Texas A&M University,
often referred to as A&M or
TAMU, is a coeducational public research university located in College
Station
, Texas
. It
is the
flagship
institution of the
Texas
A&M University System. The seventh-largest university in
the United States, A&M enrolls over 48,000 students in ten
academic colleges.
Texas A&M's designation as a land, sea, and space grant institution reflects a
broad range of research with ongoing projects funded by agencies
such as the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA), the National
Institutes of Health
, the National Science Foundation, and
the Office of Naval
Research. The school ranks in the top 20 American
research institutes in terms of funding and has made notable
contributions to such fields as
animal
cloning.
The first public institution of higher education in Texas, the
school opened on October 4, 1876, as the
Agricultural and Mechanical
College of Texas. Its original mission was to educate white
males in farming and military techniques. Under the leadership of
President
James Earl Rudder, in
the 1960s A&M desegregated, became coeducational, and dropped
the requirement for participation in the
Corps of Cadets. To
reflect the institution's expanded roles and academic offerings,
the
Texas Legislature renamed the
school to Texas A&M University in 1963. The letters "A&M",
originally short for "Agricultural and Mechanical", are retained
only as a link to the university's past. The school's students,
alumni, and sports teams are known as
"
Aggies".
The main
campus is one of the largest in America, spanning , and includes
the George Bush Presidential
Library
. Approximately one-fifth of the student body
lives on campus. Students are encouraged to participate in
extracurricular activities and can choose from among 800 officially
recognized student organizations. Many students also observe the
traditions of
Texas A&M University, which govern daily life as well as
special occasions, including sports events. Aggie sports teams
compete in the
Big 12 Conference.
A&M
operates two branches: Texas A&M at Qatar
and Texas A&M
University at Galveston
. Working with agencies such as the
Texas AgriLife Research and
Texas AgriLife Extension
Service, Texas A&M has a direct presence in each of the 254
counties in Texas. The university offers degrees in over 150
courses of study through ten colleges and houses 18 research
institutes. Texas A&M has awarded over 320,000 degrees,
including 70,000 graduate and professional degrees.
As a
Senior Military
College, Texas A&M is one of three public universities with
a full-time, volunteer Corps of Cadets. It provides more
commissioned officers to the
United States Armed Forces
than any other school outside of the
service academies.
History

Texas A&M in 1883
Beginning years
The
US Congress laid the groundwork for
the establishment of Texas A&M in 1862 with the adoption of the
Morrill Act. The act auctioned land
grants of public lands to establish endowments for colleges where
the "leading object shall be, without excluding other scientific
and classical studies and including military tactics, to teach such
branches of learning as are related to agriculture and mechanical
arts... to promote the liberal and practical education of the
industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions in
life". In 1871, the
Texas
Legislature used these funds to establish the state's first
public institution of higher education, the Agricultural and
Mechanical College of Texas, then known as Texas A.M.C.
Brazos County donated near Bryan, Texas
for the school's campus.
Classes began on October 4, 1876, with 40 students and 6 faculty
members. Admission was limited to white males, and all students
were required to participate in the
Corps of Cadets and
receive military training.
Enrollment climbed to 258 students before
declining to 108 students in 1883, the year the University of
Texas
opened in Austin, Texas
. Though originally envisioned and annotated
in Texas law as a part of the
University of Texas System, Texas
A.M.C. had a separate Board of Directors from the University of
Texas from the first day of classes and was never enveloped into
the University of Texas system.
In the late 1880s, many Texas residents saw no need for two
colleges in Texas and clamored for an end of Texas A.M.C. In 1891,
Texas A&M was saved from potential closure by its new president
Lawrence Sullivan Ross,
former
governor of Texas and
well-respected
Confederate Brigadier General. Ross made many
improvements to the school and enrollment doubled to 467 cadets as
parents sent their sons to Texas A&M "to learn to be like
Ross". During his tenure, many enduring
Aggie traditions were
born, including the creation of the first
Aggie Ring. After his
death in 1898, a statue was erected in front of what is now
Academic Plaza to honor Ross and his achievements in the history of
the school.
Under pressure from the legislature, in 1911 the school began
allowing women to attend classes during the summer semester. At the
same time, A&M began expanding its academic pursuits with the
establishment of the
School of Veterinary Medicine in 1915.
