Could Texas Tech and Cincinnati be working on a series to reunite new Bearcats coach Tommy Tuberville with the team he jilted?
Well, that was the original plan.
Even before Tuberville (allegedly) sneaked off in the middle of a recruiting dinner to hop a plane from Lubbock to Cincy, Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt was working on a series between the two schools. However, when Tuberville got wind that such a series was in the works, he quickly nixed the idea. After all, it’s too windy and dusty to play football in Lubbock, Texas.
“We asked. They declined,” Hocutt told media Thursday. “It was a series that was even discussed prior to Tommy getting the Cincinnati job. After he got the job, they had no interest in continuing the talks.”
While a series with Cincy might be out of the question, rekindling one with former Big 12 mate Texas A&M is not. Hocutt said he’d like to add Texas A&M to the schedule in all sports.
When Texas A&M left the Big 12 for the SEC last season, it became a sore spot with several Big 12 schools, including rival Texas. But Tech doesn’t seem to harbor any ill feelings toward the Aggies and would like to keep the in-state rivalry going. Even Texas A&M AD Eric Hyman said he hadn’t thought about renewing the rivalry, but would entertain the thought of it.
“We would welcome the opportunity to play Texas A&M in every sport,” Hocutt said. “It was a fun rivalry, a good rivalry and one in the future that we can begin again.”
Could this be the first olive branch others need to get many of the now abandoned rivalries going again? We can only hope.
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