Sept. 2, 2009

One of the things I like to use this column for is to update you on the progress of items like future football schedules, facilities, and bits of information about Aggie Athletics you won't read anywhere else. I think you will like this tidbit of information about our future football schedule.

I am happy to report we will be adding two west coast schools to our football schedule, the USC Trojans and the Oregon Ducks. Non-conference football schedules are usually arranged as many as 10 years in advance.

We are finalizing a series with USC for 2015 and 2016. Meanwhile, you can mark your calendars for September of 2018 when we will play at Oregon. The Ducks will visit Kyle Field in September of 2019.

When you combine USC and Oregon with the non-conference games we have planned with Arkansas, SMU and others in the coming seasons, I think our future football schedules will be challenging and highly entertaining.

Oregon is a personal one for me. I was athletic director there for almost 10 years. We were never able to schedule the Ducks when I was at Nebraska. But, when the dates worked out here, I jumped on it. Oregon has a great venue, and gorgeous scenery. I think our fans will love to travel to the Pacific Northwest in September of 2018.

The same is true for USC. The Coliseum has hosted two Olympics during its storied history. Plus, Southern California has Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm and beautiful beaches. It will be another fun place for our fans to visit.

Stay tuned, tickets will go on before you know it!

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I can't believe my favorite time of year is here already. I left for work at my usual time on Monday, and it took me almost 45 minutes to go nine miles. It's true almost every year we have first day of school traffic. It reinforces that football season must be near.

I've been a little disappointed in the number of season football tickets renewed this year. We are down about 13 percent in season ticket sales to date. However, I am encouraged by the number of football options our students have purchased.

Since early August, I've attended about a third of our football practices. I can report we will be a better team this season. I'm not promising an appearance in a BCS game, but I think you are going to like the speed and athleticism we've added to our roster.

Much of that new speed and athleticism is young, like almost half of our roster. Many of our players are barely shaving. You may recall we played 10 true freshmen last year, and I see us playing twice that many this season. Take a look at our depth chart. We have many freshmen listed as starting, and many of the backups at other positions are freshmen, too. There are so many kids out there contributing in practice each day, and many of them are guys who are first- and second-year players.

As for the future, I could not be more pleased with the way our coaches are recruiting for 2010. We are going to be even more talented. As in every rebuilding project, it won't happen overnight. It will happen though.

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I hope you are making plans to join us at Kyle Field this Saturday. Kickoff against New Mexico is at 6 p.m. We are anticipating a huge walkup crowd. You can buy tickets in advance online, at Kyle Field or at Reed Arena during the week. Why wait in line on Saturday? If you find yourself in a line for tickets in the Zone Plaza, you can walk around the press box side of the stadium to the McFerrin Athletic Center and purchase tickets at the windows in the front. This is the new facility which houses our indoor track.

We have a variety of ticket options for this season. Season tickets start at $250 for our discount section in The Zone, and we have other seating options available by clicking here. Plus, we are offering half-price tickets in the south end zone bleachers for the New Mexico game.

If you graduated from Texas A&M since 1999, we are offering a special Recent Grad ticket option for the New Mexico game. Recent graduates from '99 to `09 can purchase a half-price ticket in several non-student sections by clicking here. Use your four-digit class year as the promotion code.

If you can't make it to the game, you can listen on the Texas A&M Sports Network to Dave South, Dave Elmendorf and Tom Turbiville. The game will also be offered on Sirius Satellite Radio channel 130 and on AggieAthletics.com.

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Speaking of the McFerrin Athletic Center, we will open the facility at 2:30 p.m. as a Cool Zone for those fans who want an air conditioned place to retreat on Saturday. We'll offer concessions and ice cold drinks on the concourse, and the seating area will be available for you to relax in. And we will have the radio broadcast available, too. The facility will remain open until the start of the third quarter.

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Few things about our game day atmosphere receive more comments than our weekly flyovers by military aircraft. Over the years, we've been fortunate to have all sorts of aircraft fly over Kyle Field. From Stealth Fighters (F-117's) to F-18s to Apache Helicopters, we've seen them all. In fact, providing the flyover at Kyle Field is so popular among our servicemen and women, we have a waiting list of sorts each year.

Because this is Labor Day weekend, coordinating a military flyover has been a challenge. We've been informed all military bases are closed for the weekend in observance of Labor Day which causes issues in certifying aircraft for flying.

No military entity was able to provide a flyover so our staff got creative.

This week, our flyover will feature four North American SNJ-4 Texan World War II Navy airplanes. These single engine aircraft will be flown by members of the Commemorative Air Force, Central Texas Wing, from San Marcos.

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We are always looking for ways to improve the game day experience for our fans. This year is no different. In the offseason, our staff made several operations related changes to Kyle Field, which I think will be positive for all in attendance.

For years, we have prohibited fans at Kyle Field from bringing in umbrellas, seat back cushions larger than 16 inches, alcohol, food, and strollers. However, we were paying staff at the gates to hold the items for fans and issue claim checks for the prohibited items.

No longer will we issue claim checks for prohibited items. Fans will be instructed to leave these items in their cars or outside the stadium.

The exception will be strollers. We will offer a Disney World type stroller parking area between Gates 10 and 11. Fans can bring their strollers and park them in a designated stroller parking area inside Gates 10 and 11. No claim check will be issued, and stroller owners will assume all responsibility. This process works at Disney World and many other places, and we are confident it will work at Kyle Field, too.

