Kansas and Missouri, one of the most heated rivalries in the country, may never happen again because of scorn, jealousy and a broken heart.
When Texas A&M fled to the SEC, their rivalry with Texas went the way of the BCS, with the powers that be refusing to acknowledge that the other school meant anything to them.
But new Longhorn head coach Charlie Strong wants to see the Aggies on his team's schedule in the near future, a sentiment shared by many avid college football fans.
From CBS Sports: "It's all about the two ADs getting together and getting that figured out," Strong said. "When you look at it, it's been such a huge rivalry game. ... I think at some point it will get worked out.
"When there's been so much tradition there, you'd like to see it continue on. That's my feeling on it. I'd love to play it."
It is hard to imagine that the two schools will come to an agreement to play in a home-and-home series. Too much pride would have to be set aside for that to happen.
When Syracuse left the Big East for the ACC, their historic rivalry with Georgetown disappeared. But both universities agreed that keeping the game of the schedule was good for the programs and the fans, and while a home-and-home series isn't going to happen, the two teams will meet each other on a neutral court in the near future.
A neutral site game between the Longhorns and Aggies is something Strong wants to see, and with the new College Football Playoff coming, an emphasis on non-conference games will be key for teams eager to make it into the top four spots.
A neutral site, non-conference game between Texas and Texas A&M would be good for the schools, the team's strength of schedule, and most importantly, the fans.
Strong still hasn't coached a single game for the Longhorns, but it looks like he's already making an impact off the field.
SHAW DISSES EARLY SIGNING PERIOD
We're closer than ever to having an early signing period, and while it seems most coaches are on board with the idea, Stanford's David Shaw most certainly is not, based on his comments to ESPN's Kyle Bonagura.
"I might be alone in this, I think it's terrible," Shaw told Bonagura. "I think it's terrible. The reason [for an early signing period], in my opinion, is coaches don't like when kids commit and switch late."
Shaw went on to say that an early period wouldn't even end up preventing commitment changes, since recruits could appeal and would likely receive a favorable ruling.
While the aspect behind an early signing period of keeping recruits from switching commitments is certainly part of the debate, the flip side of the argument is that, at the end of the day, an early signing period will give recruits more options, since they'd now be able to avoid the long wait to February to sign. But they could also still carry their recruitment out if they so choose; the situation Shaw describes seems unlikely to happen often, as if a recruit has any doubt whatsoever about which school he would like to attend, he would be exceedingly likely to just hold off on signing until the winter.
This certainly would create more stress for coaches, but the NCAA will have to decide whether that's enough of a reason to forgo implementing the early period. Considering that the NCAA is supposed to be about looking out for the interests of its athletes, it would seem likely that the organization wouldn't view the disgruntlement of a minority of coaches as reason enough not to make a change.
Additionally, Stanford is notoriously difficult to get in to and holds its recruits to stricter admissions standards than most, if not all, college football powers; Shaw said that an early signing period would negatively impact a program like his, as many of the players he recruits often do not find out if they're accepted to Stanford until a time that falls after the proposed early signing period.
Shaw said he's worried about missing out on potential recruits due to other schools convincing them to sign with them instead of waiting out Stanford's admissions decision.
"That's a kid we never would have gotten because someone would have pressured him into forcing him to sign some place because they say, 'You don't know if you're getting into Stanford so you got to sign with us,'" Shaw said. "I don't think these kids should be pressured into decisions, and that's what this is all about."
Contributors: Troy Machir, Ben Estes
