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Volume 6, No. 1
Some people dream about one day hitting the lottery. Or hitting a hole-in-one (been there, done that). Others long for the day when the Nasdaq actually ends the day on a high note or Red Apple sales are a weekly occurrence at Foley’s. To each his own. I, on the other hand, dream of producing a slick, 120-page commemorative edition of 12th Man Magazine. A hard-covered staple for the coffee table. If the Daily Oklahoman newspaper could produce such a magazine gem before the Sooners’ national title game with Florida State, surely we could do one for all of the loyal 12th Man Foundation donors. There’s one problem, however. The Aggies need to play for a national title… in any sport. Sure, that’s a big demand, perhaps an unrealistic request in this era of college athletics. Equality among scholarship counts and equality among teams in megaconferences make it that much more difficult to climb to No. 1. I want it anyway. It doesn’t even have to be in football, although if the most high-profile and traditional sport on the Texas A&M campus could punch through for the first time since 1939, Aggie pride would swell to unprecedented heights. But a national championship in any sport at A&M, from swimming to tennis to equestrian, would be a huge boost to a school whose fans are so loyal… and so hungry.
Basically, A&M is overdue for some good luck, for that magical run in a sport that so many other schools in the Big 12 have enjoyed. The Big 12’s institutions, which include the former Big 8 brethren and Southwest Conference foes, have won a total of 163 team national championships since the inception of the NCAA. And the breakdown is somewhat surprising, as Oklahoma State leads all Big 12 schools with 43 NCAA titles, mostly in wrestling. However, the Cowboys from little ol’ Stillwater have taken home two men’s basketball titles, one baseball crown, nine men’s golf titles and even a men’s cross country championship. Texas is second on the national title list with 38 all-time championships, the last coming in the 2000 men’s swimming season. In fact, the Longhorns have been the kings of the pool, winning 14 national titles in men’s and women’s swimming. Oklahoma is next on the national title list with 20 championships, most recently with a 2000 softball title and (XXXXXXXXX). Colorado has won 16 titles, but 15 have come in skiing. The Buffaloes, however, did break through in 1990 with a football title. Nebraska has won five national championships in football and just captured a perfect season in women’s volleyball, the Huskers’ second prize in that sport in six years. So where does A&M rank among its Big 12 peers? Well, the Aggies have some work to do, coming in eighth in the pecking order with four national titles – three in softball (1982, 1983 and 1987) and one in football. Two Big 12 teams – Kansas State and Baylor – have never won a national title in any sport, while Texas Tech has only a women’s basketball crown in 1993. While none of the "Big Three" sports at A&M – football, men’s basketball or baseball – are ranked, two spring semester sports are lurking in the top five in their respective polls. The men’s swimming team, on the verge of hosting the 2001 National Championships March 22-24, reached its highest-ever ranking in December, skyrocketing to the No. 3 spot. And in men’s tennis, coach Tim Cass and crew are perched at No. 5 in the main preseason tennis poll. Sure, neither one of these sports is a revenue-producer or a national headline grabber. It doesn’t matter. A national championship in one of these sports could open the floodgates for the other sports at Texas A&M. Call it the Stanford Syndrome. You can bet the farm that on The Farm in Palo Alto there is peer pressure to win big in every sport. In fact, a recent USA Today cover story documented just how each sport at Stanford feeds off each other in terms of striving for No. 1. If the men’s tennis team can win another title, then why can’t the women? Or if baseball is so good, why shouldn’t the basketball team follow suit? The result has been Stanford creating a monopoly on Sears Cups, the big trophy for overall athletic program dominance. A&M athletic programs have been close to the ultimate national glory in recent years, specifically in baseball in 1989, 1993 and 1999. The men’s track program came within a few points of winning a team title in 1989, while the 1980 men’s basketball had the tools to at least make a Final Four run, if not for an overtime loss to eventual champion Louisville. The A&M volleyball team flirted with the Final Four in 1999, coming up one victory short in the round of eight, while the Aggie archers did win a team national title last year, although the sport isn’t yet sanctioned by the NCAA. Of course, three softball NCAA trophies fill the cases in the new Lettermen’s Sports Museum and Hall of Fame in The Zone at Kyle Field, as Bob Brock’s teams won three titles in six years, the last coming with a 1-0 victory over UCLA in 1987. As much as coaching, recruiting, facilities, luck and timing play into winning a national championship, A&M seems to be battling history more than any other opponent. The Aggies’ lack of winning consistently for years on a national scale, or at least cornering the market on one or two sports (CU with skiing or Oklahoma State with wrestling), has kept the title count down. It’s really a Catch-22 situation. How do you attract the difference-making athletes who want to win a national championship if you haven’t won a title before? A&M has so much to offer kids that the lure of Aggieland can be overwhelming. And for that reason, A&M’s athletic programs are competitive ones on several levels. And they can be competitive on a national one, as well. But a breakthrough season is needed, whether or not the sport is a coffer-filler. That’s why Aggie fans should concern themselves with the swimming national championships in College Station or what’s going on at the Varsity Tennis Center. If the Aggies, for instance, could win it all in men’s tennis – and they’ll have a shot in 2001 – the entire perception of the athletic department goes up. Suddenly, student-athletes can see a commitment to winning at another place besides Stanford or Nebraska or North Carolina. A&M, like what has happened in men’s tennis, can become a national destination for the best athletes out there. The school, the tradition, the way of life in Aggieland… they are all unique beacons that have attracted so many bright-eyed students over the years. Texas A&M and Aggies everywhere deserve a national championship or two in the next few years. It’s been too long, and yes, it can be done here. But somebody, some program has to live up to the immortal words of Nike and… just do it.
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