Bjork Provides Weekly Update on Studio 12

Athletics Director Ross Bjork made his weekly appearance Wednesday on the Athletics Department's official radio show, Studio 12. We've got the audio and notes from his appearance below. You can use the timecodes listed below as well to fast forward through the show to topics of most interest.

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Notes from Bjork's Studio 12 appearance:

• 1:30 mark (pushing forward) Had Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band on field today to do a performance. Can just feel it. Can feel the momentum. Spoke to band this morning, told them our job is provide opportunities and hope and put them in best position to represent the university. We can’t let up. Got 3 ½ weeks left. Know Texas is improving in hospital rates. Think we’ve managed our students returning very well. But can’t let up before September 26. But it feels good. Got practice going. Football in air. Band playing. Prepping stadium. Feels good to be in this position of just pushing forward. But we cannot let up. got to stay diligent.
• 3:00 (kickoff times) That hasn’t happened when we have some advance notice for games later in season. We understand TV dynamic. Been pushing SEC as ADs to try to give us little more clarity as early as possible. Have some definite times and windows for others. Was hoping that Florida game would be picked for CBS. I anticipate that it could. Glad to have some clarity. 6:30 night game in September, then CBS game the next week.
• 6:15 (optics of first college football game) No doubt about it. Wasn’t whole lot of people in stands, and that wasn’t primary objective. To me it was seeing college football, hearing about their protocols, they had very robust ones. Happen to know the AD at Central Arkansas. Texted him Saturday saying thanks for setting standard, you’re starting us off and we appreciate your leadership. We can all learn. Will talk to him after Thursday to see how they managed first game and second game, in short week, with testing in between. They stayed in Alabama. Think UAB is hosting them in some manner. Will be interesting to learn how they handled it and if anything changed in protocols so we can learn from that. Seeing game played, seeing how teams manage cases and outbreaks, just keeping everyone safe as possible. But seeing it and having people live thru it, and knowing it can be managed, provides some good optics. Also was a great game, entertaining. 
• 9:30 (ticket opt-in process and response) Numbers will be fluid. Believe overall we had really good response. Strong response. Looks like we’ll be able to accommodate our season ticket holders who chose to opt in. Next step is seat selection process which begins next week. When they get their time they’ll be able to see what seats available based on social distancing. They still have ability to opt out if don’t like locations. Really won’t have final number until we approach first game. Ongoing process. Know our 12th Man Foundation staff has done phenomenal job of communicating, being organized, being thoughtful. It is what it is. We’re not in control, virus is. We’ve had to adapt. But we’ve done great job of being organized and putting in ton of effort and time. Can’t thank them enough for all their work. We’ll see how it shakes out. Been a great process so far.
• 11:30 (25% capacity and possibility for higher or lower) Everything is still on the table. Said earlier things are improving in Texas, but what happens over next 30-45 days? We’ve got to keep our stadiums as safe as possible, social distance, wear face coverings. Don’t need outbreak to come out of our stadium. Could go down depending on environment. We also know the current governor order says 50 percent. We don’t anticipate that being adjusted. Could that go up as season goes along? Play first games at 25% and adapt after that? Will see. Key is we have ability to be nimble. Can increase it, sell more tickets, be as flexible as possible.
• 13:30 (other fall sports now know more too) Got the structure of the seasons outlined for soccer, volleyball, cross country. Should have schedules later this week on the exact dates. Will have four soccer matches here in College Station, four on road, then go to SEC tourney. Volleyball will have eight matches but only four opponents. So you’ll play a doubleheader, two here in College Station and two on the road. Two per rotation if you will. Gives them a chance to have a fall season. And then what will happen is we’ll have a spring segment as well, that’s when NCAA as of now anticipates hosting NCAA Championships. Be mixture of some non-conference and conference games and then go into NCAA Tourney. Cross Country can have two meets in fall, those do not have to be conference only. Will have SEC meet. NCAA Championship would be in Spring. At least we have clarity. Now they know what they’re training for. Soccer starts only two weeks from this Friday. Don’t know home or away at this point in time. But we’re starting. Again, it’s moving forward with right kind of planning protocols and as safely as possible. 
• 16:00 (volleyball in October gives idea for basketball) Dynamic there with going little bit later was that volleyball is very intense sport. More matches. Didn’t want a 20-game season in fall knowing there would be NCAA segment in Spring. But let’s play something. Let’s get something in and keep it little bit shorter. Allowed them to start later. Helps us with fan protocols. As we sit here today, 25% capacity at soccer and volleyball. Gives us chance to operationalize lot of protocols. Give our team chance to go through this. Gives us window into basketball, yes. And then basketball, do we start on time, later in November, December 1, all those conversations are happening right now. think we may have basketball clarity in middle to late September as to what those seasons will look like.
• 17:15 (go in sport order with timelines) Yeah. Also have golf and tennis in there, we have some clarity on them with fall competitions. Next layer is swimming and equestrian, they both compete in a fall period along with winter/spring. Have to figure that out. Sort of a progression, you’re right. Baseball and softball we know we have time. You’re right, you look up and oh we have to figure out swimming, equestrian. Can’t forget about golf and tennis. Will sneak up on you. Great thing we have a terrific staff that keeps all these things organized.
• 19:00 (Michael Young retiring) President Young has been terrific for me and my family. Brought us here to Texas A&M. He’s done terrific job here. Large campus, big platform, lots of things that happen at a big place like this. But having a voice at the CEO table in the SEC is so important. He’s provided tremendous leadership at SEC and national level to make sure A&M well-positioned. We’re grateful. He’s not going anywhere. Taking faculty position in Bush School. We appreciate his leadership and dedication to A&M and I’ll obviously be grateful for him bringing me and my family here. I always say my #1 constituent is my boss, whether title is President or Chancellor. That is #1 relationship an AD has to have. Was great alignment as soon as we met. In next leader we need to look for same qualities and attract the same kind of leader. Board of Regents and Chancellor Sharp will do that. A&M, largest university in Texas, the resources…we know this year challenging, different, but we can come out stronger than most if not all universities. With all our platforms, there’s no doubt we’ll have great candidates for this job.