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Sports Sturm (00:00)
After leaving in 2021 at the time to get the big opportunity to be head coach of your own program, which is obviously a huge moment for any coach. Did you ever think would you ever be back?

Elko (00:15)
No, not that quick I mean we were 34 and 13 over 4 years when I left them, seemed like everything was ascending in a really positive direction, and so yeah, you take the Duke job, cause you wanna get your feet wet and wanted to become a head coach, you get to Run your own program and You go to Duke with every expectation that you're going to be there for a while and then spill that thing into what it becomes and see where you can take it and you know we had some other things come along this off-season, but you know, we weren't really looking to move so.

Then all of a sudden, this comes around and obviously we spent 4 years in college station, so you also have some family ties now right to the area and 4 years for a coach and community you know. The second longest tenured place we have is College Station Texas and so when there's the Opportunity to come back and come home and start something we jump at.

Sturm (01:06)
You, you certainly weren't still sitting on multiple houses, were you?

Elko (01:10)
so one of the things that I think I learned throughout the years was when you're a college coach and you buy a house, you better be thinking about how you're going to sell it, and so we've always tried to get into the most popular neighborhood at the median price range. Right with an eye on, okay, if we're going to have to leave this town, how quick can we get rid of this house? So we've been really fortunate over the years that the houses that we've bought have sold pretty easily for us.


Corby (02:06)
So you know, I think all of our parents were in the same boat telling us not to do this job, you know. When we were 22 years old or 23 years old or whatever I'm interested like you, you mentioned your mom and dad, how long before they said were they were like, okay with you. Being a coach, like going to church or whatever and telling their friends like. Well, you know he's doing better now he's doing better now.

Elko (02:30)
Yeah, you know, I don't think they ever voiced it. You know, they never voiced like Hey, I don't think you should do this. You could kind of hear it in their voice when it was like "you're gonna do what?"

Yeah, you know, you're gonna make how much? okay. I still don't think they understand why I work in football, the hours I work and what it takes, I don't think they fully ever got their head wrapped around it, I do think they Are obviously very comfortable Now that I'm living a good life and I can take care of my family and all of those things. they're not Saying, well, you just work on Saturday. What do you do?

Corby (03:02)
I didn't see you on Saturday. Do you have to teach a class?

Elko (03:04)
Yeah, yeah, what do you do? Now that the season's over, do you just get to go on vacation?

Sturm (03:11)
Sounds like a great idea. Have you had to explain the portal to your parents?

Elko (03:16)
I haven't been trying to. my dad tries to follow it and my mom reads social media which is a disaster but no I haven't even tried,I don't know if you could explain it to sports people. I don't get it.

I mean, there's not another industry in the world that's as valuable as college football that has no leadership, right? We have a billion dollar business that nobody's even really sure who's making the rules or the regulations or anything, and so you know we got a lot of work. To do to clean this thing else and get it fixed.

Corby (03:52)
At what point when you got here or how familiar Were you with the Texas rivalry before you got to college station.

Elko (04:01)
Yeah, I mean, obviously going back in years, right, as you watch college football growing up and it's something that you spend a lot of time on, you see what that rivalry is, you see the intensity of it, you see what it's all about and yeah, then you Get here and you spend 4 years in College Station and even though we're not playing it (the game), right?

I mean and at that time, no disrespect, but it wasn't even really a program you were trying to model or catch up to you, as you're playing in the sec West, you know, there were some other programs you had to spend a little bit of time worrying about, Catching up to and uh, yeah, but so you realize how important it is to the Aggies and the fanbase and obviously this game's going to be really special. Bringing the rivalry back for the first time for a long time.

listen Kyle field's a special place, I think we all can recognize that regardless of who we root for and we got 4 big time games, you know, one certainly to start the year, one to end the year and then host LSU and Missouri, which are potential top 10 Programs, too. This would be a really fun year in College Station.

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my mom reads social media which is a disaster

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