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Texas lawmaker mocks Longhorns’ SEC move in senate hearing

photos -jpgby:Ashton Pollard•08/03/21•

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TCU graduate and state senator Lois Kolkhorst did not hold back in her disappointment with the Texas Longhorns’ decision to depart the Big 12 for the SEC in 2025.

Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby and Texas president Jay Hartzell appeared before a special senate hearing on Monday regarding the future of college sports in the state, where lawmakers peppered the two with questions, including some with a sharp edge to them. 

Kolkhorst asked Hartzel about his school’s athletic budget, which Hartzell guessed was around $220-$225 million. That ranks near the top in the nation. 

“And that’s without a winning football team of late,” Kolkhorst countered. 

Hartzell noted that the Longhorns have been winning games, just not as many as they hoped. 

“3-7 against the Horned Frogs. So, maybe your fanbase would rather lose to Alabama than TCU,” Kolkhorst replied without cracking a smile. 

Her comment was met with laughter in the chamber.

As expected, many Texans are not thrilled with the Longhorns’ move to the SEC, considered by most as college football’s premier conference. That’s because Texas’ exit from the Big 12 will adversely impact many of its fellow state schools, such as TCU. For Horned Frog fans like Sen. Kolkhorst, that’s unacceptable.

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TCU has had Texas’ number of late

TCU has won two straight and six of the last seven in its rivalry series with Texas. They drubbed the Longhorns 48-10 in 2014 and 50-7 in 2015. 

While Texas performed better under former head coach Tom Herman than they did under his predecessor Charlie Strong, the Longhorns have been unable to reach Mack Brown-levels of success in recent years. Herman went 32-18 in four seasons and dropped three of four against the Sooners. They made the conference title game just once in 2018.

Oklahoma will join Texas in the SEC in four seasons, if not before. Bowlsby said he has not yet reached out to other schools about joining the Big 12. Bowlsby will reportedly meet with Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff on Tuesday to discuss the future of their conferences.

Additionally, top 2022 quarterback Quinn Ewers just elected to forgo his senior season at Carroll High School outside of Dallas and enroll at Ohio State this fall as a member of the class of 2021. Texas does not currently allow high school athletes to profit off of their name, image and likeness.

Image courtesy of Tim Warner/Getty Images