World Wars era
Many Texas A&M graduates served during
World War I. By 1918, 49% of all
graduates of the college were in military service, more than any
other school. In early September 1918, the entire senior class
enlisted, with plans to send the younger students at staggered
dates throughout the next year. Many of the seniors were fighting
in France when the war ended two months later.Over
1,200 former students served as commissioned officers. After
the war, Texas A&M grew rapidly and became nationally
recognized for its programs in agriculture, engineering, and
military science. The first graduate school was organized in 1924
and the school awarded its first Ph.D. in 1940. In 1925, Mary
Evelyn Crawford Locke became the first female to receive a diploma
from Texas A&M, although she was not allowed to participate in
the graduation ceremony. The following month the Board of Directors
officially prohibited all women from enrolling.
Many Aggies again served in the military during
World War II, with the college producing 20,229
combat troops.
Of those, 14,123 Aggies served as officers,
more than any other school and more than the combined total of the
United States
Naval Academy
and the United States Military Academy
. During the war, 29 A&M graduates
reached the rank of general.
Enrollment soared after the war as many former soldiers used the
G.I. Bill to
further their education. In 1948, the state Legislature formally
recognized Texas A&M as a separate university system from the
University of Texas System, codifying the
de
facto arrangement between the schools.
University era
On March 26, 1960,
Major General
James Earl Rudder, class of 1932,
became the 16th president of the college. During his tenure, the
school desegregated, began to admit women, and Corps of Cadets
membership became voluntary. By his death in 1970, Rudder had
overseen the growth of the school from 7,500 to 14,000 students
from all 50 states and 75 nations.
The 58th
Legislature of Texas
approved of Rudder's changes, and officially renamed the school
"Texas A&M University",, specifying that the "A" and the "M"
were purely symbolic, reflecting the school's past, and no longer
stood for "Agricultural and Mechanical". In the following
35 years, Texas A&M more than tripled its enrollment from
14,000 students to over 45,000.
Texas A&M became one of the first four universities given the
designation
sea-grant for its
achievements in
oceanography and marine
resources development in 1971.
In 1989, the university earned the title
space-grant by NASA
, to
recognize its commitment to space research and participation in the
Texas Space Grant Consortium.

George Bush Presidential Library
In 1997,
the school became the home of the George Bush
Presidential Library
. Operated by the National Archives and Records
Administration
, it is one of thirteen American presidential libraries. Former
President
George Bush remains
actively involved with the university, frequently visiting the
campus and participating in special events.
Texas A&M received national media attention on November 18,
1999, when
Aggie Bonfire, a
ninety-year-old student tradition, collapsed during construction.
Twelve current and former students died and twenty-seven others
were injured. The accident was later attributed to improper design
and poor construction practices. The victims' family members filed
six lawsuits against Texas A&M officials, the student Bonfire
leaders, and the university. Half of the defendants settled their
portion of the case in 2005, and a federal appeals court dismissed
the remaining lawsuits against the university in 2007.
With
strong support from Rice University
and the University of Texas at Austin
, the Association of American
Universities inducted Texas A&M in May 2001, on the basis
of the depth of the university's research and academic
programs. In December 2006, university President
Robert Gates resigned from his position to
become the U.S.
Secretary of
Defense.
Elsa Murano became his
replacement in January 2008, but later resigned in June 2009.
Academics
Student body
As of the
fall 2008
semester, Texas A&M was the seventh largest
American
university with an enrollment of 48,039 students pursuing
degrees in 10 academic colleges. The student body represents all 50
U.S. states and 130 foreign countries.
Texas residents account for 86% of the student population, and
28.9% are either of international origin or members of ethnic
minority groups. The student body
consists of 46.8% women and 53.2% men.
Although Texas A&M is a secular institution, its student body
has a reputation for being
religious and
conservative. According to
a 2005 student survey published in the Princeton Review, Texas
A&M ranked 13th highest in the category "students pray on a
regular basis". Four years later, the Princeton Review ranked Texas
A&M the eighth most
socially
conservative campus in the nation. This conservative trend is
especially notable in the Corps of Cadets.
The university consistently ranks among the top ten public
universities each year in enrollment of
National Merit scholars. According to the
College Board, the fall 2008 entering
freshman class consisted of 54% students in the top 10% of their
high school graduating class, 86% in the top quarter, and 99% in
the top half. Seventy-four percent of these students took the
SAT. The middle 50% of the freshmen had average
scores as follows: in critical reading, 520–630, math, 560–670, and
in writing 500–610. Twenty-six percent of the incoming freshmen
took the
ACT, with the middle 50%
scoring between a 23 and 29.
