Video & Quotes: Bill Byrne retirement press conference

Quotes from Bill Byrne exit press conference

Opening Statement...
"Thank y'all for coming. I really appreciate this. Ralph Waldo Emerson write that life is a journey, not a destination. I'm here to announce my retirement as director of athletics at Texas A&M. It's been a great journey the last 10 years. I grew up in Idaho and my parents installed values of compassion and hard work in me. I also learned that drive, sacrifice, etc. are a part of this process. To have worked in athletics at Oregon and Nebraska was special and they were stepping stones to arrive in Aggieland. I didn't know what the Sprit of Aggieland was about until I got here.

"Bob Gates, who hired me, and President Bowen Loftin are extraordinary leaders and always put Texas A&M first. When I first met the coaches at A&M, we agreed on a simple vision: Building Champions. We wanted the athletes to be winners in the classroom and in life. And in the process, fill the trophy case. Coaches like J.T. Huggins, | Pat Henry, Gary Blair, Rob Childress, who had an impact here in Aggieland. It's been an honor to work with all our coaches, every single one. The coaches can't do it by themselves, so the plan has always been to give them as much help as we can. We have the best support staff in the country. We have a staff dedicated to our athletes, coaches and fans at Texas A&M. I can't thank each of you enough for your time and commitment.

"Over the last 10 years, the 12th Man Foundation has raised $110 million to make improvements to our athletics. All the new buildings you see out there, they contributed to. They've helped us recruit, train our athletes and provide a better experience for all our fans. Great people (donors) ... we have 15,000, so I could spend a lot of time, but each of them has made a contribution and I can't thank them enough. The 12th Man Foundation employees volunteer thousands of hours each year on behalf of Texas A&M athletics. They're not only friends of Texas A&M, but personal friends as well. They give to Texas A&M to make it competitive.

"And that brings me to the students. To have 35,000 students in Kyle Field sawing 'em off, those are memories that will last my entire life. No student body even comes close. What I will miss most about being Athletic Director is easy — I'll miss the student-athletes. I always watch football practice from the endzone. It's the interaction with those student-athletes that I will miss. They're great people. We've won a lot of trophies, graduated a lot of athletes, followed the rules, always kept education in the best interest of our student-athletes ... I want to give thanks for that. There are too many people to thank, but I look forward to visiting with colleagues in the coming days.

"I couldn't be more proud of our entire athletic staff. I also want to thank my whole family. It was almost 29 years to this month that I was named AD at Oregon. They were there then; they're there now. I'm honored that they travel across the country for me. And the person who's had the biggest impact on me ... my wife. She's sacrificed a lot to support my ambitions. Love is not a strong enough word to describe my feelings for her. Thank you for being a perfect partner on this journey and I look forward to more adventures together.

"The greatest joy in my life has been being a father, and now a grandfather. (Choking up.) My father was a soldier and he also helped make people's lives better with electricity. My sister worked with special needs children. My oldest son, Greg, followed in my footsteps and he's the AD at Arizona. My wife is an educator. Some day I look forward to having great-grandchildren. I didn't do it by myself. We all did it.

"I'm proud of what we accomplished and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart."

(Standing ovation.)

"A friend once told me that every time there's a standing ovation, it's really just a chance for everyone to adjust their underwear (chuckle)."

On his retirement process...
I was given the opportunity a few years ago to extend my contract as long as I want. I chose only a couple of years. It might be surprising, but I was ready to go. It was time.

On his successes and regrets...
The one thing Bob Gates challenged me to do when I came to A&M was to change the culture from wanting to win to expecting to win. And if you look at what's happened over the last 10 years, that's true. What we've done is change the culture. Whenever Texas A&M takes the field, it expects to win. The one thing I wish we would've done more is win more in football. It's the sport I know most about ... last year was an absolute crusher for me. We lost four games by nine points. I thought we were so much better last year, athletically and in team speed and all the right things ... but we didn't win. Because we've changed the culture, though, we can attract more athletes than we ever could before.

On being proud of his accomplishments...
I'm so proud of what our coaches and athletes have done. They've been incredible. It's an entire process, a web, of support, that you need to have. And they've done it. There weren't many of those prior to my arrival here, so I'm proud of that. We've established goals and I expect us to be competing for championships.

On his retirement plans...
Let me tell you, I made a tactical error when we moved to Nebraska. My wife was a school principal and she had to leave her career for me to make the move. She said, "I think I should be able to decide something." I asked if she wanted to decide where we'd retire. ...That was a mistake. (Chuckle.) She has the plan. And right now, her plan is to stay here. There are so many fish out there waiting to be caught, you can't imagine. And the pile of reading on my nightstand just seems to grow higher. There's a lot of work out there to be done and I'm going to enjoy it.

At the same time, I'm coming back here to watch the Aggies. I'm going to be just like the rest of you. I'm going to ***** about the ticket prices, the concessions, everything. I'll be just like the rest of you (laughter).

On continuing from here, from A&M's standpoint...
We need to continue to invest in our programs. We have four big projects ahead of us. Kyle Field, obviously; upgrading Jo Evans' softball facility; Steve Denton's tennis facility; and we need an outdoor track for Pat Henry. My God, we've won six national titles and still can't compete at home.

(Other than that), we need to continue to support the kids. We need to continue to give kids an opportunity.

On where the University is headed...
Those are decisions that are made above my pay grade (referring to the SEC). My father was a soldier, my mother was an Army nurse, we were taught to salute and carry on.