Tell Me About Texas a&m

[NeverMarryAStripper 22,201]

What better representation of aggy football than $100s of millions flushed down the toilet with no results

[Hagbard Celine 11,128]

5 hours ago, WhatTheBuck said:

I can’t say our new university president is making a good first impression with this hire. 

the official announcement was written by bjork's agent and is 50% bullshit and 25% outright fabrication

no one in your echochamber will bother to fact-check it in arrears

[Hagbard Celine 11,128]

5 hours ago, WhatTheBuck said:

Still, it’s possible that we’ll need to be looking for new coaches in football and basketball in the near future. I’m not sure I trust this guy to A) make the right decision to replace a coach who needs to be replaced and not give them a hefty extension and raise instead, or B) hire the right replacement if he does make that move.

fwiw bjork had zero to do with signing, extending, or firing jimbo

the aggy AD does not make football decisions

[Blotto 23,916]

17 hours ago, pyrohornIII said:

I can't think of the last AD or head coach from A&M being poached for what seems to be a upward move.  Other than the tennis coach who UT went after?

Gillespie bolting from aggy hoops to Kentucky would definitely qualify as an upward move. But he was unable to rid himself of that aggy stench, and he was gone from lexington in a couple of years. 

[Hagbard Celine 11,128]

4 hours ago, EZ$ said:

Wasn’t he the one at SEC media days crying (like almost to the verge of tears) when it was announced Texas was going to the SEC?

aggy found out about the move about 45 minutes before that spontaneous presser, and for 40 of those minutes sharpe was screaming and caterwauling at bjork over the phone because sharpe couldn't believe the deal had been cooking for 2 years and he had to attack somebody

during the tirade sharpe freestyles the aggy response and texts zwerneman on their burner cells

so bjork was a little rattled when he hung up from talkiebird and only had 30 seconds to digest his talking points handed to him by zwerneman

[Hagbard Celine 11,128]

3 hours ago, Ojo Rojo said:

This.  The guy made the biggest mistake in college football history and....he's a sought after individual?  What am I missing here?  Is tOSU run by waterheads?  Their program will spiral.  They let A&M off the hook.  I was waiting for his firing after the Jimbo debacle, but my thinking was, "They can't fire him.  If they do they will have to admit that they made the biggest mistake in history and that they are a laughingstock.  They never have, never will and simply cannot do that."

assume you are talking about the jimbo contract, which happened before he got there, and with which he would have had nothing to do; same with the extension, and termination, those documents were prepared for him and he was a pass-through

[Armybrat 41,258]

1 minute ago, Hagbard Celine said:

assume you are talking about the jimbo contract, which happened before he got there, and with which he would have had nothing to do; same with the extension, and termination, those documents were prepared for him and he was a pass-through

So, Bjork was just a piece of furniture?

[Hagbard Celine 11,128]

1 hour ago, TrashMaster G said:

The extent to which Looch has any real influence in their athletic dept is a sad indictment of their organization.

the ministry only speaks for ingsoc

1 minute ago, Armybrat said:

So, Bjork was just a piece of furniture?

in football, absolutely

in any other sport, zero fucks given

[NameAlreadyInUse 5,148]

5 hours ago, closetojumping said:

On XM84 Full Ride, Neuheisel and Childers were just openly campaigning for RC Slocum to step in and become the AD for a few years and “unite the masses and make sure Mike Elko has everything he needs.”

Now, nevermind that the HC at ATM is usually getting whatever they want, as the Jimbo years show. That counterpoint is absurd. Just focus on the glory of what could possibly be if Slocum gets the gig. That would be one of the aggiest maneuvers of all time. 

Hey I'm all for this, especially if it means the revival of Slocum on a Mobile. 

[TOR 6,051]

3 minutes ago, NameAlreadyInUse said:

Hey I'm all for this, especially if it means the revival of Slocum on a Mobile. 

*RC on a Mobile.  Some of LZ's best work.  

[Mr. Drummond 2,241]

Bjork must have shown, in the interview process, emails where he told Sharp and the BOR that the jimbo extension was stupid and fiscally irresponsible.   It is the only explanation. 

[Pimphand 6,238]

7 minutes ago, Mr. Drummond said:

Bjork must have shown, in the interview process, emails where he told Sharp and the BOR that the jimbo extension was stupid and fiscally irresponsible.   It is the only explanation. 

