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/threadThree or four years ago we talked about doing a joint flagship channel. I liked the idea, but our fans should know me better than to think I would pass on a $150 million deal for Texas A&M. That never happened.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP)—Texas A&M could have been a partner with Texas in a lucrative television network but wasn’t interested in joining the Longhorns when the idea was hatched, Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds said Thursday.
Dodds told The Associated Press he first met with Texas A&M athletic director Bill Byrne about the idea of an Aggies-Longhorns network about four years ago but Byrne didn’t seem interested. At the time, the Longhorns weren’t sure they could carry a network on their own.
Byrne tried to re-open discussions about a year ago, but by then it was too late, Dodds said.
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...-texassquabble
/threadThree or four years ago we talked about doing a joint flagship channel. I liked the idea, but our fans should know me better than to think I would pass on a $150 million deal for Texas A&M. That never happened.
Yeah I find it funny this story randomly surfaces when A&M is about to go to the SEC
This, too.
Random? Isn't this one of the reasons all their fans cite for them wanting to go to the SEC? Doesn't seem that random to me.
He's saying Random in regards to the timing of this story, not in regards to the subject matter.
Bill Byrne is known as Dollar Bill among Aggies because he's all about making money. Raising ticket prices constantly. No way he would've turned down $150mm.
Sounds like he's trying to coverup for his lack of forsight on the value of the network. He probably had no clue at the time that Texas was going to get $300 million for the network since bidding didn't even start until earlier this year on it. How would he have known he was turning down $150 million to begin with? Seems to me he's just saying that to make Aggy fans think that turning down the network is so stupid he couldn't have possibly done it when in fact he actually did.
Last edited by DMX7; 09-01-2011 at 10:57 PM.
He didn't turn down $150M, because by the time the figure of $300M was announced last year, UT had turned down his late attempt to gravy train on their 3 years of hard work putting the channel together. He did, however, turn down a chance, at some dollar figure that we will never know, to partner in a network with UT four years ago. He was probably just too dumb to know how much money was at stake.
This whole thing gives me MUCH better picture of Rick Perry, The Secessionist. I guess if things aren't going your way, and you're an Aggie, you just take your marbles and run away.
This. He should be fired for this up, compounded with setting his team on a virtual Bataan Death march in the SEC West to cover his stupidity.
lol this thread
lol were already gone
lol i thought noone cared
lol you
lol poor grammar
lol poor grammar, again
still as awesome today as it was last year"This is Bill Byrne, I'm the athletic director at Texas A&M.
I just got an email from someone named Roger Roge, or something like that, asking if I still have my tongue up DeLoss Dodds' [asshole]
I'm 65-years-old and people don't say those kinds of things to me.
Someone who has no guts to write something like that needs to have their ass kicked."
http://www.kbtx.com/home/headlines/96517329.html
I don't think Byrne suffers from lack of business a en. It's from lack of foresight. I understand why he probably said no at the time. The thought process at the time was that the two schools would have to share the start-up costs, something that Aggy couldn't afford to do. Byrne probably did his due dilegence and discovered that start ups cost tens of millions of dollars. , they can't afford to leave the conference now, but they're going to. Byrne and Dodds had no way of knowing that ESPN would swoop in and front the costs. But Byrne should have piggy-back anyway. He really didn't have anything to lose as betting against Dodds right now is futile. I think $Bill is a great AD, but he really screwed the pooch on this one.
It was an investment opportunity, Byrne played it safe and said no. I don't really blame him for it.
What I blame him/Aggies for is crying about it now and picking up their things and moving to the SEC because of it.
The Aggie level of butthurt is phenomenal.
this is stupid. both sides are clearly stubborn ...case closed. all that matters is this: while each is seeking to do what is best for them, is t.u. so butt-hurt they will refuse to play A&M on an annual basis?
...indications point to yes.
Question. Why should they? I would like to see the game continue, but why should Texas play Aggy? After everything that has happened in the last year between the two, why would Dodds schedule the two to play? A&M's butthurt has led to them running to the SEC, blaming Texas every step of the way. So, Texas should just say "We know you guys are raging gots, but let's still play every year. We want you to have your cake, eat it, and puke it back in our face."
that's certainly one perspective. but, imo, not very accurate of the entire picture.
I'm sure that the only way Texas is going to play Aggy is if it's on the LHN.
We both know that will never be agreed to.
Only three national championships in team sports in the 100+ years prior to BB's arrival.
We've seen dozens of conference championships and eight national championships In team sports since he took over as A.D., and there will be more conference les and NC's to come.
Ten years ago, almost none of A&M's program were ranked. Some, like men's and women's basketball and men's and women's track & field were essentially on life support.
Today, almost all of A&M's athletic programs in EVERY men's and women's sport are ranked in the top 20.
So yes, he has been an awesome AD for us. Thanks for noticing.
I heard some of the details on this today on 1310 The Ticket.
This network thing had been in the works five years ago, but the idea at that time was to have some kind of Texas network (UT and A&M in partnership) where the schools would share production costs. At the time (according to the 1310 Ticket morning show), Mr. Byrne was not comfortable footing that kind of expense at that time.
In hindsight, maybe Aggie missed out on an opportunity, but who knew ESPN would do what they did and foot the bill.
It's going to be sad when my Thanksgiving day in the very near future will only have a Cowboy game. I liked having both games on Thanksgiving - as a Texas grad this whole episode is kind of sad. There may be a day when Texas and tamu play after next year, but I don't think it will be in the next 10-15 years. Aggie has chosen its path - there's benefits and costs with that path. The Turkey Day game gets sacrificed.
It's too bad cooler heads did not prevail, but egos and feelings got hurt among the movers and shakers and now a traditional game that's over 100 years old will go up in smoke.
If A&M had been more effective in Football in from 2000-2010, maybe things would have been different, but when the Big 12 became a 2 horse race for the most part, I think the animosity grew tremendously.
He's certainly done his part to give what the fans want: a membership in the SEC.
Enjoy the next decade of beatdowns in football, just like the last.
talk about butthurt. The irony in every single one of your posts is priceless.
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