quote:

---

One game is not a season.

---

Nope ... but 3 (and soon to be 4) are

Most, if not all of the schools in the SEC have great respect for the military. They will not laugh at that aspect of our university imo.

Another example of the generation gap....

Just because we disagree with him does not mean we disrepect his service to our country. This is like saying "If you are not with us, you are against us".

I am sure OP is a great man, and I thank him for his service. I am sure he is a great AG. But his way of thinking is extremely outdated when it comes to foward thinking in an athletic and marketing stand point. If you do not adapt to your enviroment you will cease to become relevent.

This is the modern athletic era! It is a business! Not a club.

You have got to be realistic and proactive.

SEC is the right move.
Rebuilding Kyle is the right move.
Hiring a new coach is the right move.

Tradition is not going anywhere, but a cultural change is necessary from a business perspective in order for us to move forward. Pretending that we still live in 1970 is not what is best for Texas A&M. Time changes us, but we can not change time. It is a sad truth. We can not sit around, we need to make a plan and move forward.


[This message has been edited by diehard14 (edited 10/30/2011 2:41p).]

Old army sure does whine a lot

quote:

---

fireinthehole

Most, if not all of the schools in the SEC have great respect for the military. They will not laugh at that aspect of our university imo.

---

I agree with this!


To the poster above who pointed out the value of older folks

Age = wisdom
Youth = enthusiasm

Success in the future needs both.

" I am not afraid of the SEC and we will be one of the top 3 athletic programs there. We will win our share of football, and being in SEC West will be similar to being in Big 12 South, except we will make more money and be on national TV every week. We are a school of traditions, but every tradition has to start at some point in time. Our new SEC tradition will eclipse our Big 12 and SWC history. One day our grandkids will tell us they can't believe we used to not be in the SEC and how weird that must have been! It is a 100 year decision. We will become THE University IN Texas.

Uh no...

This is laughable.

waste of a thread.

quote:

---

During his remarks to the group, Mr. Byrne mentioned over and over again how A&M had "lost" this game or that, in this sport or another. Having been taught that A&M is "undefeated" (but occasionally outscored) I took exception to Mr. Byrne's remarks. I gently asked him about using the word "outscored" instead of "loss," especially when addressing a group of older graduates, and he remarked words to the effect that, "I never really bought into that stuff." At that moment I knew we had a problem. I quickly and politely ended my conversation with Mr. Byrne and he moved on to talk with others at the gathering. Bill Byrne is certainly not the man.

---

I am glad he doesn't.

quote:

---

Money is all that matters and its influence on A&M football and the school itself is blatantly obvious.

---

Welcome to America, and most especially the Southeastern Conference.

Old Ag here '78. Although a few things that OP said I agree with majority I don't so please don't make generalizations about us Ags. I don't like this old army/new army crap. We are all Aggies. I love Loftin and feel he "gets it" because he is an Aggie. Byrne has done wonders with all sports except football. I am excited to go to SEC and all my SEC friends will NOT make fun of Corps. Do I think we need to make some changes, you bet, we made some really difficult changes in late 60's-70's under the strong leadership of Earl Rudder. I do think our FB team needs a little fire in their belly and some heart. They also need better coaching. We need to get away from the Jumbotron scripted games. BTHO ou.

1. I will not critique new army/old army, we are all AGGIES.
2. Traditions have been developed over time and most will endure, making our TAMU an unique and special family oriented University.
3. TAMU has thrived on change, especially admit-ting women resulting in a double in enrollment from 25,000 to the current 51,000.
4. We have excellent ACADEMICS & RESEARCH, with an AAU (?) rating. This was a critical factor for our selection by the SEC.
5. A very progressive BOR and PRESIDENT daring to make the 100 year decision to join the SEC.
6. An AD whose motto is BUILDING CHAMPIONS; and BILL BYRNE has developed an ATHLETIC PROGRAM which is SECOND TO NONE, EXCEPTING FOOTBALL.
7. FOOTBALL has consistently UNDERPERFORMED SINCE 1876, ESPECIALLY the 2011 TEAM. The COACH-ES "PLAY NOT TO LOSE" and the PLAYERS PLAY WITH-OUT PASSION, DETERMINATION,COMMITMENT and HEART it takes to be a WINNER. I BELIEVE COACHING CHANGES MUST BE MADE at the END OF THIS YEAR, even with a 9-3 record. AT STAKE are the jobs of BILL BYRNE and MIKE SHERMAN.
8. If our FB PROBLEM IS ADDRESSED, TAMU will THRIVE IN THE SEC and can be at least TOP 15 EVERY YEAR.
9. In closing, all AGGIES have been greatly BLESSED for the many benefits TAMU has enabled us to gain in life and the SEC should be a very rewarding experience.

quote:

---

Hey MavforAggs, you are not the son of an Aggie. You are a little schoolgirl who can't face reality. Ooh ooh, we ran out of time. Grow up! Now! Don't make me come up there!

---

Yeah, I am the son of an Aggie, class of 53.