During the fall 2008 semester, the
Dwight Look College of
Engineering had the largest enrollment of 20.5%. The
College of Liberal
Arts and the
College
of Agriculture and Life Sciences followed, enrolling 15% and
14% of the student body, respectively. The
College
of Education and Human Development enrolls 12%, and
Mays Business School enrolled about
11%. Colleges with less than 10% enrollment included the
College of
Architecture, the
College of Science, the
George Bush
School of Government and Public Service, the
College of Geosciences,
and the
College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences.
Approximately 8% of the student body had not declared a
major.
Rankings
Texas A&M consistently scores among the top universities in the
United States as determined by various national and international
publications. In the 2010
U.S. News and World Report
ranking of
public universities,
Texas A&M is listed 22nd; among "national universities" the
school tied for 61st place. According to
The Washington Monthly criteria,
which considers research, community service, and social mobility,
Texas A&M ranks fifth nationally. The
John Templeton Foundation listed
Texas A&M as one of the thirty-five American college programs
that "communicate[s] the values of honesty, trust, respect,
responsibility, integrity, and fairness in the classroom". The 2008
Kiplinger's Personal
Finance ranked the school as the 25th best-value public
university on the basis of in-state tuition, and the 9th best-value
public university on the basis of out-of-state tuition. Recently
the National Science Foundation has recognized Texas A&M as one
of the top 20 research institutions.
Internationally, the university is also well-regarded.
Newsweek International ranked
Texas A&M as the 77th university globally on the basis of
"openness and diversity" as well as "distinction in research".
In a
comparison of educational quality, faculty quality, and research
output, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
ranked Texas A&M 50th nationally and 88th
internationally. The Times Higher Education
Supplement listed Texas A&M 60th among the world's top
100
technology universities, 24th among
America's top
biomedicine universities,
and 50th among North America's top 50 universities.

The Century Tree symbolizes how the
university has grown and flourished since 1876
Endowment
Apart from revenue received from tuition and research grants, the
university, as part of the
Texas A&M University
System (TAMUS), is partially funded from two endowments. The
smaller endowment, totalling $1.17 billion in assets, is run by the
private Texas A&M Foundation. A larger sum is distributed from
the Texas
Permanent University
Fund (PUF). TAMUS holds a minority stake (one-third) in this
fund; the remaining two-thirds belongs to the University of Texas
system. As of 2006, the PUF ending net asset value stood at
$10.3 billion; $400.7 million was distributed to the two
university systems in fiscal year 2007. Combined, the total
endowment for the TAMUS stands at $5.6 billion, as of
2006.
Research
The Texas A&M University system, in 2006, was the first to
explicitly state in its policy that technology commercialization
was a criterion that could be used for
tenure. Passage of this policy was intended to give
faculty more academic freedom and strengthen the university's
industry partnerships. Texas A&M works with both state and
university agencies on various local and international research
projects to forge innovations in science and technology that can
have commercial applications. This work is concentrated in two
primary locations–Research Valley and Research Park. Research
Valley, an alliance of educational and business organizations,
consists of with of dedicated research space. An additional , with
of research space, is located in Research Park. Among the school's
research entities are the
Texas Institute for Genomic
Medicine, the
Texas
Transportation Institute, the Cyclotron Institute, the
Institute of Biosciences
and Technology, and the Institute for Plant Genomics and
Biotechnology.
In 2004, Texas A&M received nearly $570 million in research
funding, ranking the school among the top 20 American research
institutes. Almost $400 million of the grants were new awards.
Throughout 2004, Texas A&M System faculty and research
submitted 121 new inventions and established 78 new royalty-bearing
licensing agreements; the innovations resulted in income of $8
million. The Texas A&M Technology Licensing Office filed for 88
patents for protection of
intellectual property in 2004.
Spearheaded by the
College of Veterinary Medicine, Texas A&M scientists
created the first cloned domestic animal, a
cat named 'cc', on December 22, 2001. Texas
A&M was also the first academic institution to
clone each of six different species: cattle, a
Boer goat, pigs, a cat, a deer and a
horse.
