Nov. 12, 2008

I read a column in the local paper this week in which a writer gave his observations on the differences between our football team and the University of Oklahoma football team.

The writer alluded to the depth of the OU team and said the Aggies need to get better in that area, but need to concentrate on building our first 22 before we try and build the next 22. Plus, the article said we need to get better on offense and on defense, and oh yes, find a way to avoid injuries. Really? I wished I had thought of that.

One of the questions I'm asked most is how we got to this position. There are no easy answers and most answers I could offer would be perceived by some as excuses. I'm not going to make excuses. With that said, we did not get in this position overnight, and we won't be able to get out of it overnight either. But, under the leadership of Coach Mike Sherman, we are taking steps in the right direction and I'm confident in the future of our program.

Thanks to the generosity of many donors, we have some of the very best facilities in the nation. Also, we are doing the necessary things financially to maintain quality assistant coaches.

I am convinced that keeping quality staff in place is one of the most important keys to winning. You keep recruiting contacts current, you have a chance to watch youngsters develop from freshmen to seniors, and you keep the same system and terminology in place. Consistency helps you win, and we have lacked consistency in our coaching staffs.

I really like what Mike Sherman is trying to do here. He's building discipline. He's stressing academic performance. He's holding everyone accountable. He's putting the best players available on the field, and he's recruiting very well.

Clearly we have made the commitment to build our program, and I believe more results will be seen in our recruiting quickly.

I mentioned in a few columns back I thought we were doing very well in recruiting, and I received a very strong response from some readers. I still think we are doing well, and I have faith in the evaluation abilities of our coaches. I know a lot of you put a lot of stock in whether we attract a lot of three, four or five star recruits. I don't know anything about the folks who are assigning those stars, but I do know about the experience of our football staff, and I trust their judgment. 

A few years ago, I read an article about a motorcycle repair man who handles evaluations for one of the recruiting websites. In that article he mentioned he could tell whether a youngster was a BCS-level lineman in less than a minute. That's impressive, because I know a lot of college coaches who will tell you projecting a lineman's abilities takes a lot longer than one minute. 

Last Saturday at Kyle Field was not fun for any of us, but we are committed to Building Champions here at Texas A&M, and we will do so. 

This week our game against Baylor will kickoff at 3:05 p.m. at Floyd Casey Stadium in Waco. You can listen to the game on your local affiliate of the Texas A&M Sports Network or on Sirius Satellite Radio channel 123.

Due to a city ordinance in Waco, Midnight Yell Practice will be held at 11:30 on Friday, November 14 at Indian Springs Park, 101 S. University Parks Drive.

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Two weeks ago in Lubbock, game officials reported over 500 attempts to use fake tickets to get in the stadium. This week, we did not have any reports of counterfeit tickets at Kyle Field, but we did discover at least two fans wearing OU apparel using fake Big 12 Conference credentials on our sidelines. We know it's at least the second stadium where individuals have tried to use this same fake credential for sideline access. Ironically, the perpetrators had valid tickets and did not need the fake credentials to get in the stadium. Police removed them from the sidelines, and we sent the fake credentials to the conference office.

It was an exciting Sunday afternoon for one garbage truck driver on campus. We fill up many, many dumpsters on a football game weekend, and it takes a couple of those big garbage trucks several trips to the landfill to haul away the waste from Kyle Field. During post game cleanup, one driver emptied a dumpster into his truck and saw smoke coming out from the back. After realizing it was fire causing the smoke, he emptied his truck in the parking lot and called the fire department to put it out. No one was injured during the fire, but it does serve as a good reminder not to put hot coals or burnt wood into trash receptacles. We have provided containers throughout the tailgating area to accommodate hot coals and burnt wood.

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Aggies pride themselves on being some of the best fans anywhere in college football. Everyone who attended a game at Kyle Field this season deserves a pat on the back. Despite a difficult season on the field, the 12th Man filled Kyle Field to the third highest single season average in school history. More than 575,000 fans helped us average 82,193 each game at Kyle Field this year. We were 14-persons fewer on average as compared to our second best average set in 2007. This was the fifth time we have reached the half-million plateau.

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I was really impressed with the number of fans who turned out for last week's men's and women's basketball exhibition games, particularly the students. Both teams looked like the season was just starting at times, while also looking brilliant at other times. We are very young, but we look very talented. It's going to be a good year in hoops.

Our women are ranked No. 10 in the nation by USA Today and will tip-off the regular season Friday against Mercer at 8 p.m. We set a slightly later start time to allow fans to attend our NCAA soccer game against Texas State at 7 p.m. across the street. It will be Fish Camp/T-Camp night at the women's basketball game and any one wearing their Fish Camp or T-Camp shirt will get in free.

It will be a short home-stand for our women, because beginning Sunday we will play our next six games on the road. First stop is Baton Rouge, La., at 4 p.m. on Sunday for an ESPN2 game against Pittsburgh as part of the State Farm Women's Tip-Off Classic.

Our men's team starts the season on Sunday when Arkansas-Pine Bluff visits Reed Arena at 4 p.m. Next Tuesday night, we'll host Stephen F. Austin at 7 p.m.

