An Interview with Ross Bjork

Named Texas A&M's Director of Athletics last week, Ross Bjork called in to Studio 12 to talk with hosts Andrew Monaco and Will Johnson.

Catch his conversation below or subscribe for free at 12thman.com/podcast. A transcript is below.

AM: We welcome you inside Studio 12, we are in the south end zone of Kyle Field. I am Andrew Monaco along with Will Johnson, we are glad that you are with us. And we are so happy to introduce to you and talk with the Director of Athletics here at Texas A&M, Ross Bjork. Ross, Howdy.

Howdy guys, thanks for having me on, I appreciate it.

AM: It is wonderful, great news. I can just imagine Ross 'whirlwind', is that an understatement for you?

There is no question about that. You know since the news started breaking at about 8:40 on Thursday night my phone has been on fire nonstop between emails and text messages and tweets and just people congratulating us and our family, and that just makes you feel good that you've got an impact on relationships. But trying to return about 500 text messages while I'm sitting watching my son play 13-year-old baseball…boy my thumbs are tired. I'm ready to get to these meetings here and now here in Destin. But it's been terrific.

WJ: Yeah, it's interesting to talk to you as you arrived in Destin for SEC meetings, and you're switching from one SEC school to the other. I bet you get some interesting looks down there near the beach this week.

What's kind of funny is my son's team, his colors are black and gold, and so I'm wearing like a black t-shirt and a white hat and black shorts and everybody's like what are you already neutral or what? And I said look this is all I got, I just came from the ball field in Atlanta. So I will be probably wearing a lot of non-discreet clothing this week. I can't really wear the Ole Miss stuff anymore and I don't quite have the Aggie gear yet. So you may see this strange guy walking around in a turquoise shirt or something like that this week, trying to figure out who he belongs to. But it'll be a great week being here.

AM: Is this like you, since you're an old football player, having to go into the other locker room after being traded?

It seems like it, you know? When you're kind of in this limbo spot it's an interesting dynamic. But I think it'll be a smooth handoff and you know I think what I'll be able to do this week is really just help R.C. cast votes as decisions come up and proposals come up, he's going to be…he's the athletic director until July 8^th, and he'll cast all the votes, and I'll sit there and advise him and counsel him as he needs throughout this week. And the Ole Miss folks have already named Keith Carter the interim athletic
director, so Keith is in charge at Ole Miss. So I'll just kind of toggle as needed between helping some Ole Miss folks transition and then R.C. as he has the reins of the athletic department right now.

WJ: Ross what is it about Texas A&M that makes this such an attractive job?

Well you know I think when anytime that a top-five athletic department job comes open and you're contacted about that opportunity you have to listen. When you work in the power five, when you're an AD at the power-five level, these jobs are hard. And there's a lot to it. And so to have one it's a cherished moment it's a cherished profession. I didn't have to leave Ole Miss. Ole Miss has been great to me and my family, and we're back on track with a lot of things. But you get a phone call saying hey you're on the list, they want to meet with you, are you willing? You say absolutely, where's that meeting at, when do I need to be there? Because Texas A&M is a top-five program. Resources, footprint, fans, former students I mean, everybody is all in at Texas A&M. The commitment is there. This is an opportunity that we could not as a family and me as an athletic director pass up. So it's really, really humbling and I'm honored to be part of Aggieland and the 12^th Man.

WJ: Since 2012, quite frankly, you've been an opponent of the Aggies with the Rebels in the SEC West, same division, butting heads in football, basketball, baseball, all sports. But when you would watch A&M compete against the Rebels, were there things that jumped out to you about the school that kind of made you think that they've got something pretty special going there?

Yeah I think the one thing that comes to mind and when I first talked to President Young he asked me, he's like, what do you think? And I said leadership. Texas A&M I believe stands for leadership. I've always been impressed with that, going back to 1998 when I went to my first game there at Kyle Field while at the University of Missouri. I just think it stands for so many positive things about higher education, about college athletics. Obviously the Corps means so much to our future and the security of our country, and all the things that that stands for, and so those are all the things that I kept seeing about Texas A&M University. There is commitment, everyone wants to win and do it the right way, and be great academically, socially and competitively. When you have a situation like that, you want to be a part of those type of institutions so that's why I was just so fired up to get that phone call, to say hey, we want to talk. And everything happened fast from there.