In 2004,
Texas A&M joined a consortium of universities to build the
Giant
Magellan Telescope
in Chile. Estimated to be the largest
optical telescope ever constructed, the facility will have seven
mirrors, each with a diameter of . This will give the telescope the
equivalent of a primary mirror and will be ten times more powerful
than the
Hubble Space
Telescope. Construction is slated to be complete in 2016.
As part of a collaboration with the
U.S. Department of Energy's
National
Nuclear Security Administration, Texas A&M completed the
first conversion of a
nuclear research reactor from
using highly-enriched
uranium fuel (70%) to
utilizing low-enriched uranium (20%). The eighteen-month project
ended on October 13, 2006, after the first ever refueling the
reactor, thus fulfilling a portion of
U.S. President George W. Bush’s Global Nuclear Threat Reduction
Initiative.
Worldwide
Texas A&M has participated in over 500 research projects in
over 80 countries and leads the
Southwestern United States in
annual research expenditures. The university conducts research on
every continent and has formal research and exchange agreements
with 100 institutions in 40 countries. Texas A&M ranks 13th
among U.S. research universities in exchange agreements with
institutions abroad and student participation in study abroad
programs, and has strong research collaborations with the National
Natural Science Foundation of China and many leading universities
in China.
Texas
A&M owns three international facilities, a multipurpose center
in Mexico City, Mexico, the Soltis Research and Education Center
near the town of San Isidro, Costa Rica
, and the Santa Chiara Study Abroad Center in
Castiglion
Fiorentino
, Italy. In 2003, over 1,200 Aggie students,
primarily undergraduates, studied abroad.
Additionally, the
university includes two branch campuses: Texas A&M
at Qatar
located in Education City
in Doha,
Qatar
devoted to engineering disciplines and Texas A&M
University at Galveston
in Galveston, Texas
, devoted to marine research and host to the Texas
Maritime Academy.
Texas A&M's Center for International Business Studies is one of
28 supported by the
U.S. Department of Education. The
university is also one of only two American universities in
partnership with
CONACyT, Mexico's
equivalent of the
National
Science Foundation, to support research in areas including
biotechnology, telecommunications, energy, and urban development.
In addition, the university is the home of "Las Americas Digital
Research Network", an online architecture network for 26
universities in 12 nations, primarily in Central and South
America.
Campus
Texas
A&M's College
Station
campus, one of the largest in America, spans plus
for Research Park. The university is part of the Bryan-College Station metropolitan
area
located within Brazos County
in the Brazos Valley
(Southeast Central Texas) region, an area often referred to as
"Aggieland". According the
U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2008, the
population of Brazos County is estimated at 175,122.
Money Magazine, in 2006, named College
Station the most educated city in Texas, and the 11th most educated
American city, due largely to the size of the university.
Aggieland
is centrally located within of three of the 10 largest cities in
the United States and 75% of the Texas
and Louisiana
populations (approximately 13.1 million
people). The area's major roadway is
State Highway 6, and several smaller
state highways and
Farm to Market
Roads connect the area to larger highways such as
Interstate 45.
The campus is bisected by a railroad track operated by
Union Pacific. The area east of the
tracks, known as Main Campus, includes buildings for the colleges
of engineering, architecture, geosciences, science, education and
liberal arts. Dormitories, as well as the main dining centers and
many campus support facilities, are also on Main Campus.
Notable
buildings on Main Campus include Kyle Field
, the Academic Building, the Memorial Student
Center, the Administration Building, Rudder Tower, Albritton Bell
Tower, and the Bonfire
Memorial. To the west of the railroad tracks lies West
Campus, which includes most of the sports facilities, the business
school, agricultural programs, the veterinary college, the
political science and economics school, the George Bush
School of Government and Public Service, the George Bush
Presidential Library
and two schools within the Texas A&M Health Science
Center. Research Park, the area of West Campus along
Kimbrough Boulevard, includes
many research facilities.
Student life
Residential life

Sbisa Dining Hall and central utility
plant water tower sporting the greeting, "Welcome to
Aggieland"
During the 2006 fall semester, 20.5 percent of the student body
lived on campus in one of two distinct housing sections located on
opposite ends of campus. Both the Northside and Southside areas
contain student dormitories, also known as residence halls. While
some halls are single-sex, others are
co-educational. Usually students of different
genders live on alternate floors, although some halls are
segregated by room or suite. Residence hall styles vary. Many halls
offer only indoor access to individual rooms, but other halls
locate room entrances on an outdoor balcony. Room sizes vary by
building. Halls with larger rooms include en-suite or private
bathrooms, while halls with smaller rooms have a common bathroom on
each floor. Several halls include a "substance-free" floor, where
residents pledge to avoid bringing
alcohol,
drugs, or
cigarettes
into the hall.
