the modern era as part of our nonconference schedule.”
That would rule out the Aggies, who won their lone title in 1939, but Del Conte added he’d still like to see the rivalry return. Bjork, winding down his unusual (based on the pandemic) first year as A&M’s athletic director, was in no mood for frivolity Tuesday concerning an old annual showdown. Instead he’s crossing his fingers the Aggies open the season against Abilene Christian on time — Sept. 5 at Kyle Field.
“There are a lot of steps we have to take to get to that point,” he said. “We’re following all the guidance of our leadership here on campus, the health officials, and working with the SEC.”
Last week A&M chancellor John Sharp told the leaders of the university system, “Make this happen,” when it comes to playing football this fall — fans in the stands and all.
“I really appreciate his confidence in our planning and preparation,” said Bjork, responding to Sharp’s mandate that’s quite subject to change, depending on the pandemic’s overall course this summer. “May 1 was a pivotal date to see where we go from here, so I think (Sharp’s) timing was great.”
That also was the day Gov. Greg Abbott began allowing a slow reopening of the state, although the SEC has shut down all activities for its members through at least May 31. Should the state and nation continue a steady reopening, A&M expects most of its football players to gather back on campus by June 1.
“There are a lot of layers to this,” Bjork said.
Including what exactly Kyle Field and other college stadiums might look like during a game if social distancing — keeping at least 6 feet apart — is still ongoing in September.
“How do we take care of our fans … how do operationalize (Kyle Field),” Bjork said of questions to be answered this summer. “How do we make people feel comfortable? What does social distancing look like come this fall? What are all the best practices and protocols out there? All those things are out there, and we’re constantly going through (the options), and these things are all fluid.
“The good thing is we do have time to make those decisions.”
Football camp under third-year coach Jimbo Fisher does not start until early August, but A&M ideally would like to have its players preparing as a whole for the season by no later than July 1, in terms of nutrition, the weight room and training room, among other off-field aspects often overlooked by fans as part of the season preparation.
Other fall sports like soccer and volleyball and spring sports like softball and track and field, among others, depend on the income from football to keep chugging along, at least in opulence.
“Football is the economic engine here at Texas A&M for our athletic program, and so all of our sports are impacted by the football program,” Bjork said. “We have 102,000 seats (in Kyle), and we sold 85,000 season tickets last year. … So last year just in season tickets and single-game tickets and donations, that number was $85 million — more than half of our operating budget.”
Bjork said A&M’s annual operating budget is around $150 million.
“It’s a big impact, and we recognize that and our other coaches and student-athletes recognize that,” he added. “We try to give them the same experience as the football student-athletes — that’s our approach and we want them to feel appreciated. … Everyone realizes that (football) is the economic driver, really, for our community.”
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