'We Want Some Of That!' Texas Longhorns' SEC Move Spawned From Jealousy Of Texas A&M Aggies' Success

After 13 seasons apart on the heels of 103 years of rivalry, the Texas A&M Aggies and Texas Longhorns will once again meet on the football field in 2024.

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Texas A&M and the University of Texas were joined at the hip for 103 years. From the inception of the Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association (TIAA) in 1909 to the formation of the Southwest Conference (SWC) in 1915 to the dissolution of the SWC and beginning of the Big 12 in 1996, the universities were conference rivals until 2012 when the Aggies bolted for the SEC.

Over those 103 football seasons, the Longhorns held a 76-37-5 mark against Texas A&M. But per one college football analyst, the jealousy and envy are on the side of the Longhorns.

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One of the most celebrated college football rivalries ended with the Aggies joining the SEC but will be renewed in 2024 as Texas follows A&M as members of college football's most celebrated conference.

In a recent appearance on That SEC Football Podcast, Paul Finebaum outlined the unusual relationship that Texas and Texas A&M share. What's more, Finebaum - an SEC analyst - projects Texas' move to the SEC was spawned by jealousy of the Aggies' success in the better conference.

"A&M was so successful in the SEC… that Texas said ‘we want some of that,’" Finebaum said.

Persons familiar with the history of the rivalry will not be surprised by this. Texas, long considered the "big brother" to Texas A&M, couldn't stand being shown up by A&M's success in the better league, and being out-recruited regularly with the promise of more television exposure in the SEC.

Luckily for Texas, the college football landscape was perfect for a defection, with conference realignment being accepted more than ever before.

Also discussed was the supposed "gentlemen's agreement" between the Aggies and the SEC that Texas would never be invited to the confernece.

“[A&M] felt they were promised that [Texas] would never come in. And they were promised Texas would never come in. But things change,” Finebaum said.

Texas won't have free reign over the SEC like it did the Big 12. And the Longhorns will need a period of adjustment. Maybe not on the field, but in the administration department. The SEC is bigger than the Longhorns. And bigger than the Crimson Tide, or any one school.

And only time will tell if the move pays off for Texas. And for the Aggies.