Northside consists of 17 student residence halls, including the 3
university honors dorms. The halls are located near local
entertainment district
Northgate, and offer
convenient access to campus dining establishments Sbisa Dining Hall
and The Underground. Some halls have unofficially claimed tables
within the Sbisa Dining Hall and many halls congregate for dinner
at a specific time each weekday.
Several of the residence halls located on Southside are reserved
for members of the
Corps of Cadets.
Non-corps halls in this area center around the Commons, a hub for
activities and dining. Southside has two Learning Living
Communities, which allow freshmen to live in a cluster with other
students who share common interests.
Facilities for the Corps of Cadets are located in the Quadrangle,
or
"The Quad", an area
consisting of dormitories, Duncan Dining Hall, and the Corps
training fields. The Corps Arches, a series of 12 arches that
"[symbolize] the spirit of
the 12th
Man of Texas A&M", mark the entrance to the Quadrangle. All
cadets, except those who are married or who have had previous
military service, must live in the Quad with assigned roommates
from the same unit and graduating class.
Reveille, the Aggie
mascot, lives with her handlers in the
Quadrangle.
Corps of Cadets
Texas A&M is one of six United States
Senior Military Colleges. The
schools'
Corps
of Cadets (or
the Corps) is the United States' largest
uniformed student body outside the
service academies. Many members participate
in
ROTC programs and earn commissions in the
United States Armed
Forces upon graduation. Members of the Corps have served in
every
armed conflict fought by the
United States since 1876, and over 225 have served as
generals or
Flag
Officers.
Until 1965, Corps membership was mandatory. The Corps welcomed
female members in the fall of 1974, and as of fall 2007, the co-ed
Corps boasts an enrollment of 1,887 cadets.
The Corps is composed of two Air Force Wings, three Army Brigades,
and two Navy and Marine Regiments, as well as the
Fightin' Texas Aggie Band, whose
members may be affiliated with any military branch. Parson's
Mounted Cavalry is the only mounted ROTC unit in the United States.
The Ross Volunteer Company, the oldest student-run organization in
the state, is the official honor guard for the
Governor of Texas. The Fish Drill Team, a
precision, close-order rifle drill team composed entirely of Corps
freshmen, represents the school in local and national competitions.
They have won the national championship almost every year since
their creation in 1946, and have appeared in several Hollywood
productions, with prominent roles in the movies
A Few Good Men and
Courage Under Fire.
The
Fightin' Texas Aggie
Band, the world's largest precision
military marching
band, provides music for University functions and presents
intricate halftime performances at football games. Some band drills
are so complicated that they require band members to step between
each other's feet to complete the maneuvers. These drills must be
drawn by hand as computer marching programs have returned errors;
their calculations require two people to be in the same spot at the
same time.
Activities
Texas A&M has over 800 student organizations, including
academic, service, religious,
Greek, and common interest
organizations. Orientation programs encourage students to become
involved in campus activities and organizations from the beginning.
An April 2005 campus survey found that 74% of the students were
currently involved with at least one organization and that 88%
participated in a campus organization in the past.
One of the oldest student organizations is the
Singing Cadets, founded in
1893. Known as the "Voice of Aggieland", the Singing Cadets are an
all-male choral group with 70 members. The group travels nationally
and has completed several international tours; most recently, South
America in 2007.
Texas A&M Hillel, the
oldest Hillel organization in the United States, was founded in
1920 at the original college. The organization occurred three years
before the national
Hillel
Foundation was organized at
University of Illinois.

Student Rec Center
Students
exercise at the Student Rec
Center, a three-story facility encompassing , which includes
exercise equipment, athletic courts, an indoor running track, a
rock-climbing tower, and one of the top competitive pools and
diving wells in America. The Rec Center also organizes intramural
sports throughout the year.
