On the night of Sept. 7, 2012, Texas A&M officials hosted Southeastern Conference commissioner Mike Slive for a lavish dinner in an on-campus reception hall. The occasion: the Aggies would play their first football game as an SEC member the next day. I had accompanied Slive on this trip for an all-access story, but was politely kicked to the curb when it was time for him to dine with the A&M power brokers.
When dinner had wrapped, I was ushered into the room to resume my assignment. The mood was celebratory, smiles were everywhere. A pair of cowboy boots with the SEC logo on them, a gift from A&M, sat at Slive’s feet.