Texas ‘still having conversations’ about playing football in Mexico City
Texas might not be playing any football games in the Middle East any time soon, but athletic director Steve Patterson hasn’t given up on the idea of having a contest across the border in Mexico City.
Patterson told Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com that he sent former football coach Mack Brown to Dubai last month to seek opportunities for Texas athletics to play in the booming Middle East city, however, those opportunities don’t include football.
Patterson said the interest is in golf and basketball.
“It’s also the country that paid Tiger Woods $2 million and skip the Phoenix Open each year,” Patterson said. “What does that mean with what we might do with a golf team? Duke went over there and played basketball a few years ago.”
But that doesn’t mean Patterson has given up the dream of expanding the football brand outside of the United States. Patterson reiterated that Texas is “still having conversations” about playing a game in Mexico City. This is something Patterson noted to Kirk Bohls of the Austin American Statesman back in January.
Last month, ESPN president John Skipper mentioned the possibility of a Big 12/Pac-12 game in Mexico while speaking at the Football Bowl Association annual meeting. Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott confirmed the discussions.
The NFL has been using its International Series as a way to test the growth its brand and Mexico City is on that list of potential spots for NFL games. Mexico already has a big Dallas Cowboys following.
Texas is the closest Power Five school to Mexico City, though still roughly 937 miles away, and the Longhorns could root themselves in a market that has never been tapped by the college game.
For more Texas news, visit Orangebloods.com.
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