For those people who prefer the traditional late November date for the annual Texas-Texas A&M rivalry game, you can feel free to breathe a little easier this afternoon. For those fans of late November Bedlam, however, you’re going to have to wait a little longer for your fix in 2011.
The Big 12 announced Friday that the annual Oklahoma-Oklahoma State game as well as the Texas-Baylor game have been moved into the month of December. Both of those games will be played Dec. 3, with one at 3:30 p.m. ET and the other at 8 p.m. ET. While which game will be contested when is undetermined, recent history suggests Bedlam would likely be the one pushed into the prime-time slot.
Pushing contests into December is a direct result of the conference defections that took place last year. With Nebraska (Big Ten) and Colorado (Pac-12) leaving for other leagues, the Big 12 will not be holding a championship game in early December. Pushing these match-ups back will give the conference a television presence on the same weekend other leagues will be holding their title games.
Despite the lack of a title game, the Big 12 is still dubbing the December doubleheader “Championship Saturday”, apparently taking their cue from a Big Ten conference that consists of 12 schools.
Incidentally, the Longhorns-Aggies game will again be played Thanksgiving night on ESPN. It had been heavily rumored over the past few months that the rivalry might be moved from the turkey holiday, where it’s been contested 63 times prior to this year, to the first weekend in December. Based on the number of emails we’ve received on the subject, this news will come as a welcome relief to a sizable chunk of the respective fan bases.
It should be noted, though, that UT-A&M staying on Thanksgiving is for 2011 only, and could — stressing the word “could” very heavily — change for future games. Given the fact that the Thanksgiving hiatus took a 15-year sabbatical until it resumed in 2008, we get the feeling the fans would ultimately adjust regardless of what future schedules may hold.
