Houston is finally a member of the Big 12 this season after the university was initially shut out of the league during its formation in the mid-1990s. Cougars coach Dana Holgorsen hasn't forgotten about that and points the blame toward in-state flagships Texas and Texas A&M -- founding members of the Big 12 -- as to why the school wasn't among the Southwest Conference remnants included as Big 12 founding members more than two decades ago.
In an exchange with a fan who expressed disappointment during Holgorsen's weekly radio show about Houston joining a Big 12 that will soon be void of both Texas and Texas A&M -- the Aggies already left for the SEC in 2012, while the Longhorns will make that same move in 2024 -- Holgorsen said he couldn't be happier to be in a league without the pair of Texas schools.
"You can have that opinion about Texas and Texas A&M if you want to, but they are the reasons we weren't in the Big 12," Holgorsen responded to the fan. "Those two [schools] are the specific reasons why we haven't been in the Big 12 the last 28 years. Screw them. They can go wherever they want. They don't want us, and we don't want them. So move on."
In the case of Texas, Holgorsen joins a growing list of Big 12 figures to publicly take aim at a Longhorns team that is well aware of having a target on its back after being picked by media members to win the conference in 2023. In July, Big 12 deputy commissioner Tim Weiser cited Texas' SEC move as one in which the program would "rather get beat by Alabama than Kansas State" before Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark told Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire to "take care of business" against the Longhorns when those schools meet in late November. Yormark's comments were enough for Texas coach Steve Sarkisian to fire back during his Week 1 press conference.
Houston is scheduled to host Texas on Saturday, Oct. 21 for what will be the first conference matchup between the schools since the final year of the Southwest Conference in 1995. The Longhorns have won each of the past seven meetings between the programs, most recently a 41-11 triumph in Austin, Texas, during the 2002 season.