 

[TreatyOak 17,096]

3 minutes ago, Pimphand said:

 

Edited January 17 by TreatyOak

[BurntEyes 6,188]

2 hours ago, pyrohornIII said:

I think it's funny that national media still uses Jimbo as the face of A&M football.

Probably because they have no idea who is currently coaching at aggie, and neither does most of the nation.

[BigHornedLurker 2,097]

I think the Ohio State President google'd "AD at Texas" thinking he'd find CDC and ended up with Bjork (slight /s) 

Taking for a moment the assumption that Bjork really had no power or influence over the athletic department, what evidence is there he can run a successful athletic department. Ole Miss ? Lucky he didn't end up with lack of institutional control over Freeze. 

I really don't understand how tOSU looked over the field of athletic departments and settled on jimbo's crackhead twin brother to run their entire operation. 

I hope they massively fail 

Edited January 17 by BigHornedLurker

[markstanco 12,750]

3 hours ago, BurntEyes said:

I find the Bjork/tOSU jibba here amusing. I look at it as a win win. Bjork sucks, I laugh at OSU, he does great I get to mock aggie some more. 

Can't find the downside.

Aggy AD position is a stepping stone job and has been proven the last few years. 

[Ojo Rojo 2,033]

1 hour ago, Hagbard Celine said:

assume you are talking about the jimbo contract, which happened before he got there, and with which he would have had nothing to do; same with the extension, and termination, those documents were prepared for him and he was a pass-through

I'm talking about the extension and termination including the record buyout.  Are you telling me Bjork had nothing at all to do with those?  If so: 

[Crapinon 2,362]

9 minutes ago, markstanco said:

Aggy AD position is a stepping stone job and has been proven the last few years. 

Stepping stone and aggy made me think of this.

[BurntEyes 6,188]

4 minutes ago, Crapinon said:

Stepping stone and aggy made me think of this.

Ags met you, Bjork, you didn't have no shoes

Now you're walking 'round like you're front page news

You've been awful, careful 'bout the friends you choose

But, you won't have Jimbo in your book of who's who

[Davis Lane 5,953]

2 hours ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

What better representation of aggy football than $100s of millions flushed down the toilet with no results

[Tex Pete 21,339]

3 hours ago, TrashMaster G said:

The extent to which Looch has any real influence in their athletic dept is a sad indictment of their organization.

As are their historical "success," all the money they piss away, Fish Camp, Yell Leaders, killing a bunch of kids with negligence, etc.

[Tex Pete 21,339]

2 hours ago, Blotto said:

Gillespie bolting from aggy hoops to Kentucky would definitely qualify as an upward move. But he was unable to rid himself of that aggy stench, and he was gone from lexington in a couple of years. 

Billy Gillespie, who I used to know many years ago, was/is a drunk who could not get away from his demons.

At some point in his life, he begin to let his ego get the best of him and never dealt with his issues. He got a DWI at UTEP and then got hired at A&M. He didn't suffer any consequences and never checked himself. He proceeded to wreck himself. Honestly, he was a very nice guy years ago. Personal and not overly arrogant for a coach. He just bought too much into the praise people heaped upon him.

[linux 1,737]

More fuel to the fire that Aggies did promise 30 million to that greatest of all time class, only to deliver jizz jars. Let's see how this backfires.

[ScottS 1,118]

Pat Forde at Sports Illustrated does not seem to be a fan of the Bjork hire at OSU.

The Many Missteps of New Ohio State Athletic Director Ross Bjork

Quote

The Many Missteps of New Ohio State Athletic Director Ross Bjork

The Buckeyes boast one of the best athletic departments in the country, making this hiring even more questionable.

The Ohio State Buckeyes are hiring Ross Bjork as their athletic director, effective July 1. This is yet another indication that the United States is a remarkable country, where professional disasters great and small seemingly can be overcome with a strong jawline and a firm handshake.

Bjork is not without his merits, many of which the university documented in its release announcing his hiring Tuesday. Texas A&M, where he’s been the AD since 2019, has improved its overall academic profile for athletes. He’s fundraised to build some stuff. He’s been involved in name, image and likeness advancements at A&M. He made a few good hires. Before that, he had some good moments as the AD at Mississippi.

Perhaps most importantly to some university presidents, Bjork looks and talks the part of a major-college AD, as if out of central casting (perhaps for a parody). He can deliver buzzwords and jargon with panache and aplomb.

