I keep thinking the Longhorns and Aggies are going to come to their senses and do the right thing. We all know what that is, don't we?

Sure, Texas A&M's threats to leave are getting old. Yes, the Aggies will look silly if they don't go after another round of thumb-sucking about the Longhorn Network.

Likewise, Texas is sickeningly arrogant. It believes the rest of the world is there to kiss its feet, and that attitude makes for a poor partnership.

OK, so this delightful old couple has a few differences. Let them sit down, have a few cold ones and remember the good times.

Has everyone forgotten Bonfire? That was when the Longhorns reached out to the Aggies in their hour of grief and when the two sides were reminded they're way more similar than they like to admit.

There are no issues on the table that can't be negotiated. Zero. Zip. If former lieutenant governor Bob Bullock were still alive, he'd lock the two sides in a room and force them to talk to one another.

Unfortunately, there's no Bullock around. Rick Perry could do it, but he has other things on his mind. Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe is in a position to do it, but it's not clear if either school will listen to him.

Baylor president Ken Starr has tried to make peace, but he carries less weight than Mack Brown's shoe salesman.

I'd suggest Texas president Bill Powers telephone his A&M counterpart, R. Bowen Loftin, and seek a secret meeting to put everything on the table, to jawbone and see if there's a middle ground.

My guess is that Texas is way more willing to negotiate than the Aggies. UT may realize the Longhorn Network is going to end up being more trouble than its worth.

Meanwhile, Texas A&M has to be having at least a few second thoughts about going to the Southeastern Conference, where the road to a BCS game will be unimaginably more difficult.

If it's about money, that can be negotiated. In fact, just about anything can be negotiated if the two sides would just take a deep breath and count to 10.

Unfortunately, neither side seems inclined to have a dialogue. Texas A&M is going to run off to the SEC and consider the consequences later. Texas is going to let the Aggies go because no one tells UT what to do.

Before the divorce is final, I hope someone reminds these people that they're better together than apart. That was true a half-century ago, and it will be true a half-century from now.

Collateral damage

And it's not just them. There's significant collateral damage if the Big 12 fails. If that happens, Baylor will be thrown on the side of the road.

Baylor has grand plays to build a new stadium, but as Drayton McLane said last week, "We can't build it without some assurances about the conference."

Likewise, Texas Tech needs UT and A&M, too.

Here's a solution. Instead of allowing the Big 12 to come undone, why not sit down and strengthen it?

How about inviting TCU? Why not whisper sweet nothings, show it a grand vision of what the Big 12 can be, and promise to make the Horned Frogs a partner?

Let's invite SMU back to the party, too. The Mustangs have a nice stadium and an exciting product. The University of Houston has to be included. It got caught up in a maelstrom of state politics 16 years ago.

Suddenly, the Big 12 would be better and more interesting, and when Missouri finally leaves, the conference will be held together by more than a thread.

There are a dozen versions of this plan. BYU? Hey, invite 'em along. Air Force? Why not?

You can put pencil to paper and come up with an assortment of scenarios. But all of them begin with Texas and Texas A&M being willing to sit down and negotiate a truce.

Fences to mend

This begins with Texas, which has some mending of fences to do. It must assure the Aggies it can be trusted, and it has to look at the possibility that a mega-television contract forthe entire conference is better than one school having a deal that benefits one school.

It has been a couple of weeks since Texas A&M decided to leave. Surely, tempers have cooled. Surely, a discussion can be opened.

Or is it all just a cash grab?

If that's what it is, shame on all of them. Is either school hurting for cash? Their teams fly around the country in private jets, and their facilities are among the best in the nation.

Instead of thinking small, of thinking selfishly, why not think together? Why not come up with something that works for everyone?

This appears to be a divorce driven by money and ego, and isn't that sad? How about it, Bill Powers? You, too, R. Bowen Loftin. Give peace a chance.

richard.justice@chron.com

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