Greg Sankey addresses SEC wrongly playing 'Aggie War Hymn' for Steve Sarkisian: 'Mistakes happen'

Greg Sankey knew something went wrong Tuesday as Steve Sarkisian took the podium to address members of the media on hand in Atlanta. As the Texas coached walked up for his opening statement, Texas A&M’s “Aggie Warm Hymn” played instead of the Longhorns’ fight song.

Whoops! Mistakes happen, as Sankey acknowledged. But it was a grave error to those on social media, even though Sarkisian seemingly brushed it off and didn’t even say anything.

Still, Sankey made a point that they’ll try to ensure something like that doesn’t happen again. It’s like looking at the game film, which Sarkisian does so well.

“You know, in football, we evaluate turnovers after a game, right, or during a game,” Sankey said to open Wednesday at SEC Media Days. “A bit of a fumble yesterday. I want to acknowledge we had the wrong music played after I introduced Steve Sarkisian. So, mistakes happen. No ill intent there. And we’ll make sure we do better in possessing our responsibilities.”

Luckily for the SEC Kickoff team, Texas A&M’s fight song doesn’t exactly conjure any bad memories for Sarkisian. Sarkisian and Texas marched into Texas A&M’s Kyle Field last season and defeated the Aggies, 17-7. 

It was the first time the two programs had met since 2011. The two programs played every year from 1915 to 2011, but the rivalry was put on hold after Texas A&M left the Big 12 to join the SEC.

Texas boasts a 77-37-5 record against Texas A&M and has won four of the programs’ last five meetings. Sarkisian was ecstatic to have a chance to become a part of the rivalry’s history last season.

“You have to remember, as a kid growing up, I watched this game on Thanksgiving,” Sarkisian said last November. “That’s how I fell in love with Texas from the very beginning – the uniforms, the helmets. I knew that the rivalry was what it was. Because what did you do as a kid, you watched football, that’s what I did.

“… You quickly find out households are divided and the state’s divided. But that’s the fun part, that’s what this last game of the regular season is supposed to feel like. And I’ve been a part of some great (rivalries) and I’m really grateful and thankful that this one is revived, and humbled and honored I get to be a part of it. Really, I’ve been watching this game since I was this big. So it’s pretty cool.”

Texas will host Texas A&M at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium on Nov. 28 in the upcoming season. As they enter their second season under head coach Mike Elko, the Aggies will look to stun the Longhorns. Nonetheless, they can rest assured, Steve Sarkisian and Co. won’t make it easy.

Grant Grubbs contributed to this report