Austin and College Station mayors Lee Leffingwell and Ben White have a wager in Thursday’s Longhorn–Aggie matchup.
Instead of doling out Benjamins, though, the losing mayor has to plant trees in the winner’s city. White said he had been hoping to add a mayoral twist to the 116-year-old rivalry since being elected two years ago, but then-Austin mayor Will Wynn, an A&M graduate, declined.
White said when he heard Leffingwell is a Longhorn alum, he jumped at the opportunity.
“I called him up, and he loved the idea,” White said. “We got it all squared away.”
Matt Curtis, a spokesman for Leffingwell, said trees became the medium to gamble to make the bet a civic-oriented wager.
“You always hear about elected officials betting on small tokens that don’t add to the community value,” Curtis said. “[Leffingwell and White] felt that trees were going to benefit the community in the long run.”
Curtis said the details of the post-game transactions have yet to be worked out but he isn’t worried about the exact number of trees.
“The city of College Station has been very polite in working with us on this,” Curtis said.
“Ultimately, they are going to have to give us trees.”
White said Austin oak trees would be most likely planted in College Station if the Aggies win, and crape myrtles would be planted in Austin if the Aggies lost. He said crape myrtles carry a significant sentimental value.
“Crape myrtles bloom maroon and white in the spring, and we’re maroon and white,” White said. “Being the school of the 12th man, we’d probably also plant 12 trees.”
White, who predicts an Aggie victory, said he thinks the idea can become an annual wager.
“I would certainly hope that it does continue and catches on,” White said. “We felt we had to start somewhere. This year is that somewhere.”
Curtis said he hopes the tradition continues as well.
“We would certainly like to see an ongoing bet,” Curtis said. “If Mayor Leffingwell serves six years, that means we’ll get to win free trees six years in a row.”
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