Season tickets are on sale now for both men's and women's basketball. We are also offering special 6-packs of men's games for weekday and weekend schedules. Contact the Athletic Ticket Office at 1-888-99-AGGIE or click here for more information.

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I saw a lot of you at the select-a-seat open house Saturday morning in the new McFerrin Athletic Center's Gilliam Track and Field Stadium. I was truly impressed by how many seats you purchased. We proudly placed "sold" signs on each seat selected. One of my favorite comments was said in jest I'm sure, but a lot of you mentioned we had underpriced the season tickets. We thought it had been such a long time since we have held a track meet here in College Station, and we wanted to keep the prices low to get you back in the habit of coming to meets. If you were unable to attend our select-a-seat open house, but would like to purchase season tickets for indoor track, please contact the Athletic Ticket Office at 1-888-99-AGGIE or click here. We have an incredible inaugural season that includes the Big 12 and NCAA Championship meets in our new facility.

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Our soccer team received a No. 3-seed in the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship and will host first and second round games here beginning Friday. We will host Southland Conference tournament champion Texas State at 7 p.m. Friday, while LSU will play Washington at 4 p.m. The winners will play on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. It's our 14th straight appearance in the NCAA Championship. You may purchase all-session tickets now by calling the Athletic Ticket Office at 1-888-99-AGGIE or by clicking here. Single day tickets can be purchased beginning on Friday.

The first 1,000 Texas A&M students with a valid student ID will be admitted free on Friday courtesy of David Gardner's Jewelers.

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This is a big week for Aggie Volleyball. Iowa State comes to town on Wednesday, and we need to win all of our remaining matches to be eligible for the NCAA Tournament. We played very well against what is likely another national contending Nebraska team last Wednesday at G. Rollie White Coliseum. We fell 15-13 in the fifth set. As long as we continue to improve the way we did against Nebraska, we will be just fine.

I hope to see a lot of you Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. against Iowa State. We will be hosting a Class of 2012 Appreciation Night, and the MSC FISH will be holding a pregame carnival in front of G. Rollie featuring free pizza, drinks, games and inflatables. I also hope many of you can arrive in Waco early on Saturday and support our team at noon when we face Baylor in volleyball before our football game. 

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Our No. 2-ranked equestrian team had a big win last week at Oklahoma State as our riders ended OSU's 11-show home winning streak. We remain unbeaten this season with a record of 4-0, and we are one of two teams in the country with a perfect record. This Saturday, we host No. 6-ranked TCU at 1 p.m. at the Brazos County Expo Complex in Bryan.

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Softball season is just around the corner, and we have a few schedule changes to pass along to you. We had a three-game series with Arizona scheduled in mid-February, but a conflict with Arizona has forced us to switch the series by a week in conjunction with one of our tournaments. We will still play three games against the Wildcats, but we'll also face the teams in our tournament earlier each day. After reaching the championship game last year at the Women's College World Series, I'm sure season tickets will be going fast for this season. For information on 2009 season tickets for Aggie Softball, please contact the Athletic Ticket Office at 1-888-99-AGGIE or click here.

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The early signing period began today in several sports. Congratulations to men's golf coach J.T. Higgins on his impressive early signing class. J.T. signed three of the nation's top golfers: Cameron Peck (Olympia, Wash.), Ryan Kelley (The Woodlands, Texas) and Ryan Blair (Center Valley, Pa.). Cameron is the 2008 Rolex Junior National Player of the Year, and he is ranked as the No. 1 player nationally in the Polo Golf Rankings. Ryan Kelley has five top-20 finishes at AJGA events, while Ryan Blair has won three times and finished runner-up twice in five consecutive International Junior Golf Tour events.

Click here for more information on our early signees in a variety of sports.

Recruiting is the life blood of our programs. Today, several of our teams announced early signing classes which rank among the best in the nation. Click here for more information on our early signees in a variety of sports.

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Finally, good luck to our cross country runners competing in the NCAA Regional Championships in Waco on Saturday. We will be competing for the opportunity to advance to the NCAA Championships in Indiana in a few weeks.

The women start at 10 a.m. and the men will follow at 10:45 a.m. at Cottonwood Creek Golf Course in Waco. The top two teams will receive an automatic berth into the championship meet while the top four individual finishers not on an advancing team qualify as well.

Our men are the top-ranked team in the region, thanks in part to senior Shadrack Songok, who was the runner-up at the Big 12 Championships recently. The last time the NCAA Regional was in Waco, Shadrack won the South Central title taking the 2006 victory in 29:41 over the 10,000-meter course. He defended his title in Arkansas last fall with a 29:17 winning time.

Christina Munoz will be seeking her second consecutive NCAA berth as she paces our women's team. Last season, she claimed the fourth and final position as an individual qualifier with her fifth-place effort.

I hope you will be like me and make it a three-fer on Saturday in Waco. Let's start the day with NCAA Cross Country Regional Championships, before supporting the Aggie volleyball team at Baylor's Ferrell Center, and then it's across town to Floyd Casey Stadium for the football game. And for the College Station locals, you can make it four events in Waco if you stick around for A&M Consolidated High School's playoff football game.

It should be a fun Saturday in our annual Battle for the Brazos.