aggiewoodie

A&M has only had the elements that make it a dream job for about a decade- it started with the move to the SEC, which got it out of the shadows of Texas long enough to grow, Manziel brought a lot of the spotlight, and between SEC revenue, an expanded fan base, and reengaged donors the annual revenue really began climbing. With the larger revenue, A&M remodeled Kyle, starting in ‘13 from a moderate sized (like 75K seats) ‘80s concrete monstrosity to a giant but really nice stadium, they then built a new athletics headquarters including locker rooms, the first real indoor practice facility (which just got replaced with an even nicer facility)…all of that- doubled revenue, more than $1B in athletics facilities upgrades (similar more than $1B in general university facilities upgrades, too), and general increase in support from staff and alumni, is JUST IN THE LAST DECADE.

Their bands weren’t necessarily formed in College Station but legends Robert Earl Keen and Lyle Lovett graduated from Texas A&M, in ‘78 and ‘80, respectively, and actually lived near each other in the bar area north of campus, called Northgate. They would play with each other on their front porches, which is how they co-wrote The Front Porch Song.

I agree, money is not an object. Depending on some specifics, the buyout is $86M or so, with about $26M due w/in 60 days of the termination effective date and annual payouts of $8M thereafter for the remainder. That's not insurmountable for a program with $150M in annual revenue. Ultimately, I think the next two games have a bearing on what's done- lose to UMass, he's probably gone. Beat LSU, he stays. Beat UMass, lose close to LSU, probably stays. Get blown out by LSU...hard to say. LSU is great this year. Which has to be weighing on the admin- LSU struggled for a couple of seasons, brought in Kelly, immediately competed for a championship. Also bearing on the decision is that highly touted No. 1 class. If it starts looking like many/most are bolting through the portal, then he's probably gone. In that vein, the 2023 class is not shaping up well. The next major question is who's up next? There aren't any other championship winning coaches who are really on the table. So you're looking at an up and comer. Does that shape up like Sumlin/Herman?

Who’s Florida’s coach, again? No, really, I’ve lost track.

Are you proud of that comment? Man’s wife rumored to have cheated on him, they get divorced, and now you accuse him of pimping her out? You want to say that to his face? People say things that are absolutely ridiculous, and asinine, online because the risk of a fist to the face is minimal.

I practice in S. Texas so rarely deal with any lawyers from there... Did get a kick out of the people who graduated before the buyout pushing to get Aggie Rings- one even sued. Looking at bar passage rates the last few tests and A&M has been top 3, often first, the last couple of years. Name played a part- in part by improving the applicant pool- but also spending money to get good professors. Also, before, it was a bit of a mill- it had a pretty broad admissions standard bc most students are PAYING students. Less of a concern, now.

Point of clarification- the A&M School of Law isn't in College Station, its in Fort Worth. The State wouldn't let A&M start its own law school- it already had a Vet School and a Medical School and, if it got three professional schools, Texas Tech wanted a vet school to go w/ its law school and med school, and A&M enjoys being the only vet school in like 4 states- so it just used its cash to buy an existing, and basically floundering 4th tier law school, Texas Wesleyan in Fort Worth. Now, after less than 10 years and the injection of a lot of money, its one of the best law schools in the state.

Part of the issue is THERE ARE rules and regulations in place. A university cannot explicitly promise or offer money. And, based on the allegations, that might be what is being put forth.

Would be a massive slap in the face of A&M and, to a somewhat lesser extent, Mizzou.

The one in Austin isn't even the oldest "flagship" university in Texas- A&M was established 7 years beforehand.

It's the truth, though. Our best recruiting pitch to the same kids OU and tu are going after is "we're in the SEC- yeah, it's a tough league but it puts more players in the NFL than any other conference."

I thought the same, initially, but there's some thought the other "lone state schools" - GA, FL, KY, SC - may feel the need to slow A&M's rise by giving us an in-state rival.

I mean, I guess if you want mass protests and rights at your school...

Why would either Matt want to leave the B12, where they can be occasionally competitive, for AR, in the SEC?

Even the NFL- what with it's crazy roughing the passer rules- actually looks at intent for targeting.