Some national service organizations originated at A&M. Aggie
students founded the largest one-day student-run service project in
America known as The Big Event. The annual service project allows
students to give back to their community by assisting local
residents. The organization CARPOOL, a student run,
safe ride program has provided over
139,000 free rides (as of January 2009) to Aggies unable
to transport themselves home. Its organizers also assist other
universities in establishing similar programs. In addition, the
Corporation for
National and Community Service listed A&M among the 500
academic institutions in the 2005–06 President's Higher Education
Community Service Honor Roll.
The Student Government Association (SGA), one of A&M's largest
organizations, consists of over 1,300 student members in 3
branches, 15 committees, and 4 commissions. SGA has changed little
since 1972, except its relative position within the official
framework of the university.
Media
The Princeton Review
ranked
The Battalion, founded
in 1893, as the 20th best college newspaper in America in 2008.
Students also publish a secondary school newspaper, the
Maroon
Weekly. The
Aggieland, formerly known as
The
Olio and
The Longhorn, is one of America's largest
college yearbooks in number of pages and copies sold.
The university houses
the public broadcasting stations: KAMU-TV, a PBS member
station since 1970, KAMU-FM an
NPR affiliate since 1977, and
the student-run KANM, "the college
station of College
Station
". W5AC broadcast the first live,
play-by-play broadcast of a college football game, at Kyle Field,
in November 1921. The game, played in Dallas between Aggies and
University of Texas, ended in a
scoreless tie.
Traditions

Aggie Ring for the class of 2004
The Texas A&M culture is a product of the university's founding
as a rural military and agricultural school. Although the school
and surrounding community have grown, and military training is no
longer required, the
school's history has
instilled in students "the idealized elements of a small-town life:
community, tradition, loyalty, optimism, and unabashed
sentimentality."
Texas
Monthly posits that Texas A&M students' respect for
school
traditions and values is the
university's greatest strength. Some of the school traditions date
to the 1890s, while others have been introduced more recently.
These traditions help current and former students to cultivate the
Aggie Spirit, a sense of loyalty and respect for the school. They
dictate many aspects of student life, including how to greet others
(using the official school greeting–"Howdy!"), how to act at an
A&M sporting event, and, in many cases, what words a student
may use in conversation.
The most visible tradition among seniors and former students is the
wearing of the
Aggie
Ring, whose design has been relatively unchanged since its
introduction in 1894. Students may order a ring after completing 90
credit hours of coursework, including
at least 45 hours at A&M, or after graduation. Graduate
students may receive a ring after 75% of their graduate coursework
is completed or after the acceptance of their dissertation or
thesis. Though unsanctioned by the University, many students "dunk"
their newly acquired Aggie Rings into a pitcher of beer and quickly
chug the entire pitcher to "earn" the ring. Some students dunk
their rings in alternative substances, including ice cream or
nonalcoholic beverages.
In keeping with the idea that all current and former students
comprise a family, Aggies have created two traditions to honor
members of the Aggie family who have died.
Aggie Muster is held
annually on the anniversary of the Battle of San Jacinto
, April 21, to honor any current and former student
who died during the previous year. Over 300 Musters are
held around the world, with the largest taking place at Reed Arena
on the Texas A&M University
campus. All Muster ceremonies feature the Roll Call for
the Absent. As the names of the deceased Aggies are called, a
family member or friend answers "Here" and lights a candle, to
symbolize that although their loved one is not present in body, his
or her spirit will shine forever.
The event received worldwide attention
during World War II, when 25 Aggies
"mustered" during the battle for the island of Corregidor
.
Students who die while enrolled at Texas A&M are also honored
at Silver Taps, a ceremony held, when necessary, on the first
Tuesday of the month. This tradition began as a memorial for former
Texas A&M president
Lawrence
Sullivan Ross. On the day of the ceremony, flags fly half-staff
and notices are posted throughout campus. At 10:15 p.m. the lights
around campus are extinguished and hymns chime from Albritton Tower
while students and faculty collect in the Academic Plaza. Following
a
21-gun salute by the Ross Volunteer
Firing Squad, six
bugle play an
A&M version of the song
Taps,
Silver Taps, three times from the dome of the school's Academic
Building: once to the north, the south and to the west. The song is
not played to the east symbolizing that the sun will never rise on
that Aggie again.
Sports

The 2007 Student Bonfire
Aggie
football fans are called the
12th Man, meaning they are there
to support the 11 players on the field, willing to enter the game,
if necessary. To further symbolize their "readiness, desire, and
enthusiasm," the entire student body stands throughout the game.
