What started as an Internet rumor from former Cougar commit and current Aggie Fabyon Harris became a reality on Tuesday, as Texas A&M released its full men's basketball schedule for the 2012-13 season: Houston will play host to Texas A&M on December 1st of this year.
The Cougar faithful are still waiting for the release of their schedule, and have been left to try and put together the non-conference slate piece-by-piece by searching for UH on other teams' schedules. Needless to say, Tuesday's news is a huge piece of the puzzle, and should put smiles on the faces of the many Cougar fans who have been hoping to see more big-name opponents at Hofheinz Pavilion.
Both schools are coming off disappointing seasons in which they finished below .500 in conference play, but both have some big-name recruits hitting campus for the upcoming season. The Cougars' recruiting class includes top-100 recruits Danuel House and Chicken Knowles, while A&M welcomes in a group of freshmen headlined by local guards Alex Caruso and J-Mychal Reese.
Despite being former conference rivals in the Southwest Conference, and being located within a short drive of one another, A&M and UH haven't played many significant games since the breakup of the SWC. The football teams have not met since 1995 (pre-breakup) and the men's basketball teams have not faced one another since December of 2004, a 93-80 Aggie victory in College Station. The last meeting in Houston was a 70-61 overtime victory for the Coogs the year prior.
Houston has struggled with poor attendance for decades since guys named Olajuwon and Drexler left for the pro ranks. The A&M matchup could be UH's first sellout since the Cougars hosted #1 Memphis in January of '08.
It's also worth noting that the date, December 1st, is slated for the Conference USA football championship game. If Houston is fortunate enough to win the West division, this could either set up an epic dilemma (if they're on the road) or an epic two-game, two-sport, one-day Cougar-fest, if the championship game takes place across the street from Hofheinz at Robertson Stadium. Either way, be sure to go ahead and clear up your schedule for that date now.