From the Desk of Ross Bjork

Howdy!

It is hard to believe that November is already here! This is always a special time of year as we celebrate Veterans Day and thank those who protect our freedoms and enter the holiday season with our loved ones and reflect on all that we are thankful for. One of the many blessings in my life is being a part of the Aggie Family and having the opportunity to serve our incredible student-athletes. Our athletes excel in all that they do and continue to blow me away with their accomplishments not only on the field, but as young adults as well.

An example of that can be seen in the classroom. Last spring, our student-athletes recorded the highest cumulative GPA the department has ever seen and a record number were named to the Dean's Honor Roll. I want to thank the Center for Student Athlete Services for their leadership and dedication to our student-athletes' success, your hard work does not go unnoticed! I look forward to finishing up the academic semester strong and know we will continue to set the bar high at Texas A&M Athletics.

We are entering an important time period on the athletic calendar with our fall sports nearing the end of their regular seasons and looking into postseason play. The support from the 12th Man over the past several months has been phenomenal. I have seen you show up to yell for our soccer team at Ellis Field, volleyball at Reed Arena, cross country at the Watts Cross Country Course and for football at Kyle Field. Your presence directly impacts the game atmosphere in a positive way. We all witnessed the 12th Man not only help us defeat Auburn, but also set a new attendance record of 109,835 in the redeveloped Kyle Field!

We are also beginning to feel the excitement of the start of the women's and men's basketball seasons. Please continue to show up for our student-athletes by purchasing season tickets and coming to Reed ready to yell for the Aggies! Season tickets are currently available at 12thman.com/tickets. Remember that this year we have introduced the Gig 'Em Pass and Gig 'Em Pass Plus, the most flexible ways to experience Aggie Basketball in Reed Arena. Attending Aggie basketball will also allow everyone to celebrate Coach Gary Blair's legendary career in his final season as our head coach. For more information on the Gig 'Em Pass and Gig 'em Pass Plus, please click here.

This is also an important time period for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As announced this past summer, the organization is currently working to rewrite its constitution and just released its first draft of the document. This work had been done in conjunction with the feedback from member schools, conferences, advocacy groups, coaches and student-athletes. For more information on the constitution committee, draft constitution, key dates, or input forms, check out ncaa.org/ncaa-constitution-committee.

I am truly grateful for all of you and hope you get to spend time with family and friends this Thanksgiving!

Thanks and Gig 'Em,
Ross

Sport Updates

The Aggies are in the midst of a four-game winning streak including a pair of ranked wins at Kyle Field, defeating then-No. 1 Alabama and No. 12 Auburn. A&M travels to No. 12 Ole Miss this weekend before hosting our final home game of the season against Prairie View A&M on Saturday, Nov. 20. We hope all of you come out to support our senior student-athletes as we honor them prior to the game. The Prairie View game is also the annual Military Appreciation Day--military personnel are invited to request up to five (5) complimentary game tickets and can purchase additional discounted tickets here.

Men's Basketball opened the season on Wednesday with a 64-46 victory over North Florida. Henry Coleman III dazzled the crowd as the sophomore scored a career-high 27 points and hauled in seven rebounds, also a career high. The Aggies are back in action tonight at 7 p.m. against Abilene Christian, before hosting Texas A&M Corpus-Christi on Sunday.

Women's Basketball has started the season with a bang after a pair of dominating performances this week at Reed Arena in wins over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Southern. The Aggies averaged just under 90 points in the victories, and continue their season-opening homestand with a Monday night matchup against DePaul. The team got to savor a special moment last night as they were presented with their SEC Championship rings prior to tipoff.

The cross country teams wrapped up the SEC Championships with the men finishing ninth place and women in 11th place. Gemma Goddard highlighted the meet earning All-SEC Women's Freshman Team honors. She was the second-fastest overall true freshman in the women's race. The Aggies wrapped up the season with the NCAA South Central Regional Championships today in Waco, Texas with a pair of sixth-place finishes. Attention now turns to the start of the track & field season at home with the Reveille Invitational on Dec. 4.

Equestrian recently moved up one spot to No. 4 in the NCEA national rankings after defeating defending national champions No. 2 Georgia, 13-6, on Oct. 29. The team faces off against UT-Martin today and Lynchburg on Saturday in a jumping seat only competition. The fall schedule wraps up with a home meet against Auburn on Thursday, Nov. 18. The Aggies are 3-1, (2-0 SEC) on the season.

Men's Golf closed out the fall with a second-place finish at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate. The Aggies finished at 38-under, which marked the lowest 54-hole tournament score in relation to par in program history. Sam Bennett is currently ranked No. 1 in the PGA TOUR University Global Velocity Rankings. So far this season, Bennett has finished tied for third twice and tied for 12th while shooting par-or-better in every round. Walker Lee captured an individual title and also finished fifth at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate.

Women's Golf completed its fall season with three top-five finishes, including a runner-up placing at the Schooner Fall Classic. Blanca Fernandez Garcia-Poggio has asserted herself into the national conversation as one of the best golfers in the country. The junior was selected to the Final Fall ANNIKA Award Watch List presented by Stifel, which featured 15 of the best collegiate golfers that the NCAA has to offer. The Aggies will return to the course for spring competition on Feb. 22 at the ICON in Humble, Texas.