The
tradition began on January 2, 1922, at the Dixie Classic where A&M played
Centre
College
. A&M had so many injuries in the first
half of the game that
Coach D.
X. Bible
feared he wouldn’t have enough men to finish the game. He called
into the stands for
E. King Gill, a reserve who had left
football after the regular season to play basketball. Although he
did not actually play, his readiness symbolized the willingness of
all Aggies to support their team to the point of actually entering
the game. A&M won 22–14, but E. King Gill was the only man left
standing on the sidelines for the Aggies. In recent decades, the
12th Man is represented on the field by a
walk-on player who wears the No. 12
jersey and participates in kick-offs.
The 12th Man uses a variety of school yells, rather than cheers, to
support Aggie teams. Each year the student body elects five
students to serve as the Yell Leaders. At
midnight before each home
football game at Kyle Field or at a
predesignated location at away games, the fans gather together to
practice the yells for the next day's game. Led by the Yell
Leaders, and the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band, the Twelfth Man files
into the stadium to participate in
Midnight Yell Practice to practice
yells, sing the
War Hymn,
and joke about their opponents. At the conclusion of the yell
practice, the stadium lights are extinguished and fans kiss their
dates. This is also done as practice, because Aggies are expected
to "mug down", or kiss their dates, every time the football team
scores on the field.
Sports
Illustrated named Midnight Yell as one of the "100 Things
You Gotta Do Before You Graduate."
Almost every year since 1909, A&M students have built a large
bonfire to celebrate their "burning desire to beat the hell outta"
the University of Texas.
Aggie Bonfire
was traditionally lit around
Thanksgiving in conjunction with the
festivities surrounding the annual
college football game between the schools.
Though it began as a trash pile, Aggie Bonfire evolved into a
massive six-tiered structure, the world record being held at .
After the collapse of the 1999 structure, the university suspended Bonfire indefinitely, but the tradition continues off-campus without direct University involvement, sanction, or participation.
Athletics
A charter member of the
Southwest
Conference until its dissolution in 1996, A&M now competes
in the
Big 12 Conference (South
Division). The school's 20 sports teams are known as the
Aggies, and the school's colors are
maroon and
white. As of
June 2009, Aggies have earned 130 Southwest and Big 12 conference
regular-season and tournament titles and 8 team national
championships. The women's soccer team, formed in 1993, earned 12
consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances from 1995 to 2006,
advancing at least as far as the round of 16 in seven of the last
eight appearances. The women's
volleyball
team earned 12 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances from 1993 to
2004, advancing past the first round each time. For the 2006–2007
school year, seven Aggie sports teams won Big 12 Championships:
women's
soccer (regular season), women's
basketball (regular season), women's
indoor
track and field, women's
outdoor track and field, women's
golf, and
women's swimming and diving.
In 2004 Sports Illustrated on
Campus ranked Olsen Field
"the best college baseball venue".
Sports Illustrated
ranked the university 46th, in a 2002 analysis of "America's Best
Sports College[s]" and College Station the 9th best college sports
town.
A&M's
archrival is the
University of Texas. In 2004, sporting
events between the Aggies and Longhorns became known as the
Lone Star Showdown. The
most-watched event in the rivalry is the annual
football game held the day of
Thanksgiving.
Other rivalries
include Texas Tech, Baylor University, and the recently
renewed rivalry with the University of Arkansas
.
Football

A view from the student section of
Kyle Field during a 2007 football game
Founded in 1894, the
football team
has won 18 Southwest Conference championships, a Big 12
championship, 2 Big 12 South Division championships, and 1 national
championship. The team has appeared in 30
bowl games, winning 13, and has produced 41 first
Team All-Americans, 5 Academic All-Americans, and 1
Heisman Trophy winner,
John David Crow in 1957. Twenty-one Aggies
currently play in the
NFL.
Since
1904, home football games have been played at Kyle Field
, a stadium with a current capacity of
83,002. In 2004,
CBS
SportsLine.com ranked Kyle Field the top football stadium
while
Sporting News ranked it
fourth. The same year
Sports Illustrated on
Campus ranked an A&M football weekend the third best
college football experience.
