Kicker: A mandated rivalry

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Ever since Texas A&M fled the Big 12 conference to join the vaunted Southeastern Conference, the football rivalry between the Aggies and the University of Texas has grown cold.

The Aggies and the Longhorns, who have faced one another more than 100 times, haven’t played since 2011, when the Longhorns pulled out a 2-point victory.

Last week, Texas state Representative Lyle Larson took steps to change that. He introduced a bill that would mandate that UT and A&M resume their post-Thanksgiving rivalry or risk losing state funding.

A similar bill was proposed in 2013, but quietly died in committee.

Larson’s bill is seen as a last-ditch, desperate attempt. Kinda like a Hail Mary pass with just seconds left on the clock.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

(AP Photo/Mike Fuentes, File) In this Oct. 8, 2011, file photo, Texas fans, left, and Oklahoma fans, right, fill the Cotton Bowl for the NCAA college football game between Oklahoma and Texas in Dallas. 

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