The men's swimming and diving team picked up its first dual meet win of the season, topping TCU 180-114 at the Rec Center Natatorium. Junior Jace Brown swept the butterfly events, posting season-best times in each race. After earning SEC Freshman of the Week honors for his performance against Texas, freshman Trey Dickey continued to impress, posting top finishes in the 1,000 free and 500 free. Senior Kurtis Mathews made his season debut against the Horned Frogs and dominated the field with scores of 435.00 on the 1-meter and 431.93 on the 3-meter. The Aggies will begin to prepare for their biggest meets of the fall as the swimmers will host the Art Adamson Invitational Nov. 17-19 and the diving team will compete at the Texas Diving Invitational Nov. 18-20.

The women's swimming and diving team dominated TCU to earn their second dual meet victory of the season and first at home. The Aggies had the top time or score in all 16 events. Sophomore transfer Abby Grottle got the individual events started with back-to-back first-place finishes in the 1,000 free and 200 free. Sophomore Chloe Stepanek added a pair of top times in the 100 back and 500 free, while junior Andrea Pertulla dropped nearly two seconds off her season-best time to take first in the 100 breast. Senior Aimee Wilson led all divers as she swept the springboards for the second time this season. The swim team will return to the Rec Center Natatorium to host the Art Adamson Invitational Nov. 17-19, while the diving team returns to action Nov. 18-20, competing at the Texas Diving Invitational.

The Aggies wrapped up a successful fall campaign last week in Columbia, S.C., at the Gamecock Scramble. The men earned 17 singles wins and seven doubles victories at the three-day event. Coach Denton and the squad return to competition in January at the always-challenging Sherwood Intercollegiate in Sherwood, Calif. Additionally, Coach Denton announced the signings of two elite student-athletes this week, Grant Lothringer and Mathis Bondaz. Grant is from just down the road in The Woodlands, while Bondaz continues Coach Denton's tradition of signing elite Frenchman to the Maroon & White roster.

Coach Weaver and the women's team is set to host their only fall tournament this weekend at the Mitchell Tennis Center. The Aggies will be joined by student-athletes from Arkansas, Baylor, LSU and Princeton with play scheduled to begin each day at 10 a.m. Make plans to join us out on West Campus for some exciting tennis. Last weekend, No. 3 Jayci Goldsmith and Tatiana Makarova reached the semifinals at the ITA National Fall Championships, the premiere national tournament of the fall season.

Earlier this season, fifth-year senior and volleyball team captain, Camille Conner, broke the program rally scoring career assist record. We were able to celebrate this accomplishment by Camille ahead of the team's first match with Auburn last week. Camille currently has 4,781 assists, which is the fourth-most in NCAA Division I volleyball. There are just three more chances to see the Aggies at home this season, including Nov. 20 at 7 p.m., when the team takes on Arkansas.

Lightwire Theater--a globetrotting troupe of dancing electroluminescent puppeteers--are bringing their original production "A Very Electric Christmas" to Reed Arena on Thursday, Dec. 23. Audiences of all ages will watch in wonderment as captivating new characters pursue a holiday journey of inspiration and light, all set to Christmas classics, including songs from Nat King Cole, Tchaikovsky and Mariah Carey. The group combines theater and technology to bring stories to life in complete darkness and are internationally recognized for their signature brand of electroluminescent artistry.

Aggies CAN

The Texas A&M Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and Aggie student-athletes are asking for your help in collecting non-perishable food and monetary donations to benefit the Brazos Valley Food Bank and The 12th Can.

Those wishing to support Aggies CAN are able to do so through November 21 by monetary donations online or via text by texting AGGIESCAN to 313131.

The Aggie Commitment

The Aggie Commitment is the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiative within Aggie Athletics that aims to develop and implement plans and strategies to increase equity and maintain an environment of inclusiveness. Last month, the unit unveiled a mural across the window panes of the R.C. Slocum Nutrition Center. The graphic represents all Aggies being Unified as One through images of numerous student-athletes, Aggie and Championship rings. If you get the chance to stop by, you can't miss this impactful graphic!

B.L.U.E.print Fashion Show

B.L.U.E.print hosted a Soul Train themed fashion show on Sunday evening. This was a fashion show structured event where student-athletes and staff were able to show off their unique style from different decades (70s, 80s, 90s...etc.). This event was inspired by the music-dance TV program Soul Train, which was a popular television program that began in 1971 and featured performances by Black musicians from different musical genres. Thank you to those who participated and made this event a success.

For more information and updates on B.L.U.E.print initiatives and events, follow on social media @blueprinttamu on Instagram and Twitter.

Name, Image, Likeness: AMPLIFY

Name, Image and Likeness has been in effect since July 1, and we have created an innovative and comprehensive NIL program, AMPLIFY, designed to equip our student-athletes with the best tools and training to maximize their brand and platform.

AMPLIFY serves Texas A&M student-athletes with best-in-class education and resources related to personal branding, networking, finance, media training and more. FAQs for boosters and fans can be found online here.

Sustainability

Nov. 15 is America Recycles Day! This day raises awareness about the importance and impact of recycling and the purchase of recycled products. Recycling and reuse activities in the United States account for over 600,000 jobs and over $37 billion in wages! There are many ways you can get involved: 1) check what can be recycled in your community, 2) make environmentally-friendly purchases, and 3) avoid sending things to a landfill by reusing, repairing, or donating to give your waste a second life. How will YOU celebrate recycling on Monday? Show us your #GoodBullfortheGame by tagging @12thManSustain on Twitter or Instagram and using the hashtag #AmericaRecyclesDay.