Alberts intent on cultivating championship culture at Texas A&M
Perhaps it just makes sense that a farmer will lead the athletic department of a university which encourages its team with chants of “Farmers Fight.”
Standing at a podium in Texas A&M’s Hall of Champions, Trev Alberts didn’t look like a typical farmer. Joined by his wife Angela, son Chase and daughter Ashtynne, Alberts was dressed in a sharp blue suit, accessorized with a maroon tie and a Texas A&M lapel pin.
But shortly after he was introduced by President Mark Welsh III as Texas A&M’s next athletic director in a Monday ceremony, the 54-year-old College Football Hall of Famer pointed out that he grew up on a farm in Iowa.
“I grew up working on a farm walking beans and de-tasseling corn,” Alberts told a captive audience. “Have you had the privilege of de-tasseling corn? Anybody? Yeah, it’s not great.
“We had Alberts de-tasseling. We learned how to work. So our family has always been connected to the dirt. We still own our family farms. We’ve grown the family farm. We don’t physically farm it any more, but we still have our farm.”
Aggies are hopeful Alberts, who left the same position at Nebraska, his alma mater, can help cultivate an elite athletic department which frequently harvests championships.
That likely will require growing NIL and other revenue streams in what appears to be the fast-changing future of college athletics.
Alberts predicted in the future more college athletics revenue will be shared with athletes than ever before. He said some programs could budget between $15 and $20 million dollars for athletes.
“Not one time… annually,” Alberts said. “There will be a new expense category that athletics are going to have to deal with.”
And how will athletic programs deal with that?
“There’s really only two options,” Alberts said “There’s increasing revenues or cutting costs. That’s the only two things we can do going forward.
“We’ll have a good plan with that. I think there’s some opportunities that we can look entrepreneurially and creatively to find new revenue streams.
“But at the end of the day the business model of athletics is changing significantly. Change is going to happen. It’s going to be hard. It’s going to be uncomfortable. But that’s the reality we live in.”
The reality is Texas A&M’s athletic department hasn’t reached its full potential. The resources and geographic advantages have not paid off with recent championships in the major revenue-producing team sports.
A&M has made strides with the hiring of basketball coaches Buzz Williams and Joni Taylor, whose teams ironically face Nebraska this weekend in the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments.
“I will say it appears a little too coincidental to me,” Alberts said.
A&M is having strong seasons with Jim Schlossnagel in baseball and Trisha Ford in softball. Volleyball reached the NCAA Tournament in its first season under coach Jamie Morrison.
The hiring of coach Mike Elko has created a new optimism for football.
Alberts praised Texas A&M’s coaches. He vowed to do all he can to help their programs reach their vast potential.
“When I was considering this job and I was thinking hard — and by the way I spent a lot of time in prayer — I just kept coming back to there isn’t any scenario that I can think of or imagine where this place doesn’t have the opportunity with alignment and leadership, hard work and focus and a little discipline and accountability that they can’t be a leader,” Alberts said.
“Not every institution can say that.”