State's 7-on-7 Tourney Will be Back at A&M...For Now

By: Steve Fullhart - Email

Updated: Tue 10:46 PM, Jan 31, 2012

The state's 7-on-7 football tournament will be back at Texas A&M, at least for this summer.

As News 3 reported last week, Aggie Athletics Director Bill Byrne had gotten a waiver from the SEC. Now, the Bryan/College Station Convention and Visitors Bureau says the NCAA has granted a waiver of its own.

A&M has hosted the state tournament for 14 years, but SEC rules prohibit such events from being held on campus because it could be a competitive advantage.

Byrne told News 3 they were working to get a longer-term approval from A&M's new conference and the NCAA that would allow them to keep the tournament.

According to the CVB, some 18,000 people attend the three-day event, which is scheduled to start on July 19 this year. The estimated economic impact on the local economy is a little less than $1 million.

"This tournament has become a community tradition and brings visitors from across the state to Bryan-College Station for three days," said Kindra Fry, CVB Director of Group Sales, in a statement. "For the teams that qualify, this is the only place they have ever known the tournament to be hosted. It has been their goal to make it to Bryan-College Station for a long time. We are so happy to have them here again."

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