Link: Texas A&M raises $740 million in donations. WOW!
- Thread starter Bamabuzzard
- Start date
Yes it is. It would appear that the worm has turned in Texas. UTX's football program has fallen behind that of TAMU's now and unless UTX gets a winning coach it will fall farther behind. That is a lot of dough!
To be fair, when the announced price tag of $450 million for the new stadium (completed before 2015 season), A LOT of people stepped forward with serious money.
We sold out the new 102,500 seat stadium 2 years in advance and paid for a lot of the stadium with licensing fees for seats and suites.
From what I've read by some Bama Fans that made the trip to Kyle Field this weekend, they say as compared to the rest of the SEC stadiums, it's a complete dump in comparison..
Hence, why we are dumping $450 million into a redeveloped stadium with a closed end South Zone. A lot of the current stadium has been around since the '20s.
That might have something to do with the BigXII being somewhat of a dump. Texas A&M is getting better though!
Roll Tide, Roll...A'ight!
I may be going overboard, but I think the move to the SEC for Texas A&M was like waking a sleeping giant.
They've always had a ton of resources, but for whatever reason, couldn't fully escape UT's shadow. No, it may not be that they will go on a run of championships, but things like this will continue to happen. They have been a successful university for many years. They have probably stepped into extremely successful territory now.
They've always had a ton of resources, but for whatever reason, couldn't fully escape UT's shadow. No, it may not be that they will go on a run of championships, but things like this will continue to happen. They have been a successful university for many years. They have probably stepped into extremely successful territory now.
Yeah I read that & it's going to put to good use upgrading the stadium..I've seen some rendering of the upgrades & it's going to look really really nice..
From what I've been able to fins researching this over the last couple of years, atm has everyone beat financially. If the game were purely about money, no one else in the SEC could hang.
That said, It's not purely about money...
That said, It's not purely about money...
The aggies were fortunate with timing, making the move to the SEC while at the same time they had Johnny Cash ready to go. It was a good combination of things that pushed aTm into the national spotlight. When Johnny is gone, they will slip back to their traditional standing as a mid tier program that has occasional flashes in the pan.
Congrats, Aggies. That is amazing. aside: can the hire Saban with $740MM?...nah, he'd never go. ROLL TIDE!
From another article:
"Davis told the Chronicle of Higher Education three factors had driven the university’s fund-raising success: confidence among alumni and other donors that A&M is a place “on the move,” substantial wealth generation as a result of Texas’ robust energy economy, and a “positive demographic shift” that has created a large pool of donors who are in their prime giving years.
“When we began the millennium, we had 20,000 former students who were 55 or older. Today we have about 50,000, and by 2020 we’ll have 100,000,” Mr. Davis said in an interview. The successful campaign, he said, had been “dominated by gifts from wealth, not from income.”
http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/co...cord-740-million-almost-doubles-longhorns.ece
A&M is one of, if not the "youngest" major University in the USA. The reason being, we were a small all male Military school until 1964 when we started to admit women into the University. A&M has a larger enrollment than the horns and I "think" we might be the largest University in the USA now based on enrollment. I could be wrong though, but we are getting bigger and bigger quickly.
Kyle field is currently a dump, yes. However in the next 2 years, it will be one of the nicest stadiums in the country. The jump to the SEC helped us gets tons of cash together in order to rebuild Kyle Field.
http://kylefield.com/faq
Last edited:
There is no question this is a reasonable possibility. When considering A&M's history, it's always best to separate between the modern era and the era when we were a small, all-military, all-male agricultural college....and when Texas could offer unlimited scholarships just to prevent kids from going elsewhere. That all changed from about 1965 to 1975. However in the modern era, the issue is about the three key resources needed to win in this league:
1. A very good coach.
2. Fertile recruiting backyard and ability to get the Jimmy's and Joe's in that backyard.
3. Financial resources to: (a) entice and keep #1 above and #1's assistants and (b) compete in the facilities arms race to entice #1 and #2 above to come to the university.
