50 Years of Fellowship: Lettermen's Association has kept athletes connected
This story was originally written by Charean Williams for 12thMan.com
Fifty years have clouded details of the beginnings of the Texas A&M Lettermen’s Association but not the memories of the good times. That was the reason 180 men founded the social club in 1974.
The Lettermen’s Association, an extension of the old On-Campus T-Association, began as a means for former students who won varsity letters at Texas A&M to gather from time to time to support the university’s athletic programs.
“It was a chance for lettermen from all different sports in all different classes to gather,” said Frank Stark ‘64, a founding member who lettered in baseball from 1962-64 and was president of the Lettermen’s Association in 2009. “It brings back so many old members. I remember seeing guys you hadn’t seen in a long time while meeting lettermen in other sports who became good friends.
“It created a camaraderie among lettermen in all sports that only existed within your sport while you were in school.”
The Lettermen’s Association has experienced considerable change since those early days. Membership has grown. Resources have grown. The Burgess Banquet, which annually inducts new members into the Texas A&M Athletic Hall of Fame and the Hall of Honor and presents the Lettermen’s Lifetime Achievement Award, has grown. The Lettermen’s Lounge has improved.
“It’s like everything in college sports: It’s just exploded,” said Chris Cokinos ’87.
Cokinos, who played men’s basketball at A&M, is the son of the late Brig. Gen. Mike Cokinos ’43. Mike Cokinos was a founding member, the third president of the organization and the 2014 recipient of the Lettermen’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Chris Cokinos, a former member of the Lettermen’s Association board of directors, recalls going with his dad to the Lettermen’s Lounge in G. Rollie White Coliseum as a kid.
The Texas A&M Athletic Department provided the 2,000-square-foot room but no support initially, and letterwinners would gather in the non-descript room for board meetings and on game days for barbeque and fellowship. It was a hub for connection and camaraderie, forging lifelong bonds with old and new friends alike.
“Not everybody was lucky enough to stay in College Station after college, and we went our separate ways,” said Edd Hargett ’69, who played quarterback for the Aggies from 1966-68 and was president of the Lettermen’s Association in 1999 and 2007. “It gave us a rallying point to get back together and lie about the good ol’ days.”
In 2012, when plans began for the $450 million renovation of Kyle Field, then-director of athletics Bill Byrne informed the Lettermen’s Association that its gathering space would be demolished along with G. Rollie White Coliseum.
“We really weren’t offered anywhere to go,” said Hunter Goodwin ’96, an offensive lineman for the Aggies from 1994-95 who served as president of the Lettermen’s Association in 2012. “That triggered us to go to work and dig in. We jumped on things aggressively and started looking at opportunities.”
Sam Torn ‘70, a former Head Yell Leader, served as co-chair of the committee overseeing the renovation of the stadium and informed the Lettermen’s Association of a large unused space in the northeast corner of Kyle Field.
“We asked Bill Byrne, ‘If you’re not going to use that space, and you have no intended use for it, would you let us have it?’” Goodwin said. “He said, ‘Yeah, but I’m not going to pay for it.’ They let us have it if we could raise the money for it.”
The Lettermen’s Association raised more money than it needed for the 7,156-square-foot space as members donated $6.734 million toward the project. The capital campaign was so successful that the excess funds allowed the Association to start an endowment.
The Texas A&M Lettermen’s Association is believed to be the only lettermen’s association in the SEC and maybe in the nation with an endowment. The endowment helps fund the Association’s current mission and vision while creating a legacy for future generations.
“Raising more than needed for this capital project speaks volumes about the love former students have for the place that provided them with such transformational experiences,” said Margaret Spence McGraw ‘87, a volleyball letterwinner from 1983-86 and current vice president of the Lettermen’s Association.
Before beginning the design of their own lounge, a Lettermen’s Association contingent that included Goodwin traveled to see other lettermen’s lounges at Alabama, Florida State and Tennessee.
“I believe that the space as it’s designed is dignified,” Torn said. “It’s what I would call championship quality, which is first class and what we sought. So, it fits right in with everything else we did at the stadium.”
The Jackie Sherrill Lettermen’s Club holds approximately 600 people in its two levels and has stadium access on game day. The Lettermen’s Association works with the 12th Man Foundation for a block of football tickets for letterwinners.