But here’s the rest of the résumé, which was omitted from Ohio State’s release extolling Bjork’s hiring:

• Bjork presided over the Hugh Freeze Scandal Buffet at Mississippi from 2014 to ’16. That time period included major NCAA violations, Freeze’s rather spectacular personal scandal that cost him his job and an organized disinformation campaign about the NCAA’s investigation of the Rebels that led to a defamation lawsuit from former coach Houston Nutt. Bjork, Freeze and others at Ole Miss deliberately misled media members and prospective recruits about the nature of the violations, developing a narrative that placed the majority of the blame on Nutt.

After the NCAA notice of allegations was made public in May 2016 and it became clear that Nutt was falsely scapegoated, attorney Tom Mars filed the defamation suit on behalf of Nutt in late ’17. Bjork’s name is all over the lawsuit, and his actions are detailed extensively. Ole Miss quickly apologized to Nutt and settled the suit. (If you ever wondered how Mars became a powerful force in college athletics, this was his gateway.)

As for the sanctions incurred after the NCAA investigation: Ole Miss was given a two-year postseason ban, a 15% reduction in scholarships, recruiting restrictions, disassociated boosters and 33 vacated victories.

• Bjork replaced Freeze with one of his assistant coaches, Matt Luke. After going 6–6 as the interim coach, Luke was elevated to the full-time job by Bjork. He went 15–21 overall, 6–18 in the Southeastern Conference and was fired after three seasons by Bjork’s successor, Keith Carter.
• Bjork’s other high-profile hire at Ole Miss was men’s basketball coach Kermit Davis Jr. After initial success—a 20-win season in his first year—Davis went 54–66 and was fired before the end of last season by Carter.

After those situations, Bjork was rather stunningly hired at Texas A&M, a spare-no-expense athletic shop in the same division of the SEC as Ole Miss. This was a major upgrade for a guy some thought wouldn’t survive the Freeze era.

• Bjork’s most visible action was to award Jimbo Fisher the most irresponsible contract extension in the history of college football, which ultimately led to the most expensive buyout in the history of college football.

Fisher was coming off a 9–1 pandemic season in 2020, a sharp upward blip from previous years of 9–4 and 8–5. Flush with the success of almost making the College Football Playoff, Bjork and the A&M Board of Regents extended Fisher’s contract through ’31, paying him $9 million per year. His staff salary pool also ballooned as high as $13 million by ’23.

Most outrageously, Fisher’s buyout remained the same ski-mask robbery it was in his original contract, which was approved by predecessor Scott Woodward. If fired, he was owed the full term of the deal—at the time, $95.6 million—and it reduced by only $9 million a year. And if Fisher left, he owed the school nothing. It is, without question, the most lopsided coaching contract ever.

Sure enough, Fisher resumed mediocre production immediately thereafter. His record slid back to 8–4, then plunged to 5–7, then made a modest rally to 6–4 last season before he was fired in November at a cost of roughly $77 million. Many of those assistant coach and support staff fat salaries had to be eaten, and then a new coach and staff had to be paid.

“It was my decision, my recommendation,” Bjork told TV station WFAA of firing Fisher and eating the money. “President [Mark] Walsh agreed. You take that to Chancellor [John] Sharp. He agreed.”

• One other highlight of the Fisher era: He and his program were dinged for NCAA violations in 2020 pertaining to an impermissible contact with a recruit and violating time limits on practices and workouts. Fisher violated head coach responsibility and program monitoring rules. That infractions case led to recruiting restrictions and six-month show-cause orders for Fisher and an assistant.
• Bjork inherited successful men’s basketball coach Buzz Williams at A&M, then presided over an NCAA investigation of that program for impermissible workouts during the COVID-19 dead period and impermissible recruiting contacts. Williams was suspended for two games of the 2021–22 season and an assistant coach was suspended for the entire ’20–21 season by A&M. The Aggies also incurred recruiting sanctions.
• One of Bjork’s last acts as Texas A&M athletic director was to almost hire Mark Stoops, only to have that swatted back at him. Bjork targeted the Kentucky coach to succeed Fisher, and the deal appeared close enough to complete that Stoops began telling people close to him in the course after the season-ending win over Louisville that he was planning to leave for College Station.