AM: You mentioned that you've been, before Ole Miss, Western Kentucky as an athletic director, but you also worked at Missouri, UCLA and Miami. Was there someone Ross who had a great impact on you and has made you into the director of athletics that you are now?

You know guys I really believe that the principles that I have as an athletic director started honestly when I was a student-athlete that little old Emporia State. A Division II football player, a fullback, I had no idea how college athletics worked. But I wanted to be involved in it. I thought about coaching, I thought that was the only pathway, and I said you know what, I want a little more control of my life than being a coach. So there's a guy that sat in the corner office, wore a shirt and tie and a sport coat every day, and I went into his office—Bill Quayle—and I said hey, what do you do? And he's like well I'm the athletic director, and I oversee athletics. And so ever since that point, I was a sophomore in college, I wanted to be an AD. I've been fortunate. Joe Castiglione hired me at the University of Missouri, and now Joe's been viewed as the best athletic director in all of college athletics at Oklahoma, been there 20-plus years. Mike Alden came in at Mizzou and took over for Joe and I was blessed to work with Mike in the SEC. Being colleagues with him, but he taught me so much about being diligent and hard work and really interacting with all facets of the athletic program, from the grounds crew all the way to the head coaches. I learned a ton from Mike Alden, and then Dan Guerrero at UCLA, so many national championships, excellence, high-caliber academics. Living in a big city like Los Angeles to me you learn to adapt to a very, very diverse market and how do you market in a big city with an attractive university where things can get lost in the shuffle? I learned so much from those three individuals. Then I was fortunate at UCLA to learn leadership lessons from legendary coach John Wooden. From the time I was there in 2005 until April 2010 I would have breakfast with Coach Wooden, I'd see him about once a month. I just learned. I soaked in so much from all these leaders and I've been blessed to be around some terrific people in college athletics.

AM: So since you played football, being a former student-athlete, does it help you talk with and understand student-athletes there at Ole Miss and now coming up here in Aggieland?

There is no question. When I played, it was a lot of different dynamics back then. We had shoulder pads, a helmet, a metal locker room and we barely had tape in the training room. There was no training table and all the resources that we have now, but I think the fundamentals are the same right? We need to recruit well, we need to make sure we have good people, we need to make sure we're sound academically and we need to make sure that kids can play at this level. So I think my experience as a Division II football player definitely helped that viewpoint. When I was talking to Jimbo I'm like hey, Jimbo, we're both small college football players. We're grinders you know? We get after it. We know what hard work is all about because you have to do it at that type of level. I think my fundamentals, my base as a football student-athlete absolutely set the core for who I am as a leader in college athletics.

WJ: And likes to use that fullback in the offense. Did he ask you if you could suit up? Is he trying to put pads on you?

You know what, he didn't fit me for pads. But I told him I said Coach, look. I've been in these spread offenses at Ole Miss and I've been begging for a fullback. And he said we use one, we use one. And I said I know you do, so thank you. So yeah that'll be fun. I haven't met the roster yet of the football team but whoever the fullback use he's gonna be my guy that's for sure.

AM: Ben Miles will be one of them.

WJ: Son of Les Miles, actually.

Ben Miles, alright. I'm going to get to know Ben really well then.

WJ: Ross your first impressions of Jimbo Fisher. I don't know if you've had contacts with him prior to coming to am but your thoughts of the head man of the Aggie football team.

You know we have a lot of common friends in the business of college athletics. I did not know Jimbo up until last year when he came to the SEC meetings here in Destin and sat across the table from him. He's a winner. He gets it. He knows what football can do for a university. He knows how to win at a high level. He's a sitting national championship coach which there are not that many of them in college football these days. He knows what it takes. Interacting with him in this process I just saw that there's just a vision and there's commitment and then it's just going to take hard work. It's recruiting, it's hard work, and then obviously you've got to have the right strategy and the right X's and O's. There's no one better to lead A&M football other than Jimbo. So I can't really wait to partner with him and lock arms and really just go to work and let's have this grand vision we're all on the same path to win national championships.

WJ: When Jimbo takes the field he runs out on to Kyle and we always marvel at one of the things waiting on the team is 34,000 students, unheard of at a college football game standing the entire game long. When you've come to Kyle Field and witness that, is there a bit of an awe factor with the support of the 12th Man this fan base and what do you think that says just about this University and how it wraps its arms around it around its football program here?

