Athletics Director Ross Bjork took questions from the 12th Man this week during his monthly "Yell & Review" session.
Athletics Director Ross Bjork took questions from the 12th Man this week during his monthly "Yell & Review" session. You can watch the event below.
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Howdy!
It is as if the fall semester just began, and now we are nearing the end! The month of November is always a time for reflection and coming together. This month provided us with the opportunity to exercise our right to vote, celebrate those who have served in the Armed Forces on Veterans Day, and enjoy Thanksgiving with our family, friends and a great crowd at Kyle Field as the Aggies knocked off LSU.
Earlier in November our men’s and women’s basketball programs opened the 2022-23 season with victories at Reed Arena. There is still an opportunity to purchase your season tickets and make your way to Reed Arena to support the Aggies on the hardwood. Check out the men's basketball schedule here and the women's basketball here to plan your next trip to support the Aggies on the hardwood.
Steel beams are now vertical as the construction of the new indoor football performance center and indoor track and field stadium continue to roll along. The “topping off” ceremony happening for the track & field facility will be held on Friday (Dec. 2) to mark that the last beam has been placed atop the structure. Also, now that the 2022 season has concluded, work on adding new suites to the south end zone of Kyle Field will begin immediately.
Texas A&M Athletics continues to build on its academic success, as the department registered an 86% Graduation Success Rate. This number is the highest recorded GSR in department history, upping its record-breaking number from last year (84%). The Maroon & White’s record-breaking mark was led by men’s swimming & diving, women’s golf, women’s tennis, softball, and volleyball which all posted perfect GSRs. Additionally, men’s golf, women’s basketball, soccer, women’s swimming & diving, and equestrian all turned in GSRs of 85% or higher.
Return on Inclusion is a sports-specific diversity and inclusion education to coaches, staff and administrators. Last month, Founder and CEO Nevin Caple spent two days in Aggieland working with our full-time staff and student-athletes throughout several different workshops. These workshops focused on fostering diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging within Texas A&M Athletics, and provided everyone with tangible takeaways of how to implement these practices within their teams, offices and daily lives. It was a great visit where we all grew as inclusive leaders. Thank you Nevin for your continued leadership and support!
The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee’s 22nd year of Aggies CAN has come to a close, and we are pleased to announce that we have raised food and monetary donations to provide over 42,000 meals to the Brazos Valley through the Brazos Valley Food Bank and The 12th Can! Donations were accepted at home games for soccer, volleyball, football, and men’s basketball, and electronic donations were collected until November 17. Student-athletes and athletics department staff members participated as well, donating over 3,000 pounds of food. Thank you to everyone who supported this year’s drive (especially our sponsors Whataburger, KBTX, H-E-B and Brookshire Brothers) to help those in need in our community.
Earlier this month when our football team was in Montgomery, Alabama, several staff members visited the Legacy Museum--a site owned and operated by The Equal Justice Initiative . The Legacy Museum provides a comprehensive history of the United States with a focus on the legacy and impacts of slavery through technology, art and critically important facts about our country. A group was even able to meet with Bryan Stevenson, Founder and Executive Director of The Equal Justice Initiative. Bryan and his staff have won reversals, relief, or release from prison for over 135 wrongly-condemned prisoners on death row and won relief for hundreds of others wrongly convicted or unfairly sentenced. This visit was heavy yet impactful, as some of our staff reckoned with the challenging aspects of our past.
In early November 230 first- and third-year student-athletes attended the second annual AMPLIFY conference. The purpose of the event is to provide students with education related to name, image, and likeness (NIL), including financial literacy, NIL best practices, personal branding, and campus and athletics department resources. This year, we were proud to incorporate our partners at adidas, Postgame, INFLCR, and the Reynolds and Reynolds Sales Leadership Institute of Mays Business School into the conference. The evening kicked off with an NIL Roundtable discussing the new trends in NIL, how students can leverage their brands, and best practices for social media. After the panel, Eric Smith, Financial Literacy Coach of the EKS Group, LLC., provided an engaging and impactful workshop teaching financial principles such as budgeting, credit, taxes, and saving. To conclude the conference, student-athletes attended a resource fair where they were able to interact with campus and athletics department resources. Learn more about Texas A&M’s AMPLIFY program here.
A message constantly communicated to our coaches, staff, and student-athletes is that college athletics is constantly changing. Whether it be fine-tuning our operations within the NIL landscape or adjusting to new guidance set forth by the NCAA, the work that goes on every day within our department is to make sure that Texas A&M Athletics is on the right side of the equation, regardless of what changes occur in this industry.
It is the Spirit of Aggieland that the Athletics Department aims to align with, as Home of the 12th Man, to remain the pinnacle in opportunities realized through sports.
Thanks & Gig `Em!
Ross