But the boardroom blowback to Stoops was fast and furious, and by the wee hours of Nov. 26, the deal had fallen apart. Stoops tweeted at 1:02 a.m. that he was staying at Kentucky, doing a fine job of making that sound like a voluntary and unilateral decision on his part. “I knew in my heart I couldn’t leave the University of Kentucky right now,” Stoops said on X (formerly Twitter). It’s more believable that A&M rescinded the offer.

Having his authority publicly undercut would be enough to send any athletic director in search of his next job—but Bjork actually managed to fail upward, to Ohio State. This is certainly one of the top-five AD jobs in the country, arguably the best one.

The Buckeyes list a whopping 35 sports on their website, and they’re good at almost all of them. The football program is elite. The fan base (i.e., donor base) is massive and passionate. The facilities are top notch. The Big Ten revenue spigot is about to turn into a gusher. And highly respected outgoing AD Gene Smith leaves behind a department that has been largely stable.

The presumption was that one of Smith’s many protégés who worked under him at Ohio State and went on to Division I jobs would replace him—maybe Pat Chun from Washington State, or Martin Jarmond from UCLA, or Heather Lyke from Pittsburgh. Instead, Ross Bjork upgrades yet again.

A strong jawline and a firm handshake can take a person a long way in the modern world of college athletics. All the way to one of the best athletic director jobs in America.

 

[msucolt45 4,194]

Bjorke is the classic example of Fup and move up from his earliest examples. Ole Miss, maybe he wasn’t privy to telephone records, but still.

He hasn’t even proven himself at aggy, like even being top 25 in the Directors Cup, since his arrival at B/CS. All the $$$ aggy throws at both men/women’s athletics, and they still suck!

Search committee at OSU was blindfolded/mislead. Good luck going forward.

Hook’em!!!

[ButtFumble 5,234]

right here is the best AD candidate for aggy!

[ousux 5,632]

right here is the best AD candidate for aggy!

Hell yeah! They crow about all the money they have, $200 pillows for her office won't be an issue.

[Biff Tannen 46,008]

2 hours ago, ScottS said:

Bjork’s most visible action was to award Jimbo Fisher the most irresponsible contract extension in the history of college football, which ultimately led to the most expensive buyout in the history of college football.

@Hagbard Celine???

[Cairn Horn88 8,500]

Texas reported athletic department revenue of $271 million in 2023, a record for NCAA schools:

 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/big12/2024/01/17/texas-athletic-department-271-million-revenue/72255138007/

For now, the new total stands as the largest single-year total since the NCAA began its current financial reporting system in 2005. Ohio State reported $251.6 million in 2022. (Oregon reported $391.8 million in 2020, but that included more than $270 million as a contribution for the renovation of its track and field stadium.)

By category, Texas’ largest year-over-year increases were:
-- $11 million in contributions, which rose to nearly $86 million.

-- $10.2 million in money from sponsorships, licensing, royalties and advertising, which totaled $54.7 million.
-- $5.7 million in ticket sales, which moved to $63.3 million

Edited January 18 by Cairn Horn88

[Sir Ulrich 5,337]

2 hours ago, msucolt45 said:

Bjorke is the classic example of Fup and move up from his earliest examples. Ole Miss, maybe he wasn’t privy to telephone records, but still.

He hasn’t even proven himself at aggy, like even being top 25 in the Directors Cup, since his arrival at B/CS. All the $$$ aggy throws at both men/women’s athletics, and they still suck!

Search committee at OSU was blindfolded/mislead. Good luck going forward.

Hook’em!!!

What's funny is Bjork has a connection to Jack Harbaugh from time spent at WKU. They needed one last FU to tOSU before they head back to the NFL. 

[C-Man 27,620]

7 hours ago, Tex Pete said:

Billy Gillespie, who I used to know many years ago, was/is a drunk who could not get away from his demons.

At some point in his life, he begin to let his ego get the best of him and never dealt with his issues. He got a DWI at UTEP and then got hired at A&M. He didn't suffer any consequences and never checked himself. He proceeded to wreck himself. Honestly, he was a very nice guy years ago. Personal and not overly arrogant for a coach. He just bought too much into the praise people heaped upon him.

And never signed his contract at UK or some crazy shit like that, right?