It's special and it's unique. In today's world of fan attendance and student attendance this is a rarity and so we need to make sure that we maintain and enhance our traditions and have a great gameday experience. So I look at that and I say wow, what a great unbelievable asset that we have at Texas A&M to recruit the future right? The future Heisman Trophy winners and All-Americans and All-SEC players, that's what it's all about. So for me to see that, the whole fan experience and fan attendance and student attendance, where programs are begging people to stay the entire game let alone stand for part of the game. We're standing for the whole game. I think we have to just understand that that is a great asset, that's the passion that our fans and our 12th Man have. How do we capitalize on that? How do we grow that even more? And how do we obviously turn those people into the future fans and donors and season ticket holders? It just catapults everything when your student base is there from the get-go and we can just use that as an unbelievable momentum spring for our football program and the entire University.

AM: Facilities have been a focus here in Aggieland, obviously the expansion of Kyle Field, the Bright Complex, the practice facility is beautiful, Cushing Stadium for track and Davis Diamond for for softball, and that's not done without the 12th Man Foundation and the incredible base of donors that have dedicated themselves to ensuring the facilities here. Are you excited about beginning those relationships and building those relationships with the 12th Man Foundation?

There's no question. I cut my teeth in fundraising. When I was at the University of Missouri one of the first things I did was come to a Big 12 fundraising workshop and of all places it was right there at Kyle Field. I believe it was a new end zone complex at that time so that would have been like 1998 or so. Miles Marks was leading the 12th Man and all of us around the table are like come on, how hard is it at Texas A&M to raise money? I mean look what you have right here. We were all jealous of the 12^th Man Foundation, so to be able to work with the individuals, the leaders, Travis (Dabney) and his staff, and the incredible work they're doing. That's really I think what my best skill set is, building relationships. Casting vision to allow people to give what they're passionate about. It's not our money, it's their money. And how do we really impact their passion so they give and they see that vision, and that's our job, to articulate that. So I can't wait to engage with the board. I had great experience working with outside boards, separate entities if you will, but also integrating them into our processes, integrating them into the vision of the athletic department. That's what Travis and I have had talks about the last couple of days, and I know Scott did a great job of really building strong relationships there with that board. I was told by President Young that it's the strongest that relationship has ever been. So like I said, with our student attendance, let's capitalize on that. Let's take it to the next level. So that's going to be really exciting to see what's next. Facility wise, you mentioned facilities. There are no days off in college athletics in the facility arms race. We built all these great things and you guys have built all these great things, Texas A&M and the 12th Man Foundation has, but what's next? That's going to be our job is to learn and listen what our coaches need, what the student-athletes' needs are, because there's always going to be next. There's always going to be something. It's non-stop in this competitive world so it's going to be fun to turn all those assets on.

WJ: One thing about it is you have 500,000 former students of this school and tapping into as many relationships as possible with those even beyond the 12th Man Foundation, how many more can you grab and get the attention of that amount of former students that all have a passion for this place? Is that a part of bringing championships to Aggieland, not just the 34,000 students not just donors just all the Aggies that have so much deep love for this school?

When you think about that, it's really just mind-boggling and just overwhelming. I was thinking about this on the drive between Atlanta and Destin. How long would it take to meet all 500,000 former students? How long would that take? Do we have any idea? We need maybe a master's thesis on if you could meet everyone. I think the method, and we started this at Ole Miss, because when I got there there was somewhat of a perception that Ole Miss only cared about the donors who gave at a certain level and that's all they paid attention to. And we really tried to flip that. So my message to all 500,000 former students and obviously everyone who's just a fan of Aggie Athletics is give whatever you can, whatever that is. If that's buying a t-shirt and wearing that with pride or you come to one game a year or you come to a tennis match because you happen to be in town or whatever it is, give what you can. So it's going to be our job to provide those platforms. One of the things I've always been impressed with about Texas A&M is the moment you walk on that campus as an incoming student it's part of your DNA and you understand that you have this pride, this passion, this connection. It's part of the values that you're going to give back and so our message is going to be give what you can, whatever that is. If that's 50 or 100 million dollars or about 50 dollars a year. Like I said, buying that sweatshirt and supporting the Aggies there in the grocery store, what can you give? That's what we're going to ask you to do. So that's how we're going to try to connect with those 500,000 former students and really just make a positive impact that athletics can be this great vehicle to propel the entire university.

AM: And make them feel a value, is that part of the connection and the relationship?

