Texas Longhorns’ potential Big 12 exit raising concerns in state Legislature - The Dallas Morning News

panggilansaja.blogspot.com

AUSTIN –– Less than a day after news broke that the University of Texas is angling to leave the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference, one North Texas lawmaker said he will seek legislation requiring legislative approval before such moves can happen.

College football fans flooded to social media Wednesday afternoon after the Houston Chronicle first reported that the two largest brands in the Big 12, Texas and Oklahoma, reached out to the Southeastern Conference about potentially joining the top league in the country.

In what could be a recipe for disaster for the Big 12, the move would force its remaining programs to immediately form future game plans on the fly. Officials from both Texas and its arch rival up north declined to comment, though neither have denied the report.

But it didn’t take long for state lawmakers to get involved. By Thursday morning, Plano Republican Rep. Jeff Leach called UT’s transparency into question on social media, while announcing his intent to work on a bill that would require UT to receive legislative approval before leaving the conference.

“The lack of transparency by our flagship institution is wrong,” Leach said in a tweet. “Such a monumental economic and educational decision impacting the entire state must not be made in a bubble on the forty acres. Working on legislation requiring legislative approval for UT to bolt the BIG XII.”

And just like that, Texas politics and Longhorns football are sharing mid-summer headlines. But, as the runaway Texas Democrats remain in Washington D.C., denying a quorum in the House, any bills will likely have to wait until the next special session in August. If a quorum is present, that is.

The tweet from the former Baylor Bear was met by Muenster Republican Sen. Drew Springer, a North Texas alum who said he would vote against the bill all while advocating for UNT to fill in the Texas vacancy.

“Just replace UT & OU with UNT and TX State,” Springer said in a tweet. “More money for Texas schools. Plus I’d love to see the Mean Green win in Waco in a couple years.”

The Dallas Morning News’ Chuck Carrolton reported that Kevin Eltife, the former Texas senator from Tyler, has played a key role in pushing the process forward.

Texas A&M made the same exact move, fleeing the Big 12 for a stake in the SEC back in 2012 –– the pettiness of the fallout has resulted in both the Longhorns and Aggies arguing over whether the grass is greener in Austin or College Station since the breakup. They have yet to meet on an actual football field since the split, so regardless of the fertilizer both programs boast, the arguments begin, and end, on social media.

Now, a decade later, the richest program in the country is looking to get with the conference the Aggies left them for. On the SEC side of things, the Longhorns and Sooners would need a three-fourths vote of approval from the 14-member conference. In this case, their magic number is 11.

But, as Leach proves with his quick legislative action, a game-changing move such as this is sure to run into political obstacles. After all, Texas politicians –– Ann Richards, Bob Bullock and others –– are a large reason the Big 12 was formed to include Baylor and Texas Tech along with the Longhorns and Aggies in the 1990s.

With Gov. Greg Abbott and Speaker of the House Dade Phelan both Texas Exes, though, they likely won’t face the same opposition from the Big Three.

Ross Bjork, the Texas A&M athletic director, made his stance clear regarding the flagship’s potential move to join the Aggies in the SEC: “We want to be the only SEC program in the state of Texas. There’s a reason why Texas A&M left the Big 12, to be standalone, to have our own identity. And that’s our feeling.”

When asked about the rumored developments at SEC media days, Texas A&M head football coach Jimbo Fisher replied, “I bet they would. I’m just worried about A&M.”

Adblock test (Why?)

"Exit" - Google News
July 23, 2021 at 12:48AM
https://ift.tt/36TIy9j

Texas Longhorns’ potential Big 12 exit raising concerns in state Legislature - The Dallas Morning News
"Exit" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2zNkU0N
https://ift.tt/2YrnuUx

Bagikan Berita Ini