Forget that destructive Longhorn Network, squabbles over the distribution of money and political maneuvering.

It turns out that Texas A&M's last season in the Big 12 is going to center around manure. Specifically dog poop — and whether or not some Texas Tech backers spread the stuff around the Aggies football team buses on their weekend visit to Lubbock.

As CultureMap told you on Saturday, Texas A&M officials say that their football buses were vandalized overnight Friday while the team slept with athletic director Bill Byrne tweeting that "excrement" was inside and outside of the buses. Byrne later told reporters that the substance was dog poop.

Well, the lovely people of Lubbock aren't too happy with the way their town's being painted in manure and Texas Tech is firing back.

Sure, Tech officials allow, the A&M buses were vandalized. But it was with "fish bait" not dog poop. Hey, we've got some class!

​Texas Tech has gone as far as issuing a five-paragraph statement on poop gate. That's longer than the statement the school released when it fired head coach Mike Leach for allegedly banishing a player who wanted to sit out a practice with a concussion to a dark equipment shed.

The Tech manure statement:

"Many of you are aware of a tweet from a Texas A&M official that their team buses were spray painted and animal feces were spread inside of the buses early Saturday morning. The clear implication of the tweet was that this was the responsibility of Texas Tech fans or students. Texas Tech has conducted an investigation regarding this allegation, and has discovered the following

- The buses were not spray painted. Instead, washable shoe polish was used on the windows of one of the buses.

- No feces were found either in or on the buses. Fish bait was dropped onto the floor of one of the buses.

- The alleged "vandalism" was cleaned by the bus drivers and Holiday Inn staff before it was seen by the A&M official who tweeted the information.

"While incidents such as the ones alleged are inappropriate and strongly condemned by Texas Tech, it is no less wrong to condemn the entirety of our university, students and supporters by posting inaccurate information on the internet for the purpose of sensationalizing the actions of one or a very few. We are disturbed by the careless use of social media to share these inaccuracies."

Ooh, a scolding about "careless use of social media."

For its part, Texas A&M is declining further comment on the bus vandalizing, essentially letting its original version stand as its version. Byrne is even more emphatic with his last tweet on the matter reading, "Highway Patrol has pictures and Lubbock police were contacted. Drivers cleaned buses. Bus 3 still reeks."

Bus three is the bus without an operating lock, the one that Byrne said had dog poop was spread "from one end to the other" on the interior of this bus. The AD said the other three buses with working locks had the dog poop spread on their exteriors.

Who the crap to believe?

I haven't had much experience dealing with Texas Tech officials, but Byrne is one of the rare upfront athletic directors in the country. He actually answers reporters questions as a matter of routine rather than leaning on sports information types to shield him. The guess would be that he knows what dog poop looks like.

What exactly are they using as fish bait in Lubbock?