TAMUCC merger with TAMUK appears to be on the table


It appears a merger between Texas A&M University Corpus Christi and Texas A&M University Kingsville is on the table. The two universities have existed separately for decades, and merging them would likely be a tough task.

State lawmakers tell us it's being talked about. In fact, one of them, State Senator Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, says it'll be discussed in the Texas A&M Board of Regents meeting next week, up in College Station.

The combined school would have roughly 20,000 students between the two campuses.

"(It) would be a win-win for this area... For quite some time, you have seen other universities merge and create greater funding, more programs, and certainly more investment in research," Hinojosa says.


http://www.kristv.com/story/33617716/tam...-the-table

TAMU-CC is DI in the Southland. They do not have football.
TAMU-K is DII in the Lone Star. They have football.

Purdue Calumet and Purdue North Central did this very thing this year rebranding as Purdue Northwest and moving from NAIA to D2 (neither played football). They are probably 40 miles apart.

I wonder where the main campus would be located? Hopefully in Corpus.

(11-03-2016 02:40 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  I wonder where the main campus would be located? Hopefully in Corpus.

How far apart are the two campuses?

Not very far, same metro area IIRC.

(11-03-2016 02:44 PM)TardisCaptain Wrote:  

(11-03-2016 02:40 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  I wonder where the main campus would be located? Hopefully in Corpus.

How far apart are the two campuses?

50 road miles.

Hmm...First UTPA and UTB merger to UT-RGV....
Now CC and Kingsville. Makes sense. I can see it CC remaining although they are pretty land locked on the island they are on.

At least some school boards are looking to make sense with some of these schools......probably won't happen in Louisiana though/

If it made sense for UTRGV, I can see it making sense here.

Interesting thing is what will happen to Kingsville athletic dept. Will it essentially just disappear, with athletes allowed to transfer at will? I guess that would be the easiest.

Wonder if they'd have any interest in starting football at Corpus, and hiring the Kingsville coaches, buying their equipment, etc. Heck, maybe even playing games in Kingsville, in the Southland?

Keep football in Kingsville but at FCS, as they have an 18k stadium. Maybe the Belt would be interested in the merged school. Corpus had talked about Southland FCS in the past, but never delivered. The fb team would probably have to transition, but don't know for sure.

Keep basketball in Corpus. Softball and baseball go where the best stadiums are. Corpus also has soccer, but Kingsville does not.

Keep the Javelinas nickname. Much more distinctive than Islanders.

I would think the new school would have a new "regional" name, new nickname, and possible new colors.

Not necessarily. Both schools, especially Kingsville, are well known in Texas, so you don't destroy the branding by a name change unless it's a really good idea. And there's no name I can think of that would stand out (A&M Gulf Coast, A&M South Texas, etc...) So one or the other would make a ton of sense.

(11-03-2016 04:45 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  Not neecessarily. Both schools, especially Kingsville, are well known in Texas, so you don't destroy the branding by a name change unless it's a really good idea. And there's no name I can think of that would stand out (A&M Gulf Coast, A&M South Texas, etc...) So one or the other would make a ton of sense.

Never understood why Kingsville changed their name from Texas A&I. Probably A&M politics.

Texas A&M Corpus-Kingsville would work.

Unless they used both sites, one or the other.

Why wouldn't they use both sites?? You can't be proposing to send all K'ville kids to Corpus or vice versa, and just bulldoze all the campus buildings at the other site??

The reason why I said a new name is that they're obviously going to utilize all of the assets of both campuses, like UTRGV is doing.

(11-03-2016 03:17 PM)MplsBison Wrote:  If it made sense for UTRGV, I can see it making sense here.

Interesting thing is what will happen to Kingsville athletic dept. Will it essentially just disappear, with athletes allowed to transfer at will? I guess that would be the easiest.

Wonder if they'd have any interest in starting football at Corpus, and hiring the Kingsville coaches, buying their equipment, etc. Heck, maybe even playing games in Kingsville, in the Southland?

Hopefully they retain the Javelins nickname.

Well, I wouldn't be rooting for them to get a new nickname ... I'm just saying, why wouldn't they do that? New institution, new identity ... new branding.

UTRGV is the relevant example. Someone mentioned another example in Indiana, doing the same.

(11-03-2016 05:18 PM)MplsBison Wrote:  Well, I wouldn't be rooting for them to get a new nickname ... I'm just saying, why wouldn't they do that? New institution, new identity ... new branding.

UTRGV is the relevant example. Someone mentioned another example in Indiana, doing the same.

My undergraduate institution (Case Western) is the result of a merger in the 60s. They did new branding, new mascot, new colors. And it completely destroyed the two schools' athletic followings.

Makes sense given how close they are.

But I would hope that the new AD keeps the Javelinas name and colors. The Javs have a long and proud tradition since their Texas A&I days. The Islanders not so much

(11-03-2016 05:14 PM)MplsBison Wrote:  Why wouldn't they use both sites?? You can't be proposing to send all K'ville kids to Corpus or vice versa, and just bulldoze all the campus buildings at the other site??

The reason why I said a new name is that they're obviously going to utilize all of the assets of both campuses, like UTRGV is doing.

Unless the campuses are a 5 miles apart, what sense would it make to keep both? Maybe if they stay at Kingsville and keep the aquatics and maritime programs at Corpus as a campus extension would it. Otherwise, they're so far apart they'd be branch campuses and that redundancy is what is being eliminated here.