Much of the fallout was blamed on Texas' decision to start its own Longhorn Network to televise its sports teams. Byrne was among those opposed to the move and he disagreed with his Texas counterpart, DeLoss Dodds, on whether Texas A&M was offered a chance to join the Longhorns in the venture.
Byrne kept the message positive on Tuesday, and turned the focus more toward the athletics programs' unprecedented growth over the last 10 years.
A $36 million multi-purpose indoor football facility opened in 2008 and a $26 million renovation to the baseball stadium was completed earlier this year.
Byrne said the athletics department's foundation now boasts about 15,000 donors and was nearly debt-free.
"If you listen to what has happened over the last 10 years, our students, our coaches and all of you, expect to win when the Aggies take the field," Byrne said. "I think that's one of the best things we've done here is change the culture."
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AP Sports Writer Kristie Rieken contributed to this report from Houston.
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