is the name given to the sports teams of
Texas A&M University . The teams are often referred to as the '''Texas Aggies'''
Texas A&M was a charter member of the
Southwest Conference until its dissolution and subsequent formation of the
Big 12 Conference in 1996. The athletic program competes in the South Division of the Big 12, along with
Baylor University ,
Oklahoma State University ,
Texas Tech University , the
University Of Oklahoma , and the
University Of Texas . Texas A&M's official school colors are
Maroon and
White . The teams are referred to as Aggies and the mascot is a pure-bred collie named
Reveille .
Texas A&M competes in the following varsity sports:
See Also: Texas A&M Aggies football
]]
The Texas A&M Aggies compete in the Big 12 Conference and entered their 112th year of as
Head Coach beginning in 1972, the Aggies returned to prominence with two 10 win seasons during his short tenure. He was replaced by
Tom Wilson who had little success at Texas A&M before
Jackie Sherrill took over the program. In his seven years at A&M, Sherrill won three consecutive conference titles and two
Cotton Bowl postseason games. His
Defensive Coordinator ,
R.C. Slocum , replaced him as head coach in 1989. Slocum finished in the top 25 during 10 of his 14 years at Texas A&M
Aggie Football Through the Years . Texas A&M Athletics. and won 4 conference titles, including the school's first Big 12 title in 1998.
In late 2002,
Dennis Franchione left his position as head coach at the
University Of Alabama to take over Texas A&M's football program from Slocum. He finished the 2003 season at 4-8. Franchione finished the 2004 regular season with a 7-4 mark and an invitation to the Cotton Bowl, a game the Aggies lost to
Tennessee . The 2005 team regressed to 5-6 and defensive coordinator
Carl Torbush was fired, and replaced by
Gary Darnell . Due in large part to dramatic improvement on defense, the Aggies finished the 2006 regular season with a 9-3 record and a 5-3 mark in Big 12 play, including a 12-7 victory over the Texas Longhorns in Austin. The Aggies lost to the
California Golden Bears 45-10 at the Pacific Life
Holiday Bowl .
The Aggie Football team was featured in the
ESPN television movie, ''
The Junction Boys ''. The film dramatized Coach
Paul "Bear" Bryant's grueling football practice sessions in
1954 at
Junction, Texas .
1
See Also: Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball
Texas A&M Aggies women's basketball
]]
Texas A&M
Basketball has been dormant for much of its recent history. The Aggies have won 11 conference championships, two conference tournament titles, and have seven
NCAA Tournament appearances. Under former head coach
Billy Gillispie , the Aggies finished fourth in conference in 2006 only two years removed from having zero wins in conference play. Gillispie then led the Aggies to their first NCAA tournament berth since 1987, playing as a 12 seed, and to A&M's first NCAA tournament win since 1980 over fifth seed
Syracuse . The Aggies were one point short of advancing to the Sweet Sixteen over fourth seed
LSU , with a final score of 57-58. In the 2007 season, A&M spent most of the season ranked in the top 10 of the polls and became the first Big 12 south team to win against the
University Of Kansas in Lawrence since the Big 12 was formed. The Aggies finished with a 27-7 record and finished 2nd in the Big 12. They earned a number 3 seed in the NCAA tournament where they made it to the sweet 16, but fell to the
University Of Memphis 64-65.
Acie Law IV was named an All-American. Billy Gillispie left for the
University Of Kentucky soon after the season.
Mark Turgeon was named head coach a few days later.
Women's basketball at Texas A&M has had a similar experience as men's basketball. The team had two NCAA tournament appearances, a NWIT title, and a Southwest Conference tournament title before entering the Big 12. The program experienced little success in the new conference until current head coach
Gary Blair took over the program and led the 2006 team to their highest finish ever in Big 12 play, third place, and an NCAA tournament appearance. The sixth seed women's team was upset in the first round by eleventh seed
TCU . In 2007, the team captured its first ever conference title by finishing the season 25-7 and 13-3 in conference. The team earned a number 4 seed in the NCAA tournament, but lost in the 2nd round to
George Washington University .
Ground broke on the
Cox-McFerrin Center in November 2006, a 68,000 square foot expansion to
Reed Arena which includes new locker rooms, meeting rooms, practice gyms, training rooms, player lounges, and reception areas.
Texas A&M Baseball is currently coached by
Rob Childress . He joined the program for the 2006 season, leaving his position as an assistant coach with the
Nebraska Cornhuskers . The Aggies have won 15 Southwest Conference titles, two Big 12 regular-season and one tournament title, and have four
College World Series appearances. The Aggie baseball team plays at
Olsen Field , which has been the site of several miraculous comeback wins by the home team; this is referred to as "Olsen Magic" by Aggie baseball fans.