“Our goal was to be the best,” Goodwin said. “I can’t guarantee what I’m about to say, because I haven’t seen the entire SEC, but I feel pretty concrete saying, if we’re not the best, we’re in the top two in the SEC as far as a venue of quality, size and craftsmanship. We are at the top.”
The names of the 304 Athletic Hall of Fame members adorn one wall. The Athletic Hall of Fame is the greatest honor for a former A&M athlete, and the Lettermen’s Association’s Hall of Fame committee selects the new class during an annual selection meeting.
“That entire process has been and hopefully will always be managed by lettermen,” Goodwin said. “It is a much-greater honor when it is your peers who vote you into the Hall of Fame. You cannot buy votes. You cannot influence votes. You cannot manipulate the system. That adds credibility to the inductions. There’s purity and validity to the process. I give the founders the credit for that.”
The Burgess Banquet, where the Lettermen’s Association annually inducts a new class, has grown into a formal, must-attend event in the fall. This year, more than 500 people are expected at the 46th Burgess Banquet at the Ford Hall of Champions the night before the game against McNeese State.
“This year’s 50th anniversary is a milestone celebration of our organization's rich history, community, achievements and enduring impact on Texas A&M's athletic legacy,” said current Lettermen’s Association president Cody Risien ’79, a former All-American offensive linemaen who is in the Athletic Hall of Fame. “We honor the 180 founding members who laid the foundation for success back in 1974. Standing on their shoulders, we’re committed to our mission to unite our letterwinners, celebrate their accomplishments, and support Aggie Athletics. We continue to be driven by excellence, loyalty, and the Aggie bond and are committed to fostering a community that honors our past, celebrates our present and shapes our future.”
The Burgess Banquet bears the name of Hershel Burgess ’29, who won three letters in football and two in track. It has grown from an informal afterthought breakfast on the back of truck tailgates in Burgess’ pasture to serve-yourself burritos at Ramada Inn to what it is today.
“We thought it was a big deal when we had free tables to sit at and to eat some chicken, green beans and iced tea,” said Trigg Crawford ’81, a women’s basketball player from 1978-81 who served as president in 1998. “It certainly wasn’t like it is now with all the pomp and circumstance. It truly is a big deal now.”
The one thing that has not changed about the Lettermen’s Association the past 50 years is the fellowship and camaraderie among former Texas A&M athletes who are active members of the organization.
The organization has 7,500 members, with 2,200 of those active members. Eligible letterwinners can become active members of the organization by paying annual dues or securing an endowed lifetime membership.
Active members span almost 70 class years and represent all intercollegiate sports.
“This year, we have 13 out of the 18 sports represented on our board of directors as well as a representative from each decade starting with the 1960s through the 2020s,” said Erika Ericksson, who lettered in softball from 1987-90, was president of the Lettermen’s Association in 2010 and currently serves on the board. “Back when I started 30-plus years ago, it was less varied than it is now, but we have made significant progress in ensuring broader representation from various sports and decades alike.”
Women joined the Association in 1983, and Vicki Brown-Sobecki ‘78, a letterwinner in swimming from 1976-78, became the first female president in 1990. Brown-Sobecki, who initially joined the association’s board in 1983, is credited with providing the vision and the know-how to take the organization from a good ol’ boys club to what it is today.
“I was not there to change what the Texas A&M Lettermen’s Association founding members had put in place in 1974,” Brown-Sobecki said. “I was there to make it better. My job as a board member was to make it better and to increase awareness about female athletes who could be involved in the Lettermen’s Association. That evolution came about right at that moment in terms of making sure that their visions, their hopes and their dreams of this organization weren’t going to be changed. Immediately, it did change, but it was in small increments.”
With 41 presidents over 50 years, the Texas A&M Lettermen’s Association has grown into a premier model for letterwinner organizations nationwide.
“Despite all the changes and growth, I feel the organization has stayed true to its core spirit,” Risien, the current president, said. “We are a unique community of former athletes united by our shared history, loyalty and unwavering love and support for one another and our beloved alma mater.”
For more information on membership eligibility and member benefits, contact Samantha Nelson at snelson@athletics.tamu.edu.