Basketball

A men's basketball game at Reed Arena
in January 2008
Founded in 1912, the men's basketball team won 11 Southwest
Conference championships and 2 Southwest Conference Tournament
championships. The team has appeared in the
National Invitation
Tournament 6 times and in the
NCAA
Tournament 10 times, of which 3 resulted in
Sweet Sixteen
appearances, the highest round to which the Aggies have advanced.
The women's basketball team has had 6 NCAA Tournament appearances,
reaching as high as the Elite Eight. They have also competed in the
WNIT twice,
winning that tournament in 1995.
The men's basketball team is coached by third-year head coach
Mark Turgeon. The women's team has been
coached by
Gary Blair since 2003.
Home
games are played at the 12,989-seat Reed Arena
. G.
Rollie White Coliseum
, formerly the home of the volleyball and basketball
teams, hosted basketball games before Reed Arena opened in
1998.
Notable people
With over 280,000 former students, A&M has one of the largest
and most active
alumni groups in America.
Many Aggies have attained local, national, and international
prominence.
Jorge Quiroga
and Martin Torrijos have served as
heads of state for Bolivia
and Panama
,
respectively, and Rick Perry is the
current Governor of Texas.
Congressmen
Joe Barton,
Chet Edwards,
Jeb
Hensarling, and
Louie Gohmert, and
Austin, Texas, mayor
Will Wynn are all
graduates.
Aggies made their mark on the
gridiron with
Houston Texans head coach
Gary Kubiak, title-winning coach
Gene Stallings,
Houston Oilers defensive tackle
Ray Childress,
Heisman Trophy winner
John David Crow, Heisman runner-up,
legislator, and actor
John Kimbrough,
punt returner
Dante Hall, offensive
tackle
Richmond Webb,
Detroit Lions defensive end and punter
Yale Lary,
Dallas Cowboys assistant coach and former
player
Dat Nguyen, punter
Shane Lechler, and defensive end
Ty Warren.
Paul "Bear"
Bryant coached at A&M where "survivors" of his grueling
football practice camp at Junction, Texas
were nicknamed named The Junction Boys. Other famous
Aggie athletes include
Randy Barnes,
indoor/outdoor shotput world record holder, baseball standouts
Chuck Knoblauch and Wally Moon;
along with
Stacy Sykora, Libero for the
USA national volleyball team.
Aggies have also made a mark on
pop
culture.
Robert Earl Keen and
Lyle Lovett, who often strummed their
guitars on the porch of their Northgate home, have become popular
country singers.
William A.
Pailes and
Michael E. Fossum became NASA astronauts.
Rip Torn is a veteran of the
silver screen and
Neal Boortz is a nationally syndicated talk show
host with the sixth largest listening audience in the United
States.
Wen Ho Lee, a doctoral graduate
of A&M, became the subject of a 1999 espionage investigation;
though arrested, charges were dropped in 2000.
Many Aggies have become business leaders, particularly in the
fields of energy, construction, communications, and chemistry.
Current leaders include Jack Whiteside, President of Barnes &
Click, Inc.,
Lowry Mays, chairman and CEO
of Clear Channel Communications,
George P. Mitchell, chairman and CEO, Mitchell
Energy and Development Corp., H.B. Zachry, President of the H.B.
Zachry Company, John Zachry, CEO of Zachry Corp., David Zachry,
President of Zachry Corp., Mr.
Khalid
A. Al-Falih, President and
CEO of Saudi Aramco, and Eduardo Castro-Wright, CEO of Wal-Mart
Stores USA.
Because of A&M's military roots, many Aggies have become
leaders in the armed forces, and were featured in the 1943
propaganda film
We've Never
Been Licked.
George H.
Gay, Jr., was the sole survivor of
Torpedo Squadron 8 in the Battle of Midway
. Lieutenant General
Jay T. Robbins
became a fighter ace in World War II with 22 aerial victories.
General
Bernard Adolph Schriever,
known as "the architect of the Air Force’s ballistic missile and
military space program", became the namesake of Schriever
Air Force Base
, Colorado. General
Michael Moseley is a former Chief of
Staff of the
United States Air
Force.
In addition, seven Aggies received the
Medal of Honor in
World War II. The recipients are:
Notes
- In the U.S. News and World Report ranking, Texas
A&M tied with Clemson University, Fordham
University, Purdue University, and the University of Minnesota.
References
- In the U.S. News and World Report ranking, Texas
A&M tied with Clemson University, Fordham
University, Purdue University, and the University of Minnesota.
External links