]]
The Aggie
Softball team is coached by Jo Evans, who has led the program since 1996. Her 2005 team won the Big 12 conference title.
The softball program has six
Women's College World Series appearances and three national titles.
Men's golf is coached by J.T. Higgins, who has been with the program since 2001. He has led the team to two top 15 finishes at the NCAA tournament, including 14th place at the 2006 NCAA Championship tournament.
Women's golf has been coached by Jeanne Sutherland since 1992. The golf team won the Big 12 title in 1998, 2006, and 2007. In 2006, the team finished 19th at the NCAA Championship tournament.
In its third annual College Golf Guide, ''
Golf Digest '' ranked both the men's and women's golf programs among the best in the nation in terms of the team's scoring average, player growth, academics, climate, and facilities/coaches. The men's program ranked as the best in the Big 12 Conference and No. 15 nationally. The women's program ranked as the second best in the Big 12 Conference and No. 20 nationally.
2
Men's tennis was coached by Tim Cass from 1997 to 2006. In Cass's ten seasons at Texas A&M, he won three Big 12 tournament titles and one conference title. He resigned in July 2006 to accept a position as Senior Associate Athletic Director at the
University Of New Mexico , his alma mater.
On
August 8 , 2006,
Texas A&M–Corpus Christi head coach
Steve Denton was named the new A&M men's tennis coach. Denton won three
Southland Conference regular-season titles, two tournament titles, and had an overall conference record of 19-2, including two undefeated regular seasons, in his five years with the Islanders.
Women's tennis has been coached by Bobby Kleinecke since 1985. In 2003 and 2004, he was voted Big 12 Coach of the Year. Kleinecke led the Aggies to a conference title in 2003 and a tournament title in 2004.
Women's soccer is coached by G. Guerreri, who has led the program since its inception in 1993. His Aggies have won nine Big 12 titles (five regular season and four tournament), including three straight regular season titles from 2004 to 2006. Aggie teams have made appearances in the NCAA Tournament for 12 consecutive seasons, advancing at least as far as the round of 16 in seven of the last eight appearances. The 2006 team finished the season in the Elite 8, the Aggies’ third quarterfinals appearance in six seasons.
Track and field is coached by
Pat Henry . In his 17 years at
LSU , Henry won 27 national titles, 17
SEC titles, 15 SEC Coach of the Year awards, and five National Coach of the Year awards. Henry was hired by Texas A&M prior to the 2005 season, taking over a program that had never won a title in women's track. Within three years, in 2007, his teams won both women's indoor and outdoor Big 12 Conference titles.
The Aggie volleyball team is coached by Laurie Corbelli, who has been at Texas A&M since 1993. The Texas A&M volleyball team participated in 13 consecutive NCAA postseasons, from Corbelli's first year in 1993 to 2005, reaching the Elite Eight twice and Sweet Sixteen three times.
Long-time assistant Jay Holmes, who has been with A&M since 1987, was named head coach of the men's swimming program in 2004. His 2007 squad finished second in the Big 12.
Women's swimming is led by Steve Bultman, head coach since 1999. His 2007 team won the Big 12 title.
The diving program has been coached by Kevin Wright since 1992. He won an A&M-record seven consecutive conference Coach of the Year awards from 1996 to 2002.
Coached by Tana Rawson, the women's equestrian team has been a varsity sport at Texas A&M since 1999. For seven years, from 2000 to 2006, the program participated in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association National Championship, winning the Western division national title three times. The program now competes only in the Varsity Equestrian National Championship, where A&M won the overall national championship in 2002 and Western division titles in 2005 and 2007.
Texas A&M won the inaugural Big 12 Classic in 2007, a competition between Big 12 programs with equestrian teams, which includes
Baylor ,
Kansas State , and
Oklahoma State .
