I was an undergrad at Texas in 1989, The way it looked at the time was Arkansas had a gentleman's agreement that A&M and Texas were going to SEC when Arkansas taking the blame for "killing" the SWC. A&M was 100% on board with this, but Texas administration (as opposed to Athletic Department) wanted to rub elbows with more elite schools of the PAC-10 and Colorado and Texas would give them 12 so there could be a Conference Championship game, which was all the rage at the time. the SWC and SEC were both known as dirty conferences with paying of players that had just resulted in the death penalty for SMU. Texas was looking for greener pastures on the west coast. The Texas legislature which at the time still provided Texas and A&M with 50% of there operating budget, said, "Oh hell no. We'll cut your budget if you abandon the other Texas schools."
@@TheKevinNewsom The Big 8 was only interested in Texas and A&M, but only the magic 12 would allow The Championship Game, the new conference needed a private school to avoid a Freedom of information act (Private schools do have some advantages) The two travel partners were a big fight.
@@michaelwelch9925 Oh yes, the Texas Legislature was heavily involved with the B12 formation. The horse trading and back-room deals were legendary. Allegedly, TV partners told the new conference they could add all 8 SWC members...but the money would not expand to cover more than 4. Which set up a survivor game to be played out in the Texas lege. Ultimately, UH, TCU, Rice and SMU were voted off of the B12 island.
I was an undergrad at Texas in 1989, The way it looked at the time was Arkansas had a gentleman's agreement that A&M and Texas were going to SEC when Arkansas taking the blame for "killing" the SWC. A&M was 100% on board with this, but Texas administration (as opposed to Athletic Department) wanted to rub elbows with more elite schools of the PAC-10 and Colorado and Texas would give them 12 so there could be a Conference Championship game, which was all the rage at the time. the SWC and SEC were both known as dirty conferences with paying of players that had just resulted in the death penalty for SMU. Texas was looking for greener pastures on the west coast.
The Texas legislature which at the time still provided Texas and A&M with 50% of there operating budget, said, "Oh hell no. We'll cut your budget if you abandon the other Texas schools."
Interesting perspective!
@@TheKevinNewsom The Big 8 was only interested in Texas and A&M, but only the magic 12 would allow The Championship Game, the new conference needed a private school to avoid a Freedom of information act (Private schools do have some advantages) The two travel partners were a big fight.
@@michaelwelch9925 Oh yes, the Texas Legislature was heavily involved with the B12 formation. The horse trading and back-room deals were legendary. Allegedly, TV partners told the new conference they could add all 8 SWC members...but the money would not expand to cover more than 4. Which set up a survivor game to be played out in the Texas lege. Ultimately, UH, TCU, Rice and SMU were voted off of the B12 island.