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Howdy and Happy New Year!
I hope that you had an enjoyable and restful Winter Break and celebrated the holidays and New Year with family and friends! 2019 is already off and running as our men's and women's basketball teams have entered conference play and our spring sports get going in the upcoming days and weeks.
The three primary objectives of our mission, Graduate Student Athletes, Provide an Unmatched Student-Athlete Experience and Win Championships with Integrity, are what we strive to achieve every day. Your hard work toward these objectives truly make this a wonderful place and one that I am proud to call home.
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Stadium Dedications
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Construction on Davis Diamond is complete and construction is nearing completion at E.B. Cushing Stadium and I couldn't be more excited to finally show off these first-class facilities. Here at Texas A&M, we take pride in our facilities and both stadiums are going to be the best the country has to offer. You can join me on Saturday, Feb. 9 for the Davis Diamond ceremony and Saturday, April 6 for the E.B. Cushing Stadium dedication and first-ever home meet at the facility. Both events will be special as we honor lead donors, Becky and Monty Davis and Tim and Amy Leach, as well as our other fantastic donors. The hard work of the 12th Man Foundation and the generosity of our donors made both projects possible. More details will be sent very soon and I hope you can join me.
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Q&A with CFO Jeff Toole
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In the most recent 12th Man Magazine, our own Senior Associate Athletics Director and CFO Jeff Toole '80 took part in a Q&A to discuss our current financial model and some of the misperceptions of recent national news articles. We have a great partner in the 12th Man Foundation, which makes a lot of what we do possible. Please take a moment to read here as Jeff talks about the importance of the 12th Man Foundation, and, despite what you may read in Forbes or USA Today, the numbers may be deceiving. Please remember that we have to be good stewards when it comes to our budget.
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NFF College Football Hall of Famer
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On Monday, my friend, and ambassador for Texas A&M Athletics, Jacob Green, was elected to the National Football Foundation's College Football Hall of Fame. I am glad I never lined up against Jacob as he was a first team All-American in 1979 after recording a school-record 20 sacks. He was a two-time team Aggie captain, owns the Texas A&M record with 12 career forced fumbles, and his 22 tackles against Baylor in 1979 were an Aggie single-game record. Check out his highlights to seeing what a dominating player Jacob was at Texas A&M as well as in the NFL.
As good of a player as Jacob was, he is an even better person. Jacob has helped raise millions of dollars for cancer research and remains involved with Jaycee's Children's Center in Houston. He currently serves as Vice President of Major Gifts and Endowments for the 12th Man Foundation and was surprised by his coworkers after the announcement, which you can see here.
On behalf of the Texas A&M Athletics Department, we want to congratulate Jacob on this tremendous honor and thank him for all the work he continues to put forth on behalf of our coaches, student athletes, athletics department and university.
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Spring Game
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Coming off a promising first year under head coach Jimbo Fisher, I am happy to announce that the annual Maroon & White game will be held on April 13 at Kyle Field. There is so much excitement around our football program as Coach Fisher and his staff recorded our best SEC finish since 2012, and recently signed the No. 3 recruiting class in the country. In addition to the Spring Game, it is Family Weekend and Ring Day as well as our baseball, men's tennis, softball and track and field teams all host home events. It will be a fun weekend for all of our fans and hope you are able to enjoy the festivities as well.
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Retirements
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I would like to send a special congratulations to two members of the Athletics Family, Amy Coleman and Debbie Darrah, and to the 12th Man Foundation's Sandra Bosse, all of whom will retire this month. Combined, the three have more than 70 years of experience, and they will be greatly missed. Amy has worked in human resources for the university and athletics for 25 years; Debbie has worked in the athletics communications office for 29 years; and Sandra has worked in the Foundation for 17 years. On behalf of all Aggies, we thank them for their hard work and dedication and wish them well as they embark on their well-deserved retirement!
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CARE Committee
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Our CARE (Culture, Awareness, Respect, Equity) Committee continues to do a great job encouraging increased equity and inclusion within the Athletics Department with activities for staff and student-athletes. Yesterday's staff ride along at the Hildebrand Equine Complex was no exception.
The committee is hosting its next two events at the Block T Bar at the new Texas A&M Hotel. RSVPs for the February and March events will be sent at a later date as we hope you are able to come. Please fill out the surveys after attending the events so we can continue to improve each event.
Upcoming CARE Committee Events
- Thursday, February 7th - All Staff Social Hour
- Thursday, March 8th - Women's Social Hour
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Academic Update
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With the spring semester just two days away, I can't help but think of all the great things our student-athletes accomplished in the classroom and the community in the fall. More than 400 community service hours were volunteered and 300 students earned AD Honor Roll recognition, which is given to those with a 3.0 GPA or higher. 54 of our student-athletes earned a perfect 4.0 GPA with eight earning Distinguished Student recognition and seven earning Dean's Honor Roll recognition. Cross Country's John Bishop was named the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and women's golf held the highest team semester GPA at 3.55. Seven of our teams (men's basketball, equestrian, men's golf, men's tennis, women's basketball, women's golf and volleyball) improved their fall GPAs.
Graduating student-athletes is our number one priority and I could not be happier with the success that our student-athletes and academic services staff had in the fall. I cannot wait to see what we are able to accomplish this semester!
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Exciting Action in Reed Arena
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We are in the midst of an exciting SEC season for both men's and women's basketball. The women return to Reed Arena tomorrow to take on Alabama and the men on January 16 against nationally-ranked Auburn. Please come support both teams for exciting SEC basketball action. You can reserve your complimentary tickets in advance, and if you have friends or family seeking tickets for either men's or women's games, they can purchase tickets here.
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Big Events On Campus
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On January 26th and 27th, our men's tennis team will host the ITA Kick-off Weekend at the Mitchell Tennis Center, which begins a slew of prestigious events that will be held on campus this spring semester. The ITA Kick-Off Weekend provides our team with a tough test as the Aggies could face four-time national champion Virginia. Other big events later this spring in College Station include the SEC Equestrian Championship (March 29-30), the SEC Women's Tennis Tournament (April 17-21) and the SEC Softball Tournament (May 8-11).
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Department-Wide Meeting
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Be sure to mark your calendar for our next All-Department Staff Meeting on Wednesday, January 23 at 8:30 a.m. in the brand new E.B. Cushing Stadium. Breakfast will be served at 8:30 a.m. with the meeting beginning at 9:00 am. Following the meeting, stadium tours will be available.
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WHERE'S WOODWARD?
This holiday season was a special one for me as I had the opportunity to visit my sons in New Orleans before going to Baton Rouge to spend some quality time with my parents and siblings. As a couple of Woodward family traditions, we always have an open house for family and friends to gather on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day we eat a delicious seafood gumbo. Being able to visit family is near and dear to me as my parents still live in the house that I grew up in! Although it was difficult to leave home and my family, it was well worth the trip to Jacksonville to see our football team #BTHOncstate at the Gator Bowl!
Thanks & Gig 'em!
Scott
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