:
- 1982 (AIAW), 1983, 1987
:
- Overall: 2002 (VENC)
- Western: 2002 (IHSA), 2003 (IHSA), 2004 (IHSA), 2005 (VENC), 2007 (VENC)
:
- ''Regular Season'': 1931, 1934, 1937, 1941, 1943, 1951, 1955, 1959, 1964, 1966, 1977, 1978, 1986, 1989, 1993, 1998, 1999
- ''Tournament'': 2007
:
- ''Regular Season'': 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1951, 1964, 1969, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1986
- ''Tournament'': 1980, 1987
:
- 1922, 1925, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1933, 1948, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1961, 1962
: (conference competition ended in 1957)
- 1917, 1919, 1921, 1925, 1927, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1956, 1967, 1975, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1998
:
- 1926, 1948, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1967, 1982, 1987
:
:
- ''Regular Season'': 1994, 2000
- ''Tournament'': 1998, 2000, 2001
:
:
- 1921, 1922, 1929, 1930, 1943, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1970, 1978, 1980, 1981, 2001
:
- ''Regular Season'': 2007
- ''Tournament'': 1996
:
:
- ''Regular Season'': 1997, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006
- ''Tournament'': 1997, 2001, 2004, 2005
:
:
:
- ''Regular Season'': 1986, 2003
- ''Tournament'': 2004
:
:
Texas A&M's biggest rival is the
Texas Longhorns . The university has other significant rivals but few come close to the rivalry shared between Texas A&M and the University of Texas. The mutual respect and desire to win has given rise to the
Lone Star Showdown , an athletic competition that lasts year-round and encompasses all regular-season NCAA athletic events between the two schools. Though the showdown officially began in 2004, the two teams have been competing with one another for more than a century.
Other rivals include the
Baylor Bears (rivalry officially known as
Battle Of The Brazos ) and the
Texas Tech Red Raiders .
Historical rivals from membership in the
Southwest Conference that are no longer active include
LSU ,
Rice , and the
University Of Houston .
Athletic venues and facilities include:
Athletic training, rehabilitation, and student-services facilities include:
Additionally, Texas A&M houses two dedications to student-athletes of the past: the
Texas A&M Sports Museum located at the north end of
Kyle Field and the
Erickson Hall of Fame and Hall of Honor .
See Also: Traditions of Texas A&M University
Texas A&M values traditions very highly, many of which revolve around the sports in which the school competes.
A few of the athletic traditions of Texas A&M include:
- The 12th Man — The entire student body is referred to as The 12th Man after E. King Gill stood ready to play on the sidelines in 1922.
- — The War Hymn is played at athletic events during the game and after a win.
- Aggie Bonfire — Built and burned prior to the annual football game with the University Of Texas . Bonfire is now an off-campus event after the University cancelled it following the 1999 collapse.
- Fightin' Texas Aggie Band — The Aggie Band is the largest military-style marching band in the United States and performs at every football halftime.
- Midnight Yell Practice — Held the night before a home game, the student body gathers at Kyle Field to excite the crowd.
- Yell Leaders — Attending many events, the yell leaders use hand signals to keep the crowd yelling in unison.
- Gig 'em — The slogan used by Aggie supporters, often accompanied with a thumbs-up sign, the first hand sign of the Southwest Conference.
- Reveille — The official mascot of Texas A&M since 1931. Since Reveille II, all A&M mascots have been collies.
- Maroon Out — One designated home game of the year is a "maroon out" game. All Aggies are instructed to wear maroon.
See Also: List of Texas A&M University people#Athletics
Former student-athletes and coaches at Texas A&M include:
- Sam Adams , NCAA All-American and NFL Pro Bowl Defensive Tackle
- "Bear" Bryant , head coach, 1954-1957, most successful coach in NCAA Division I college football
- John David Crow , 1957 Heisman Trophy winner
- Dean Goldfine , former ATP Tour tennis player, former coach of Todd Martin and Andy Roddick
- Lester Hayes , five-time NFL Pro-Bowler , two Super Bowl wins with Oakland Raiders
- Dante Hall , two-time Pro-Bowler , tied for NFL record - most career kickoff return touchdowns
- John Kimbrough , Heisman Trophy runner-up, actor, former member of the Texas Legislature
- Chuck Knoblauch , 1991 MLB Rookie Of The Year . four-time all-star, four-time MLB World Series champion
- Gary Kubiak , former NFL quarterback, Houston Texans head coach
- Acie Law IV , Basketball All-American for the 2006-2007 season. 2007 Bob Cousy award winner
- Randy Matson , Olympic Gold Medalist , former world record holder in the Shot Put
- Dat Nguyen , 1998 Lombardi and Bednarik Award winner, former Dallas Cowboy
- Jackie Sherrill , head football coach, 1982-1988, three Southwest Conference titles
- R.C. Slocum , head football coach, 1989-2003, four conference titles, three-time Southwest Conference coach of the year, winningest coach in Texas A&M History
- Ty Warren , current defensive end and 2-time New England Patriots Super Bowl champion
- Yale Lary , Pro Football Hall Of Fame inductee, DB and Punter from 1952-1964 with the Detroit Lions
