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A&M Athletic director Bill Byrne is remaking the face of sports for the better
JORDAN MESEROLE
SPORTS EDITOR
T he winds of change are
blowing through Texas
A&M sports and by the
way they're blowing, you
would think it's a hurricane.
Lay down the tarps on the field,
board up the windows on the
athletic office and if you have a
name plaque on your desk that
reads “coach,” find a place to
hide because hurricane Bill
Byrne is here.
The latest changes in the
path of the storm are Ted
Nelson, head track and field
coach, and Mel Nash, head
men's swimming coach. Just
like that, a combined 63 years
of A&M coaching experience
gone. Byrne didn’t fire them;
Nelson retired after a 38 year
career at A&M and Nash
resigned after 25. And since
Byrne has taken office, a com
bined 88 years has been wiped
away from the A&M head
coaching ranks. Others that
have been swept up and out
include R.C. Slocum, Melvin
Watkins and Peggie Gillom.
But unlike other hurricanes
that cause millions of dollars of
damage and leave people with
horrible memories, the after-
math of hurricane Byrne may
be for the better.
Byrne’s changes stem from
an attempt to make A&M a
national contender in all sports,
and eventually win the Sears
Cup, which is awarded to the
school that accumulates the
most points for excelling in
sports. Byrne would probably
compare winning the Sears Cup
to winning the Super Bowl.
Byrne’s changes should not
only benefit fans by giving
them a new look on A&M
sports-hopefully a better one-
but will also see increased com
petition from an in-state rival
known to many in College
Station as “t.u.”
In the past 10 years. A&M
has slowly fallen farther behind
the University of Texas in
almost every sport. The same
goes for the Sears Cup; for the
past five years Texas has con
sistently been in the top
20, including a sec
ond place finish
in the 2001-02
season, while
A&M hasn’t
even
cracked the
top 20 in
that span.
For the
sports that
have had a
head coaching
change under
Bill Byrne,
the combined
record against Texas
isn’t very
uplifting-a bleak
14-40. Nash
had the hard
est time
solving the
strong
Longhorn
swim
teams,
going 0-10
in the span.
Former men’s
basketball
coach
Melvin
Graphic by Ruben DeLuna • THE BATTALION
Watkins had an equally tough
time, going 1-11.
Former football coach R.C.
Slocum left with a sour taste
in his mouth from his last
three games against Texas,
losing all three by a combined
114 points.
Last season, Texas had eight
teams ranked in the top 10
nationally, including the base
ball team that recently lost in
the College World Series. Only
a total of three A&M teams
held a top 10 spot last season
for more than a week.
Fans shouldn’t expect to see
immediate results from new
coaches. If coaches were only
given one year, A&M would
already have a new football and
women’s basketball coach.
Coaches need time to recruit
and establish their programs.
But fans should expect a con
siderably different look at
sporting events within the next
five years, all thanks to Byrne.
And new incoming freshmen
might begin to realize and
experience the true rivalry
between A&M and Texas once
again on the sports battle field.
A&M coaches, be advised:
Hurricane Byrne is still loom
ing on the horizon. But for the
changes Byrne has already
made, the programs can now
start rebuilding for a better
future. This might be the only
hurricane from which people
won’t be seeking disaster relief
and actually begin to welcome.
The Bill Byrne
Legacy
Football
Old: R.C. Slocum -
14 years
New: D. Franchione
Basketball
Old:
(m) Melvin Watkins -
6 years
(w) Peggy Gillom -
5 years
New:
(m) Billy Gillispie
(w) Gary Blair
Swimming & Track
Old: Mel Nash - 25 years
Old: Ted Nelson -
17 years
Rockets complete McGrady trade
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By Joel Anderson
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
In a blockbuster deal that gives the Houston
Rockets one of basketball’s most intriguing
tandems, Tracy McGrady was traded to Houston
in a multiplayer deal that sent Steve Francis to
the Orlando Magic on Tuesday.
The long-anticipated deal also sent forward
Juwan Howard, and guards Tyronn Lue and
Reece Gaines to the Rockets. The Magic also got
guard Cuttino Mobley and forward Kelvin Cato.
The trade was finalized after Francis’ meeting
with Magic general manager John Weisbrod in
Orlando on Tuesday.
McGrady, a two-time NBA scoring champion,
now joins 7-foot-5 Yao Ming to form a duo that
could potentially be as dominant as the Los
Angeles Lakers’ three-time championship two
some of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.
Tired of carrying a mediocre franchise,
McGrady vowed to exercise the opt-out clause in
his contract that was to go into effect at the end
of next season.
McGrady, 25, becomes the fourth defending
scoring champion in NBA history to be dealt
away, and the first since the Buffalo Braves sent
Bob McAdoo to the New York Knicks in 1976.
Francis, a three-time All-Star, averaged 16.6
points, 5.5 rebounds and 6.2 assists last season to
join Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson and Hill as
the only players in league history to average at
least 15 points, five rebounds and five assists in
each of their first five years.
Francis, Mobley and Yao led the Rockets to
the playoffs last season for the first time in five
years. Houston lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in
the first round.
But Francis, who flourished in an up-tempo
offense for the previous four years, was put on
the summer trading block after posting the worst
numbers of his career in new coach Jeff Van
Gundy’s slower-paced scheme.
When reports of the deal first surfaced last
week, Francis balked at leaving Houston for
rebuilding Orlando. But Francis’ agent, Jeff
Fried, said a talk between the point guard and
Weisbrod after Thursday’s draft helped alleviate
some of the All-Star guard’s concerns about join
ing the Magic.
Fried said Weisbrod convinced Francis that
the Magic could improve quickly with the addi
tions of No. 1 draft pick Dwight Howard and
Jameer Nelson, a point guard from St. Joseph’s.
Garrido apologizes for post-game snub
By Jim Vertuno
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Texas baseball coach Augie Garrido apolo
gized Tuesday for the “unfortunate perception” of
his team after the Longhorns didn’t attend a
postgame ceremony to receive their r
second-place trophy at the College
World Series.
“1 deeply regret what has hap
pened,” Garrido said in a statement
released by the university. “I hope that
this team will be remembered for what
it did throughout the year, not for an
unfortunate incident that came at the
end of a great College World Series.”
Texas’ failure to accept its trophy
Sunday caused a furor among some
Longhorns fans over what many per
ceived to be poor sportsmanship.
Garrido insisted it was not a show of poor
sportsmanship but the result of a misunderstand
ing with NCAA officials.
“Throughout my career, I have placed high
values on my role as a teacher,” he said. “It is
important to convey the values, ethics, sportsman
ship and purpose in which I believe.
FOURPLEXES
“That said, I would like to apologize for every
member of the University of Texas family, and the
fans of the College World Series and Cal State
Fullerton for the unfortunate perception that has
been created.”
Garrido has said he did not know there was a tro-
— phy for second place and insisted that
he did not intend to snub champion
Cal State Fullerton, the school where
he won three national titles before
taking over the Texas program.
When approached by an NCAA
official after Fullerton’s 3-2 victory,
Garrido said he was told the ceremo
ny was optional and didn’t send his
team out.
An NCAA official at the tourna-
ment said it was the first time in 17
years that the runner-up did not
accept its award.
Texas, which has played in 31 College World
Series, keeps two runner-up trophies from 1984
and 1989 in a display case outside the athletic
director’s office.
“None of us associated with our baseball program
would intentionally do anything to bring embarrass
ment to the game or to our university,” he said.
I deeply re
gret what has
happened.
— Augie Garrido
University of Texas coach
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