COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Texas A&M President Robert Gates has sent a letter of apology to his counterpart at Texas Tech for disparaging remarks about the West Texas university that made their way into A&M's recently published football media guide.

The media guide -- which usually contains facts and figures -- reprinted a story from an alumni magazine that took aim at Tech and its hometown, Lubbock.

The piece called Tech fans "classless clowns'' for their part in a fight between Tech and A&M fans in Lubbock last year after the Red Raiders' 12-0 shutout of the Aggies. The magazine story recounted how Tech students tried to plant a goalpost into the visiting fans' section.

The home fans "were even uglier than the barren stretch of dirt some West Texans call a city,'' the magazine said.

"I want to express my personal regret over the inclusion of disparaging remarks about Texas Tech University and Lubbock in Texas A&M's football media guide,'' Gates wrote in a letter sent to Texas Tech President David J. Schmidly on Thursday. "It was a lamentable mistake, for which a public apology already has been made.''

Gates said the media guide will be recalled and the "offensive comments'' will be removed before it is reissued.

"We accept President Gates' gracious apology, and we look forward to continuing our healthy rivalry with a renewed spirit of good sportsmanship,'' Schmidly said.

A&M sports information director Alan Cannon has previously said the passages were mistakenly placed into the 404-page media guide.