The 12th Man at Texas A&M will have to wait until the fall to get their Aggie football fix. Because Kyle Field is under massive renovations and will be unavailable for hosting a spring football game and because the school ran out of options to work with, Texas A&M announced Friday the annual spring football game will be cancelled. The school went as far as to apply for a waiver with the SEC to move the game to another location, but NCAA rules shut the door on that possibility.
“After careful consideration and in consultation with Coach [Kevin] Sumlin and the football coaching staff, we have decided not to play a traditional spring football game this year or next as Kyle Field is being redeveloped,” Texas A&M Director of Athletics Eric Hyman said. “We appreciate the cooperation of the SEC office in considering a waiver to play a spring game off campus, but other factors including NCAA rules and regulations regarding contact with prospective student-athletes also played into our final decision.”
While some schools have successfully moved their spring games to off-campus locations at nearby high schools, the NCAA rules prohibit coaches nd players from being able to interact with recruits and their families. Free admission to high school, prep school or junior college prospects and their coaches is also not allowed because it is not during the regular season and another location would likely be outside a 30-mile radius from the campus.
The SEC also prohibits schools from moving their spring games to alternate locations as a standard practice, although a waiver can always be filed. Under the circumstances it may have been likely the SEC would approve the temporary move for the Aggies, but NCAA rules make it more difficult to do so.
“I am disappointed we will not be able to hold a few scrimmages or the spring game inside Kyle Field the next couple of years,” Aggie head football coach Kevin Sumlin said.
The renovations at Kyle Field are expected to continue through 2015, but the stadium will be ready to host home football game sin the fall in 2014 and 2015.