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The Aggie Fan Zone is back this season. Despite the construction and renovation of the MSC, our pregame fan fest will continue in its usual space. Because of some logistic challenges created by the construction fences at the MSC, you might find a few of your favorite vendors located in different locations. Click here for an Aggie Fan Zone map and information.

Please set your watches for Spirit Walk and Kids Yell Practice. The team's Spirit Walk will originate in the same location at the intersection Joe Routt and Houston Street near G. Rollie White Coliseum. It will happen about 2.5 hours before kickoff. We are also pleased to continue our very popular Kids Yell Practice which happens about 15 minutes before Spirit Walk. The Yell Leaders will be leading this special activity for the kids.

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One of the other changes at Kyle Field comes via the concession stands. I'm pleased to report Kyle Field is being used as a test market site for a national initiative by one of our corporate partners Coca-Cola. We will be offering four flavors of a new Iced Tea brand from Coke at six concession stands in the stadium. Plus, we will test market sales of Coke's Vitamin Water brand at our concession stand on the first level of The Zone and out in the Aggie Fan Zone.

Other new items at the concession stands are Slovacek Sausage Wraps, and 1st & 10 nachos. The 1st & 10 nachos feature your choice of chili or cheese on top of chips with a side of jalapenos. I can't wait! We will be testing the sales of the nachos on the first level of The Zone and on the ground level of the west side.

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Mark your calendars for our game with Arkansas which will be played on Oct. 3 at the new Cowboys Stadium. We have just over 3,000 tickets remaining for the Southwest Classic. The response from our fans in the Metroplex has been incredible. Our students have purchased almost 4,700 tickets since we put those on sale this past Saturday morning.

We are working with the Cowboys to add some additional ticketing options to accommodate our student demand.

You can contact the Athletic Ticket Office at 1-888-99-AGGIE to purchase your tickets for the Southwest Classic.

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We had a busy weekend on campus. We had three volleyball games and two soccer games, plus some prospective student athletes and their parents making last minute decisions on whether to transfer to A&M. Many of these athletes would become immediately eligible because of an NCAA exception called the one-time transfer rule.

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Because of the renovations at the MSC, we moved our volleyball team from G. Rollie White Coliseum to Reed Arena in order to accommodate the MSC Bookstore move to the floor of G. Rollie.

I was pleasantly surprised how well Reed Arena accommodated our volleyball team.

We put up a large curtain which blocks the east end and provides a sense of intimacy. Our ribbon boards showed stats in an easy to read format and the old scoreboard provided the score and some statistics, too. We raised the center hanging 12th Man TV from 32 feet to 35 feet to accommodate any high returning digs.

Hullabaloo Band was better than ever. They added a great deal to the environment.

Our volleyball atmosphere is unique and creative. The students were into the matches, and they made Reed Arena feel like our team had played there for years.

Our team played well. We won all three matches and finished as champions of the Texas A&M Invitational.

Congratulations to freshman middle blocker Alisia Kastmo who was named Big 12 Rookie of the Week after hitting .700, and posting 14 kills with zero errors in 20 attack attempts as we started the season 3-0. Also, senior outside hitter Mary Batis was named the National Player of the Week by College Volleyball Update (CVU.com) following her tournament MVP performance over the weekend.

After a trip to northern California this weekend to face Saint Mary's and San Francisco, our team will return to Reed Arena to host the Italian National Team on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. You can purchase tickets by calling the ticket office at 1-888-99-AGGIE or by clicking here.

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I've never seen a soccer match start with a team scoring on the opening kick, but that's what happened on Friday as Purdue scored on the opening kickoff. It took them four seconds.

Our sixth-ranked team battled back and took the lead in the first half, but was eventually outscored 3-2. Coach G called it a learning experience.

We have a bunch of talented players who are speedy, athletic, and acrobatic. The bottom line is we are good and fun to watch. Plus, the atmosphere is fantastic. We had 6,589 fans on Friday night including over 4,000 students as part of Fish Camp reunion night.

Sunday, our team beat UTSA, 3-0, to improve to 2-1 on the season.

The next two weeks our team will be on the road with matches at California, Saint Mary's and North Carolina. We will host our next home game on September 18 against No. 3 Portland at 7 p.m.

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This Friday, our cross country team will open the season at Baylor at 6:30 p.m. Next Saturday, Sept. 12, we will host our only home meet of the season. It's your lone chance to see our athletes compete in person. The Texas A&M Invitational will start at 7:45 a.m. at the Penberthy Fields on west campus.

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Our Junior Aggie Club is one of the best entertainment values in town. For $25, a child receives free admission to many Aggie athletic events and to the football game against UAB. Family members of Junior Aggie Club members also get half-price admission to the UAB game, too! This year we will have about 160 athletic events available for members of the Junior Aggie Club to attend for free. Click here for more information about joining the Junior Aggie Club.

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We are coming off one of the greatest years in Aggie Athletics history. We doubled the number of NCAA national championships we have won by taking the number to six after our success in men's golf, and men's and women's track and field.

Equestrian also won the national championship of their governing body. I hope equestrian becomes a NCAA recognized sport soon, because they deserve the recognition the NCAA brand brings.

Our goal is to Build Champions at Texas A&M, and we are well on our way. As those folksy guys who were in the Bartles & Jaymes commercials used to say, "And we thank you for your support."