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'Let's Do It': Texas A&M AD Ross Bjork Wants 9 SEC Games, Annual Texas Rivalry

With the commencement of the annual SEC Spring Meetings, the debate between eight and nine conference games remains heavy, though the Aggies are all-in on playing Texas every year under a new format.

Matt Guzman

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With the imminent arrival of Texas and Oklahoma, the SEC set to look a lot different both size and logistic-wise in two seasons. 

Entering the conference for the 2024-25 season, the two-team addition will make the SEC the largest Power Five conference, and as such, questions have arisen regarding how the new-look conference will be formatted and what will be at stake each year. 

Two primary options are up for consideration, with the main difference being whether or not teams will play eight or nine conference games. While it seems to be just a slight difference, the bigger effect would be how many "permanent" rivals each school would have. 

Eight conference games would see each team face one permanent rival, while nine conference games would allow for three each season, and the Texas A&M Aggies are all for the latter — clearing the way for an annual showdown with their bitter-rival Texas Longhorns. 

Texas A&M AD Ross Bjork was in attendance for the annual SEC Spring Meetings — where the scheduling formats debate was a hot topic — and explained his reasoning for his program's rather clear stance on the matter. 

"We think that ... [having] more SEC content, more games, is valuable," Bjork said. "We need to fill our stadiums and keep our TV partners happy. There needs to be revenue to feed and fuel college sports, so if we're going to have more opportunities to play more SEC games, let's do it."

When the news first broke that the Longhorns and Sooners would be joining the Aggies in the SEC nearly two years ago, speculation was at an all-time high. The move all but finalized the rivalry that Texas A&M fans had yearned for since leaving the Big-12 in 2011, and Bjork only added fuel to the fire last year. 

“I can’t imagine the atmosphere when that game is played,” Bjork told the Houston Chronicle during the 2022 SEC Spring Meetings. “And it will be played at Kyle Field.”

That sentiment hasn't changed, though Bjork also likes the idea of playing other teams on the road that the Aggies haven't yet faced since joining the SEC. 

"[We want] more rotation among opponents," he said. "Getting more teams on our campus, having us go to other programs that we haven't been to. Georgia hasn't been to [College Station], and we haven't been to Kentucky. We would not have been to Tennessee until this year had it not been for [COVID-19].”

"Those things should not happen anymore,” he added. Eight or nine [games] gets us variety, but we are in favor of nine … [and] we want to play Texas every year. We’ve made that clear.” 

Whether or not the Aggies get their wish to play Texas every year is still unknown, however. The university presidents ultimately make the final decision, and will first meet Thursday with the intent to come to an agreement regarding the format as early as Friday.

Aggie fans can only wait and see, though should the nine-game option be chosen, they might already be looking for tickets for 2024. 

"Hopefully coming out of this week, we'll have some kind of resolution," Bjork said. "We'll meet with the presidents [Thursday] afternoon and have a discussion ... but I hope to walk out of here on Friday."

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Matt Guzman
MATT GUZMAN

Matt Guzman is a sports journalist and storyteller from Austin, Texas. He serves as a credentialed reporter and site manager for San Antonio Spurs On SI and a staff writer for multiple collegiate sites in the same network. In the world of professional sports, he is a firm believer that athletes are people, too, and intends to tell stories of players and teams’ true, behind-the-scenes character that otherwise would not be seen through strong narrative writing, hooking ledes and passionate words.

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