September 19, 2001
In an effort to help fans attending Texas A&M home football games, the following clarification is made regarding bags, diaper bags & backpacks.
Earlier this week, Texas A&M University followed some of the guidelines set forth by major league baseball and the NFL banning backpacks and large bags.
"We have decided to not ban backpacks and bags, but we highly discourage fans from bringing any bags to the stadium," Athletics Director Wally Groff said. "If a person must bring a bag or backpack, the gate personnel will ask the person to disclose the contents of the bag. This could create delays at the gates."
Deliveries to the stadium are being checked throughout the week leading up to the Saturday game.
The scheduled fly overs at the football game have been canceled due to FAA regulations.
There will be an increased presence of uniformed police officers from the University, Bryan and College Station police departments.
"We encourage our fans to arrive early and be patient," Groff said. "Our gates open two hours prior to kickoff and please do not make any strange comments which would detain you and get you into trouble."
Fans may want to utilize the PTTS Game Day Shuttle service. The off-campus routes can be found by accessing the PTTS website at http://www-ptts.tamu.edu. The shuttles run two hours prior to kickoff and one hour after the completion of the game. Any student, faculty, staff member or visitor may ride the shuttle by showing a football game ticket.
A group of Texas A&M students came up with an idea and started a grass roots effort for football fans attending the game. The student-sponsored event has been approved by the University administration. Fans seated in the first decks should wear blue, fans in the second decks should wear white and fans in the third decks should wear red. The only adjustment comes in the north end zone facility and fans with seats in the 400 sections should wear white along with those seated in The Zone Club area. (For a complete diagram, access http://jaredp.com/rwbout/).
The group will sell T-shirts in the three colors for $5 each. Students will sell the shirts Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the Zone Plaza and Monday through Friday at the Rudder Fountain/MSC Complex from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. On gameday, shirts will be sold at the Rudder Fountain/MSC Complex from 8 a.m. until 11 a.m. Proceeds from the sales will go to the New York Firefighters 911 Relief Fund.
"Texas A&M University is known for our patriotism and this is another way for people to express their commitment to the United States of America and to honor those affected by the tragedies," Groff said.
The 55 American flags, which represent the 55 Texas A&M graduates killed in service during World War I, will continue to fly around the stadium's perimeter. The flags at the north and south ends of the stadiums will be lowered to half staff.
Fans may bring USA flags up to 12 inches by 18 inches, roughly the size of 12th Man towels into the stadium.
The Aggie football team will wear American flag stickers on the back of their helmets.