A few things for the debate here --

1. First, as to the OP's charge that the "party schools" of the SEC won't respect our military tradition, I call BS. Auburn and Mississippi State were both land grant schools with the same military tradition, so they will "get it". All of the other schools have ROTC programs which are valued by their resepctive universities (I came from one, at South Carolina). It's the South, stupid -- military service has always been valued in the South. They will like us, and they will especially like our band.

2. The move to the SEC is epic, and sends the correct message that we aren't the "little brother" any more. We are a world class university (with AAU membership), with 50,000 students. We compete in everything, football included. Our Former Students Association is legendary, stronger than that of ANY of the schools in the SEC. Getting a ring at those schools is seen as an option; here, it is an expectation. We have more traditions encompassing our values than any other schools I know of, with the possible exception of the service academies. Football is almost everything at the other SEC schools, but it is only part of what we are, and we should be in no hurry to change that. We do want to win, though, and in time we will.

3. We find ourselves with one of the best offenses in the school's history, and one of the worst defenses. It can be fixed-- maybe by this coaching staff, maybe not. Step back from the ledge.

4. We will not miss the Big 12. I miss the old Southwest Conference, but it ain't comin' back. Time to join the best conference in the land, and win in every sport. When the other SEC schools fans come to Kyle, they will know they made the right choice by inviting us. The most exciting of times await us. We will not regret our choice to leave t.u.'s "empire"-- we do not need them, and will not miss them. We're nobody's lackey.

From a time when Aggies were respected and cherished as a part of this great state and this great country.

For all those dogging the OP, would General George S. Patton say the same of you? Hell no!

The whole "ran out of time" deal is "cute" the first time you hear it. As a freshman. At 18. But grow the F up. We get BEATEN handily at times. And it's our own fault. Quit trying to sugarcoat it.

Another person telling a man who spent 28 years in military service to "grow up". Good grief.

Age does not equal maturity.

Thank you diehard for your reply. Very well written.

quote:

---

Uh no...

This is laughable.

---

Name one SEC school in a state with only one SEC school who isn't the top dog in that state?

South Carolina? Clemson has never been to the ACC title game

Georgia? NO

Kentucky? NO

Florida? Give me a break.

[This message has been edited by CGSC Lobotomy (edited 10/31/2011 3:07a).]

This Ag agrees 100% with the OP. Loftin and the Board of Regent's decision will go down as the single greatest mistake in A&M history.

Isn't the new Chancellor class of 72? Along with the Governor, who was also a flyboy? Maybe they are floating their policy decisions based on feedback from TexAgs! TexAgs is the place to come for influential decision making!


I jest...

quote:

---

I gently asked him about using the word "outscored" instead of "loss," especially when addressing a group of older graduates, and he remarked words to the effect that, "I never really bought into that stuff." At that moment I knew we had a problem. I quickly and politely ended my conversation with Mr. Byrne and he moved on to talk with others at the gathering. Bill Byrne is certainly not the man.

---

Utterly ridiculous.

Byrne is a bad ass. Best AD we have ever had.

Give me the Spirit Killer (formally known as Jumbotron) and 4 yell leaders and we will loose what it means to be an Aggie. Give me Visor Man and those that care and we will rise again.

quote:

---

Texas A&M doesn't wish to be tied to every decision that the sips want to make. If that bothers you, sorry, but we refuse.

---

So we go to a conference in which we have even LESS influence.

I have never understood this part of the argument.

The OP is an idiot. I am so f-ing tired of hearing about how old army did things.

And you take exception to the word loss? Is that a joke. Dumb.

Sherman probably isnt the right guy to win a MNC here, but he runs a program the right way. He does everything right except on Saturday.

And Byrne has improved our brand more than anyone in recent memory. I love $Bill, we all should. He is kicking ass.

My grandad served in WW2 too, all of ours did, no one cares!

Good riddance Flyboy72.

[This message has been edited by AggieBob03 (edited 11/1/2011 10:11a).]

Do the fanbases of other schools cannibalize one another in the same way that Aggies do? The level of animosity that Ags have for one another is truly amazing.

I agree Jarhead. A lot of these replies are pretty cruel. Unbelievable the OP is literally being called stupid and an idiot by fellow Aggies much less another adult..

To the original old ag who posted, the response on moving to the SEC is simple: It was above your pay grade.

Thanks to the OP for his service to our nation. But our service to the nation isn't always done in a plane and a gun, it's sometimes done in a field and a refinery. A&M is taking it's rightful place as one of the preeminent universities in America, and the move to the SEC maximizes the exposure of our university as a whole.

The graduates of our fine institution are a like a value-added product to the economies of Texas, the US and the world... it's time to expect the same kind of greatness and results from our athletic programs. The only way a man (or woman) who can look you in the eye and say they are a Texas Aggie should run out of time is when St. Peter calls.

Wait a minute!!! The poster "Buzzardb267" about 3 pages back.....there was no "Buzzard B-2" in 1967. It was "Boozin B," Company B-2. (And by the way....it was: "the outfit that made Milwalkee famous, the best damn outfit on the campus"