SEC Day marks milestone point in A&M's reinvention
On Saturday, Texas A&M introduced Eric Hyman as the man who will lead Aggie Athletics into the next chapter of its storied history. That next chapter actually begins today, as A&M and Missouri have officially become the 13th and 14th members of the powerful Southeastern Conference.
Tomorrow, the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium will be the site of an “after-party” of sorts when the TAMU brass raises the SEC flags and celebrates an event that has essentially been close to two years in the making. Anyone sporting maroon and white knows exactly how arduous a process exiting the Big 12 turned out to be. The drama — played out on the state and national stages — proved to be spectacular theater everywhere from TexAgs to SportsCenter, dominating the sports talk conversation from July through October of last year.
With A&M having finally reached a destination that thousands of Aggies have felt was home for many, many years, the inclination might be to look back — back on the team’s 16-year Big 12 run, one that produced one unforgettable conference championship in football and three South Division titles, eight national championships and 61 Big 12 team titles. Those are memories to reflect upon at a later date. For today and into the foreseeable future, it’s time to look ahead.
Live in the moment, Ags, because this is a truly special time in the history of Texas A&M athletics. Things are changing at such a rapid rate — both at the athletics and university levels — that it’s difficult for even the most marooned-out fans to keep pace. The Ags are heading into a new conference with a new head coach and a new athletic director. In what promises to be one of the most talked-about storylines of the upcoming Aggie sports season, Kyle Field will soon begin getting what could best be described as an extreme makeover.
In addition to all of the sports-centric excitement, the University has made not one, not two, but three groundbreaking announcements in the past two weeks. Last week, TAMU purchased Texas Wesleyan Law School for $25 million. Prior to that announcement, A&M made national news when the public institution was awarded a $285 million contract to develop one of three U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Innovation in Advanced Development and Manufacturing, placing Aggieland on the nation’s front line when it comes to bio-security preparedness.
For a school known the world over for its staunch commitment to tradition, the last year or so has marked the Aggies’ entry into a brave new world of sorts. Change is suddenly the order of the day. Not change for the sake of change, mind you, but change for the greater good. Change that may finally allow Texas A&M Football to reach its full potential and emerge as a true national power. Jason Cook, Vice President of Marketing and Communications, and others involved in the decision-making process are fully-convinced that such an emergence in the mighty Southeastern Conference would thrust the A&M brand into the national spotlight to stay.
All of the changes taking place in Aggieland have already had a noticeable impact on the all-important dynamic known as perception. A year ago, A&M’s move to the SEC was portrayed by some both regionally and nationally as an example of what was wrong with college football. The move was also painted in some corners as a knee-jerk reaction to the Longhorn Network rather than what it actually was — a “100-year decision” ripe with limitless potential.
Flash forward to today and the Ags’ move to the Southeastern Conference is lauded by the overwhelming majority of media types as a likely game-changer for the Texas A&M program, while the Big 12 continues to struggle to carve out important little things like an identity, conference cohesion, commitment and a viable long-term future.
When it comes to a college football program, there is perhaps no better gauge for public perception than recruiting. Under first-year head man Kevin Sumlin, the Ags are grabbing national headlines for their efforts on the trail. With 22 (soon to be 23) high-profile commitments already in the fold, A&M’s 2013 class ranks in the top-five nationally. Highlighted by more than a dozen ‘four-star’ caliber talents, the Aggie haul is firmly entrenched in the high-rent district alongside the likes of Michigan, USC, fellow SEC mates Alabama, LSU and Georgia and, yes, Texas.
The move to the SEC has certainly been the catalyst for the Ags’ unprecedented recruiting run but none of this happens without a dynamic and supremely-confident head coach leading the way. Sumlin’s combination of style, swagger and substance is infectious and has captured the attention of not only blue-chip football prospects around the Lone Star State and SEC region but also key decision-makers and the Aggie alumni network and fan base.
Another noteworthy change in perception can be found when
monitoring the reaction of the rivals that the Aggies have now left behind. From Austin to Lubbock to Waco to Fort Worth,
coaches, athletic directors and fans alike are stepping up both their criticism
when it comes to A&M leaving the Big 12 Conference and also their
skepticism regarding the Ags’ chances of achieving long-term success.
The louder the cries and the more elaborate
the anti-A&M sales pitches to Texas high school recruits become the more
obvious it is that the Aggies are doing something right – doing something that
clearly threatens the status quo of the college football landscape in the Lone
Star State.
A powerful, Texas A&M bolstered
by the SEC brand is something that none of the Big 12’s Texas teams want to
see. From Mack to Mulkey, Briles to
Barnes and from Tubs to Patterson, they’re doing everything they can through media
channels and on the recruiting trail to keep the Aggies from gaining
unstoppable momentum.
At the top, A&M has a set of leaders in place who embrace change rather than fear it. The net sum is what you’re all enjoying today: A celebration of the present and a future that is as bright as it’s ever been in little old College Station, Texas ... now located deep in the heart of SEC country.
In his introductory press conference on Saturday, Hyman was describing the decided step up in competition that will come with being an SEC member when he said, “We’ve got to buckle up.”
The new boss could just as easily have been handing out advice to elated A&M fans everywhere, as the Aggies are set to embark on what promises to be a wild, fascinating ride. No one is saying it’s going to be easy (no one ever did, in fact) but there’s no looking back now. Texas A&M has broken free of the shackles and is an official member of the League of Champions.