Absolutely. Absolutely. And that's the hard part right? How do you make each person feel that personal connection? So we'll have to have to come up with that. And I know Texas A&M already does a great job through the Association of Former Students, the 12th Man Foundation and the Texas A&M Foundation, and so how do we capitalize on that even more with that unbelievable foundation that's already there?

WJ: I know in your comments on the release that was issued when you were hired you even mentioned the Aggie Corps of Cadets down here and referred to them by the moniker they go by, 'The Keepers of the Spirit'. Is that something that sets A&M apart in your mind to folks around the country?

There's no question. You know we talk about the special attributes and the uniqueness of Texas A&M and this is just one of them. I think it's a beacon again back to our country and our freedoms. That is a special, special group of young men and women who served the Corps and again we want to build those relationships. I've always prided myself since I've become an athletic director back to Western Kentucky is having a great relationship with our ROTC programs on campus, with our veterans associations on campus and always doing things to make those connections. So you look at the core values of Texas A&M University and you talk about leadership and you talk about selfless service and excellence…what better example than the Corps of Cadets. So I hope to build strong relationships there. I think there's a lot that athletics and the Corps have in common in terms of the leadership lessons that can be taught in athletics and the leadership lessons that are taught with the military perspective. Those are the things that we're going to look at. Obviously the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band is going to be right there with us every game with just so much spirit and passion and we're going to really make sure that they feel appreciated every single day.

AM: As our partner on football the All-American Dave Elmendorf says the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band is undefeated at halftime.

I know the first time they came to Ole Miss in 2012 nobody left their seats at halftime, and that doesn't happen at Ole Miss. So I know that it's a special, special group that you're exactly right they are undefeated and they'll stay that way, believe me.

AM: What are you most proud of your time at Ole Miss?

You know it's sort of hard to reflect and that's probably not for me to judge sort of what that legacy is or what should we be most proud of but I'll give you a couple things. One is just the academic performance. When I stood in my press conference in 2012 and I said our goal is to have a 3.0 cumulative grade point average of our student athletes, I had several people come up to me afterwards and say good luck with that, yeah that's not going to happen. And I said who says? Why can't we do it? Let's have an attitude and put the work in to make that happen. So we have a 3.0 at Ole Miss, we have the second highest APR score in the Southeastern Conference at Ole Miss, and we graduated 85 percent. That's why we're here, we're here to educate and to teach. So that part I'm very proud of. The other thing is I really think that we modernized the athletic department. That's what I was brought there to do by Dan Jones, our former Chancellor at Ole Miss. He said I need you to modernize the department, ticket sales, fundraising, marketing, multimedia rights, communications, productions, compliance, business office, everything. That was happening. We needed to modernize to adapt to this growing world of college athletics and then the last thing I would say is just attitude. I got there and it was basically why should Ole Miss compete. We tried to flip that to why shouldn't. That type of effort never stops. That campaign never stops. So we're still continuing that, they're going to have to still continue that. But I think we flipped the mindset to think at a higher level to think big time, change the mentality to compete in this conference. Those are the things that I hope that I'll be able to leave behind there.

AM: It sounds like you're playing right into what A&M has always talked about, building champions, about graduating student-athletes, provide the unmatched student-athlete experience and win championships with integrity. It seems like you fit right into that here in Aggieland.

That's what it's all about you know? We try to overcomplicate college athletics many times but when I talk to recruits I say look. The reason why you're on our campus is because you're a good person, you do the right thing socially, you're good academically to get into our University, and then you can compete. And if we do those three things successfully then it's really not that hard. So that's really how we have to approach it is how do we compete in all three of those areas at the highest level and that's what Texas A&M is all about. We want to win, we want to be the best academic and athletic program, period. Just the best. And that's what attracted me so that's what we're going to do to fit in here at Texas A&M and I can't wait to get started.

WJ: The timeline's really interesting in the fact that you arrived at Ole Miss in 2012 the same year Texas A&M joined the Southeastern Conference. It's kind of like you joined the SEC with us. But does it take something different to run an athletics program in the Southeastern Conference than perhaps anywhere else?

