“Bill Clayton, the former speaker of the Texas House, and Houston attorney Ross Margraves, both of whom had been working on plans to move A&M to the SEC, were summoned to a meeting in Bullock’s Austin office on Feb. 21, 1994, which was President’s Day and a state holiday.”
“We kept going until finally, Bullock says, ‘Clayton, what the hell would it take for you to go with us?’ And I said, ‘Bob, now you’re talking more my language.’”
“As long as Texas got everything it wanted, things were stable,” Byrne said. “But when an institution - and I was at two of them - said it shouldn’t be Texas’ way or the highway, there was pushback.”
Immature
“Carr, recalling the political maneuvers that surrounded the Big 12’s formation, said similar elements could come into play involving UH’s desire to join the Big 12 and Texas’ desire to build an “intellectual hub” on 300 acres it recently acquired in southwest Houston.”
“That is the trump card in the whole deal,” Carr said. “If they do expand, Houston will be in. But without that land exchange, it would never, I repeat, never happen.”
Carr was so in the dark when the SWC fell apart it was ridiculous. He came to Dallas (we sponsored a luncheon) where he almost promised that UH would be included in any new conference. All of a sudden he’s an expert?
It wasn’t just Carr who was in dark, it was the entire UH administration. UH’s excuse: we were counting on the University of Texas to protect our interest in any merger of the SWC and the Big 8. … Well, history seems to be repeating itself. … Which would produce an awful result.
The only reason why Baylor was included was Bob Bullock, who was then Texas’ lieutenant governor, and David Sibley, who was then Waco’s state senator, were both Baylor graduates, as was the Governor, Ann Richards. Bullock was also a Texas Tech grad.
We should not sell our souls for membership. Forget that noise. The ONLY way I might even consider any uth nonsense is if they cut us a piece of the PUF pie… and from ut’s share.