Texas Tech basketball game with Texas A&M still on for now with changes possible
Is the Thanksgiving week game between the Texas Tech basketball team and Texas A&M still on? It's too early to tell, Tech officials say.
On Tuesday, Matt Norlander and Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports reported on a name, image and likeness-center multi-team event (MTE) that is slated for late November in Las Vegas. Dubbed the "Players Era Festival," the tournament is reportedly scheduled to include eight teams during the 2024 edition of the event, one of the being Texas A&M.
According to the report, A&M is slated to be one of the teams involved with the tournament with games scheduled for Nov. 26, 27 and 29 with the 28th being open for Thanksgiving Day.
This, however, presents a conflict. Back in December, Texas Tech and Texas A&M announced a home-and-home series beginning this season with the Aggies slated to visit Lubbock Nov. 29. To capitalize on that game, athletics director Kirby Hocutt told the A-J that Tech requested the football team be able to have its season finale at home in Jones AT&T Stadium "if at all possible."
That plan came to fruition when the Big 12 announced its 2024 conference schedule on Jan. 31. The Red Raiders are hosting West Virginia on Nov. 30. Adding in the volleyball team's home game against Arizona on Nov. 29, Tech fans would be able to have three events to enjoy in a two-day span. That is now in jeopardy.
Robert Giovannetti, Tech's senior associate athletics director, said the athletic department wasn't completely caught off guard by the report. He said A&M head coach Buzz Williams had reached out to Grant McCasland previously to say the Aggies were considering the tournament, which would alter their original plans.
"We still have an agreement in place," Giovannetti said. "There's been no official cancelation of that game, so right now the conversations have just been on the head coaches."
The tournament A&M is reported to be participating in has yet to be officially announced.
Giovannetti also said there haven't been any conversations on the administrative side between Tech and A&M regarding the game. Instead, they're waiting for Williams, McCasland and Jonathan Botros, Tech's deputy athletics director, to sort things out.
Should it be decided to cancel the series, Giovannetti said the buyout is around $120,000. However, there is "still a degree of interest" from both sides to keep the series intact, just perhaps on a different day. Tech is scheduled to make a return trip to College Station in 2025.
The teams could also decide to keep the game this season and play it on a different day. If that were to happen, Giovannetti said, Tech would work to find another game for that Nov. 29 date. It's too early to guess who the new opponent would be.
"I just know Grant and Jonathan would work to really find the best opponent," Giovannetti said, "that fits kind of what the team needs and our fans need. Obviously anytime you can play A&M, it's a historical game because we used to be in the same conference. That's hard to replicate, but we still expect to have a great weekend for our fans regardless."
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: What's the future of the Texas Tech basketball game with Texas A&M?
