In this last message until mid-June, IÕm pleased to announce four positive additions in Aggie athletics Ð two arrived at by vote, and two by hiring.

¥ Hullabaloo is the name of our new spirit band for volleyball and basketball.

¥ Christopher Hollar is its new director.

¥ Dave Hrechkosy is our new concessions manager.

¥ And we are PlantersÕ winners of their ÒNuttiest Fans in AmericaÓ contest, good for $10,000.

These are exciting times to be an Aggie.

* * *

With around 1,500 votes cast in the last week, the verdict is in on the name of the new spirit band, and Hullabaloo won in a relatively close vote over Maroon Crew (about 55% to 45%). IÕm just thrilled at the response from so many of you fans about the new band and for helping us decide on its name. The voting response the last two weeks says a lot about the passion that Ags have.

Three people submitted the name Hullabaloo, so a tip of the Aggie cap to Donald Powell, Peter Borsack, and Linda Smith. There were a few variations on the Hullabaloo theme, but they didnÕt make the cut. I liked Hullabaloo from the outset. Many of the great names in music are known by one word Ð Pavarotti, Barbra, Willie, Waylon, Enya, and of course my favorite, the Met.

* * *

We were able to hire a band director away from the Volunteers. Christopher Hollar was an assistant director of the University of Tennessee bands and director of a local high school band in the Knoxville community. I understand that heÕs already burned all the sheet music on ÒRocky Top,Ó and heÕs fired up to start leading us in the ÒAggie War HymnÓ and a variety of other lively musical selections.

Christopher also will serve as director of the Texas A&M Jazz Band in the band department. My guess is weÕll hear some Dixieland and Preservation Hall music when we go to the first volleyball game. ÒJoe AveryÕs PieceÓ is my favorite, a legendary tune with big Sousaphone and brass sounds. It has a great intro by a bass line. This will be really fun stuff.

During the interview process ChristopherÕs intensity about having music as part of the game was very impressive. He wants to make sure that the music, dancing, and fans complement each other in making Reed Arena and G. Rollie White difficult places for opponents to play.

Now we just need a few more musicians to sign up, and weÕre ready to start working with the Aggie director of bands Tim Rhea, the Aggie dance team, and the Yell Leaders on the home-court advantage they will all help Christopher and Hullabaloo create in volleyball and basketball next year.

* * *

Another great steal was getting Dave Hrechkosy from the University of Utah. ÒUtah Dave,Ó as everybody is already calling him around here, will lead the way in revamping our entire approach to concessions.

Our thinking is that we can offer a great selection of products at the lowest possible prices. We have to generate a healthy profit to help keeps the Aggies in the black, but we felt by bringing someone in-house to manage concessions we could control our expenses better and meet the needs of Aggies everywhere.

For one thing, you can expect some surprises and fun things outside the stadium as well as the usual inside.

My thanks to Aramark and their staff for the service they have provided while working hard for us the last few years. They helped set the stage for our future plans.

* * *

Finally, after a long wait since the end of voting, weÕve learned that the folks at Kraft Foods have crowned us with the ÒNuttiest FansÓ recognition. We are grateful for the $10,000 contribution that goes along with the title, and a tip of the Aggie cap to each of you who voted and helped make that possible.

* * *

Another tip of the Aggie cap goes to the womenÕs archery team for its national collegiate championship last weekend. Amber Dawson, just a junior, led the way to the team title on Saturday in the seeding round at Harrisonburg, Va.

Senior Mary Zorn added one more world record, her 10th, to her amazing record in winning her fourth consecutive collegiate championship in compound bow division.

Today, U.S. Archery announced that the entire U.S. squad will consist of Texas A&M archers in the compound division of the World University Championships in Madrid, Spain, July 20-24. Amber, Mary and sophomore Amanda Raffaelli earned the three spots with their 1-2-3 finish in the seeding round last weekend.

Senior Lorinda Cohen earned the No. 1 team spot at the World University Championships in the recurve division. She will join Stephanie Miller of Columbia and Kate Anderson of UCLA on the U.S. team.

We had 10 shooters earn All-American honors, determined by combining scores of the national indoor and outdoor championships this year.

* * *

We have a huge baseball series against Texas this weekend, with games at Olsen on Saturday and Sunday, and five of our teams in tennis, golf, and softball have advanced to NCAA championship competition at various sites this week.

Just seven schools had both their menÕs and womenÕs tennis teams move into the Sweet Sixteen. The Aggie men play No. 3 UCLA in Tulsa, Okla., Saturday, and the Aggie women take on Clemson at the University of Georgia in Athens tomorrow. In fact, Texas A&M and UCLA are the only two schools to make the menÕs Sweet Sixteen the last five years in a row.

The softball team also plays in Athens tomorrow, facing Big 10 tournament champion Michigan State. The NCAA womenÕs golf championship tournament is underway in Opelika, Ala., near Auburn, and the menÕs NCAA regional tournament starts this week in Hutchinson, Kan.

Wherever you are, whoop it up for Aggies wherever they are. IÕll see you in June and talk about the topics from the upcoming Big 12 meetings in Albuquerque.

Gig Ôem, Ags!