re: Was there this much honest resentment about A&M and Mizzou?

There was an element of "We don't need them", sure. But I think there was general agreement that Texas A&M would be acceptable (we didn't know how weird they were back then). A lot of people wanted West Virginia instead of Missouri. Missouri just felt like a weak addition we had to take in order to bring Texas A&M in. Since then, it's been a lot of regret. I'm not sure to what degree that regret is just hazing and jokes. But, I can almost guarantee how we currently feel about Texas and Oklahoma joining is the best we will ever feel about this expansion.