News broke earlier this week that the University of Texas is planning on charging the Texas Tech band $100 per ticket for each band member that attends the game in Austin this year. As is being learned today, this policy of charging $100 for each band member to attend games in Austin will apply not only to Big 12 schools, but to the out of conference opponents on their schedule as well.

The Rice Marching Owl Band (MOB), whose rich history of halftime shenanigans has solidified their place in Texas college football lore , announced that they, due to the new policy, will not be performing at Darrell K. Royal when Rice takes on the Longhorns this Saturday. It's the right move on their part of course, because it's ridiculous that any school with a tight band budget be asked to reorganize their yearly budget based on the Longhorns, and because the MOB shouldn't be asked to pay for tickets to a game where they'll likely be the best product put on the field all day. (They want to charge the Rice Owl band $100 for tickets to a game you can go to for $60 with this Living Social coupon.)

Texas Football is a ship-wreck at the moment , and as their (former) rivals, Aggies are obligated to do everything in our power to ensure that no opportunity to have them insulted in front of their own fans, at their own stadium, is ever missed. I've reached out to the Rice MOB and offered my financial support for them to make a trip to DKR this weekend, and I invite you to do the same.

If Texas and Texas A&M are in the middle of a Cold War, then getting the MOB into DKR this weekend is like getting Yakov Smirnoff to do stand-up at the Kremlin. Send the MOB an e-mail, make a phone call, or just drive around South Main blowing whistles. Let them know that if they agree to head to DKR, then we'll agree to foot their bill for tickets.

Website: bands.rice.edu

Phone: 713-348-2346

Fax: 713-348-5114

Email: bands@rice.edu

Update - 4:04pm CDT - 9/11/2015: The University of Texas has released a statement saying that they comped Rice 300 tickets for use by the band. According to Brian Davis at the Austin American-Statesman, Rice band members should be blaming their own AD, not Texas':