[Blotto 23,916]

11 hours ago, Pimphand said:

Yeah it's definitely a no lose situation since we know Sharp will gomer the replacement hire and even if the blind squirrel found an acorn the candidate would be handcuffed anyways. #diplomamill

They need a proven leader. A man that exemplifies what it means to be an aggy. Old Army but at the same time hip enough to relate to todays young men

Spoiler

 

 

[DFW Horn 6,622]

9 hours ago, ButtFumble said:

right here is the best AD candidate for aggy!

[Deej 77,597]

7 hours ago, Blotto said:

They need a proven leader. A man that exemplifies what it means to be an aggy. Old Army but at the same time hip enough to relate to todays young men

  Hide contents

 

 

 

 

[TrashMaster G 18,010]

Wow, check out this absolute load of BS Bjork is peddling on the Stoops almost-hire: https://www.on3.com/news/ross-bjork-mark-stoops-pursuit-texas-am-steps-search-process-ohio-state-athletic-director/

@WhatTheBuck - Congrats on your school hiring a lying POS. Good luck!

[Beau Vine 55,732]

33 minutes ago, TrashMaster G said:

Wow, check out this absolute load of BS Bjork is peddling on the Stoops almost-hire: https://www.on3.com/news/ross-bjork-mark-stoops-pursuit-texas-am-steps-search-process-ohio-state-athletic-director/

@WhatTheBuck - Congrats on your school hiring a lying POS. Good luck!

 

Quote

“Here’s what people, they don’t really realize about the process. The athletic director and the team — whatever that may look like — we run a search process,” Bjork said. “We make recommendations to the President. ‘I would like to hire this person,’ or, ‘I think this is the No. 1 candidate.’ That’s how it works on every institution. No athletic director has the full autonomy to say, ‘I’m absolutely going to hire this person and no one else is involved.’

That's just flat-out a load of shit.

[Vertigo 20,455]

3 minutes ago, Beau Vine said:

 

That's just flat-out a load of shit.

I'm not sure it is that far fetched, you are talking about in most cases making someone the highest paid person in your entire school system. That typically requires the president and others to sign off. CDC was working closely with Hartzell and Eltife to both hire and extend Sarkisian. 

[YGIFS 19,455]

19 hours ago, Pimphand said:

 

 

So we're just not talking about the fact he looks like an even more asshole version of the Statler & Waldorf?  He looks too East Texas Cracker, even for Aggies.

Edited January 18 by YGIFS

[MAUFRAIS 6,709]

Judges get Borked, coaches get Bjorked.

[Vertigo 20,455]

14 hours ago, ButtFumble said:

right here is the best AD candidate for aggy!

Is that a mustache? 

[YGIFS 19,455]

45 minutes ago, Vertigo said:

Is that a mustache? 

Why, you want a ride?  

[Duval Street 420]

22 hours ago, Hagbard Celine said:

assume you are talking about the jimbo contract, which happened before he got there, and with which he would have had nothing to do; same with the extension, and termination, those documents were prepared for him and he was a pass-through

It was then he realized he had become just another glory hole.

[Deej 77,597]

20 minutes ago, YGIFS said:

Why, you want a ride?  

[SubliminalHorn 6,988]

Bjork is kinda hot

[ClubWhatever 12,248]

2 minutes ago, SubliminalHorn said:

Bjork is kinda hot

Would have a three way with him and his wife if he didn't show up.

[SubliminalHorn 6,988]

7 minutes ago, ClubWhatever said:

Would have a three way with him and his wife if he didn't show up.

Is that an invitation?

[nnm 37,616]

What the hell is going on with the last few posts? Did I make a wrong turn on the board?!?

[SHOOTER12 8,880]

23 minutes ago, SubliminalHorn said:

Bjork is kinda hot

Shirley you jest.

[Born Burnt 6,208]

On 1/17/2024 at 9:54 AM, EZ$ said:

Wasn’t he the one at SEC media days crying (like almost to the verge of tears) when it was announced Texas was going to the SEC?

[NameAlreadyInUse 5,148]

21 hours ago, Tex Pete said:

Billy Gillespie, who I used to know many years ago, was/is a drunk who could not get away from his demons.

At some point in his life, he begin to let his ego get the best of him and never dealt with his issues. He got a DWI at UTEP and then got hired at A&M. He didn't suffer any consequences and never checked himself. He proceeded to wreck himself. Honestly, he was a very nice guy years ago. Personal and not overly arrogant for a coach. He just bought too much into the praise people heaped upon him.

Wait, I think I saw this movie back in the 80's.