There's no question about that. This conference is unique. There's a lot of things pulling programs in different directions. We get the attention, positively and negatively, of the entire country. There's a reason why Paul Finebaum is so popular because he's polarizing. But he's polarizing because he represents the Southeastern Conference and there's value in that. So there's no doubt about it. I've been at UCLA, so I've been in the Pac-12. I've been in the Big 12 when Missouri was there. I've been in the ACC. And those are all great leagues and they have tremendous value but the passion, the amount of time that people commit to college athletics in this footprint, it's a behemoth. And it's our job to steer it, to lead through it, to make sure we're doing it the right way. But these SEC jobs are not for the faint of heart, there's no doubt about that. But they're also a lot of fun because people care. And when people care then you can capitalize on the passion that people bring to the table.

AM: It was just a couple months ago at this place we got a chance to introduce Buzz Williams as the new head coach for men's basketball, replacing someone you know well in Billy Kennedy. He was at Miami, was he not, as an assistant when you were there? And can you tell us about Buzz, you know Buzz a little bit don't you?

"That's exactly right. Yeah Billy and I go way back to our days in Miami. We crossed over for one season and I had great respect for what he was doing at Texas A&M. When the opening came it was just it was a no-brainer in terms of the perfect fit, it was. Kermit Davis obviously was the coach there a long time ago and he and I talk often and said A&M is going to hire Buzz Williams, that's a no-brainer, it's just a matter of time. And sure enough that came together. Buzz and I had crossed paths a few times once at an NCAA Tournament site in Louisville, Kentucky and then another time we played them twice at Ole Miss. We played up there in Blacksburg and then they came to our place. And we were going through our challenges at the time and Buzz stopped me in the tunnel, I didn't really know if he remembered me or not, and he stopped me and put his hand on my shoulder and just said hey Ross I've been impressed with you I've watched you from afar. You've had steady great leadership, I really admire that. Keep doing what you're doing. And I was like wow, here's a very, very busy college basketball coach and he's paying attention to what's happening at our University. So I've been impressed with Buzz and can't wait to just talk to him face to face. And really again same thing with Jimbo, sit down, lock arms. Obviously he's new, he's getting acclimated, what are the needs he sees the program has in front of us, what are the barriers, how do we get there? SEC basketball is as tough as it's ever been and that's a good thing. And you hire a guy like Buzz Williams, he will get it done, there's no doubt about it. So that's going to be a fun program to see come together under Buzz's leadership

AM: Did you realize at the time that Ole Miss shutting out Texas A&M that that was going to be the last sports thing for you at Ole Miss was going to be that win? Can you go back and give the Aggies a couple more hits and maybe a win?

It's so funny. So this is how this whole college athletic world works. And obviously we're being very transparent as we should be in this conversation. A couple weeks ago people were like you know Mr. AD, you know what about our baseball program, why is Ole Miss struggling. What about the future of the coach. They're asking all these questions and they're commenting on Twitter and my email. Well then Ole Miss gets hot,. right? They win at Tennessee, they make a run in the SEC Tournament and then last night on Twitter people are like well, Bjork, he's not hosting a regional, but Ole Miss is. Ole Miss 1, Ross Bjork 0, you know. And I'm like yeah man, I had nothing to do with really either one of them. I'm supporting my coaches at Ole Miss. And obviously I had nothing to do with the Texas A&M situation, I don't even know where my office is yet. So when President Young called me Thursday afternoon, and obviously the game was already over, and we talked about becoming an Aggie. And I was like I wonder, because I was waiting on a call before noon, I'm like I wonder if this game hangs in the balance with my future employer perhaps? It didn't impact it, that's a good thing, it did not impact it. But no, proud of Ole Miss and Coach Bianco runs a model program and those student-athletes…here's the cool thing about what we do. I got several text messages from several of the baseball student-athletes on Friday, and they're getting ready to play on Friday afternoon and they send me text messages saying thanks for your leadership, thanks for our relationship. I mean, that's what it's all about, those kind of connections. I know Texas A&M baseball is strong, a great foundation, unbelievable fan support. Going there to Morgantown, I like the set up, I like the draw, pitching depth is obviously there. So I'm glad that score last Thursday and the 4-0 record by Ole Miss did not hurt me in this process.

AM: The best part of that answer though, it's special isn't it when you know you're making a difference for the student-athletes right?

There's no question, yeah.

AM: We are so excited that you are on board and you are now with us, congratulations. Thank you for this time, have a great time at the meetings, be safe, and look forward to meeting you and your family, Thank you so much for joining us.

Thanks Andrew and Will. Gig'Em and Go Aggies.

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