March 30, 2001
Texas A&M Head Football Coach R.C. Slocum will remove the headset and become commissioner for a day as the Aggies prepare for Saturday's Maroon & White Game.
"I'm looking forward to the weekend activities," Slocum said. "We've got a lot of our former players back on campus. A lot of the NFL players can not make it back in the fall, but they are excited to come back to be a part of this weekend. Some of the players are playing golf today (Friday) and I think our current players are excited about the game on Saturday."
The Maroon & White Game is slated for 1 p.m. on Saturday at Kyle Field. Tickets are $5 for adults and $2 for high school age and under. Texas A&M students will be admitted with their football or all-sports pass. The ticket windows at the southeast and southwest ends of Kyle Field, along with the Zone ticket booths will be open at 11 a.m. to sell tickets. Gates 1, 4, 9, 14 and the Zone will also open at 11 a.m. Proceeds from the game go to the Texas A&M Athletics Capital Campaign.
Commissioner Slocum tabbed Mark Farris as captain for the White team and Vance Smith as the captain for the Maroon squad. Farris won the coin toss and preceded to make pre-season All-America center Seth McKinney the top choice. Smith took McKinney's backup, center Geoff Hangartner. Then Smith selected first, and Farris received the backup at a particular position. At this point, the only player on both squads is backup quarterback Dustin Long. Commissioner Slocum reserves the right to switch players if needed due to depth problems.
Smith won the toss for the first selection of the coaching staff and went with defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz, while Farris took offensive coordinator Dino Babers.
"Offenses win games, defenses win championships," Smith said following Thursday's workout.
Joining Hankwitz on the Maroon squad will be inside linebackers coach Alan Weddell, along with offensive line coach J.B. Grimes, running backs coach Ken Rucker and assistant head coach and wide receivers coach Kevin Sumlin.
Babers' staff includes tight ends coach Tam Hollingshead and defensive line coach Buddy Wyatt along with special teams coordinator and defensive backs coach Shawn Slocum.
Joining the captains for the coin toss and bringing out the game ball will be the current Miss USA Kandace Krueger. Krueger was an Aggie football hostess while she attended Texas A&M University. Krueger will also appear at a reception for the Bryan-College Station community hosted by the university and the 12th Man Foundation at the J. Wayne Stark Art Galleries in the Memorial Student Center from 3:30 p.m. until 5 p.m.
Activities in the Zone Plaza will get started at 11 a.m. as fans will be able to participate in various games. Aramark will sell hot dogs, chips and drinks for $1 each. The 12th Man Foundation will hand out schedule posters and mini-footballs which can be used for autographs.
Spring football game programs will be sold for $1 at the stadium with a special centerfold to assist in getting autographs.
Upon the conclusion of the spring game, the Aggie players will remain on Kyle Field so fans can get autographs and take pictures. Fans are encouraged to bring their cameras.
A lot of activities will be taking place on the Aggie campus including the Big Event, the largest one-day student run service project in the nation. In an effort to express gratitude for the support of the surrounding communities, the Texas A&M students get together for various service oriented activities.
The slate of athletic events follows:
Friday, Mar. 30
7 p.m. Aggie Baseball vs. UT-Pan American/Olsen Field
Saturday, Mar. 31
11 a.m. Women's Tennis vs. Wake Forest/Tennis Center
1 p.m. Maroon & White Football Game/Kyle Field
3 p.m. Softball vs. Kansas/Aggie Softball Diamond
3 p.m. Soccer Former Students Game/Aggie Soccer Field
7 p.m. Baseball vs. UT-Pan American/Olsen Field
Sunday, Apr. 1
1 p.m. Baseball vs. UT-Pan American/Olsen Field
1 p.m. Softball vs. Kansas/Aggie Softball Diamond