4. Rabid fanbase to bridge the down periods when either #1 or #2 are lacking.
- In it's prior history, A&M has seldom had #1 or the ability to retain #1. That may have changed...we'll see.
- In it's prior history, A&M had a tough time getting the recruits in its backyard to skip Texas and OU and come to A&M. Move to SEC should provide a permanent solution, Sumlin and Johnny Cash provide a temporary catalyst to expedite #2. JFF being very much a surprising, short-term catalyst.
- #3 and #4 have always been there
When A&M announced the decision to "accept" the SEC's invitation, our president said it was "a 100 year decision." The earnest hope of Aggie fans everywhere was that disengagement from Texas/Big 12/SWC leftovers and into the SEC as the sole Texas school would create a differentiator for us and give us a greater chance at achieving #1 and #2. The jury is still out....we are trying very hard....but the early signs seem positive. We'll have a much better idea of how this "100 year decision" is working out in about 20 years....much more data needed.
Of the $740M raised...only $271.5M was for athletics.
Last edited:
Harleyspoon, that's a very reasonable & well thought out response. However 
wink with Bama & LSU's dominance of the SEC west, aTm has a steep hill to climb if they are going to do anything more than be the third best program in their half of the conference.
wink with Bama & LSU's dominance of the SEC west, aTm has a steep hill to climb if they are going to do anything more than be the third best program in their half of the conference.
The renderings of new Kyle Field look really nice, no BDS but, nice none the less. Beats that Barn in west Georgia.
That's not a bad place to be these days if you can break through and win the division once every 4 years or so.Harleyspoon, that's a very reasonable & well thought out response. However
Third best on this side may well be third best in the whole conference most years. I know everyone wants to be first, but that can't happen. Thirteen teams have to settle every year and I'd rather settle for third than tenth. That's good for top ten nationally every year.
Add to that success in other sports and you've got yourself a recipe for great success overall.
Edited to add: Perhaps most importantly to Aggies everywhere, you've left Texas in your dust if you accomplish that.
Last edited:
Absolutely true!! Better description would be "mountain" to climb. Biggest concern is "a very good coach." I think even Bama, LSU, Texas, OU, Nebraska, USC, Notre Dame and UT can relate to periods in their history where they have had everything going for them, but not had "a very good coach." Finding and keeping such a guy is just such a difficult task. That will be everyone's biggest challenge going forward.However
Alabama and L$U are great programs. I can't stand L$U, but theyre better than us right now. Back in the early to mid 90's they weren't and we beat them 5 years in a row, so they cancelled the series of non conference games with us (A&M). I'd much rather be the 3rd best in the SECw rather than the best in the Big12. The SEC is by far the best conference around and the Big12 (or BDF = Big Dumpster Fire) is probably on par with the Mountain West right now. I'd also love to make the tigers scared to play us again in a few years when we've grown up into playing SECw style football. It will take work, but it will be well worth it if we can accomplish being amongst or even close to the top of the SECw along with Alabama (L$U can burn for all I care, can't stand them).Harleyspoon, that's a very reasonable & well thought out response. However
Because of the connective history of Bama and A&M I've always had a liking for the Aggies.
They are my second favorite team. Sorry Wingman, but I can't pull for you when you play Bama and I understand...visa-versa. I have to admit, the games from last year and this year are more excitement than what I should be putting my health in danger over...whew! I know it leaves you on the short end...but...I hope Bama is undefeated every year, and the Aggies only lose one.
Roll Tide, Roll...A'ight! And Gig'em when you can!
Latest threads
-
Final Home Midweek for Alabama Brings Samford to The Joe- Started by Diamond Tide
- Replies: 0
-
-
-
-
-
I'd like to hear about some actual prayer requests that have been answered the way it made sense to answer them.- Started by Labrador
- Replies: 15