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STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN DAN BRANCH REGARDING POSTPONEMENT OF HEARING TO DISCUSS COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE REALIGNMENTS

“The August 16, 2010 hearing of the House Higher Education Committee on collegiate athletics has been postponed.

“Yesterday, Dr. Bernie Machen, on behalf of the Southeastern Conference Presidents and Chancellors, stated that the member institutions have, at least for the time being, reaffirmed their satisfaction with the „present 12 institutional alignment.‟

"While events may continue to evolve in the coming weeks, at this time, there is no immediate need to evaluate the merits of an athletic conference reconfiguration involving Texas A&M University and, potentially, other Texas public universities. If the current situation changes, our Committee is prepared to convene.

“The hearing was scheduled to allow a broader public evaluation of the merits of pending athletic conference reconfigurations, to provide more transparency to our citizens and taxpayers, and to encourage an outcome that best serves the state of Texas. The Committee's intent was to be responsive to a pending reconfiguration involving major public institutions of higher learning with wide-ranging implications; not to micro-manage individual university decisions or to presuppose a certain outcome.

"As many of us have worked long hours over the last several days, I appreciate the spirit of cooperation and many efforts of our university leaders and regents affected by the recent events, especially those by the leaders of Texas A&M University. Texas A&M is one of Texas‟s finest public universities. It is a Tier One national research university of the highest order, steeped in historic and innovative traditions, both in the classroom and on the athletic field. Whatever her bright future holds, we all want an outcome that is in her best interest, the best interest of our other outstanding universities, and the best interest of all Texans.”