No stranger to changes, A&M primed for a big one today

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COLLEGE STATION - Even for an institution that clings so tightly, so fervently, to its traditions, there have been moments when Texas A&M has stepped into the unknown and shocked the world - and, perhaps, even itself.

A&M's affiliation with the Southeastern Conference, which begins Sunday, could be one of those moments, even though it doesn't rival such seismic shifts as the decision to admit women and to end mandatory membership in the Corps of Cadets during the turbulent 1960s.

Still, we are talking football - and basketball, baseball, track, softball, field, tennis and swimming - so there is considerable pride and, in these competitive days, considerable brand identity at stake.

"We have, from moment to moment in our history, done some pretty big things that shook us up," university president R. Bowen Loftin, the engine of A&M's eastward shift, said Saturday.

"We went in the 1960s from a small, all-male, all-military school to something that all of a sudden became very different. And now, this is a pivotal moment, moving into the premier athletic conference in the nation, competing head to head for the national championships for which we believe we ought to be competing."

These moves, he said, "have taken courage, but we've done it."

Sirr Parker (8) celebrates one of the biggest TDs in A&M history. Sirr Parker (8) celebrates one of the biggest TDs in A&M history. Photo: Karen Warren Photo: Karen Warren Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close No stranger to changes, A&M primed for a big one today 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

The Aggies continued moving and doing Saturday, the final day of their Big 12 Conference affiliation, by introducing Eric Hyman, formerly of South Carolina and TCU, as their athletic director.

Sunday, they rest. Monday, leisure time comes to an end with the hoisting of the SEC flag over campus and the full acceptance of the task facing the Aggies.

'Buckle up and be ready'

The good news and bad news of SEC membership, Hyman said during a news conference to announce his appointment, is identical.

"It's the best league in the country," he said. "Every time you compete, it's going to be a 12-round boxing match. … What we have to do is buckle up and be ready to compete at the highest level."

As a department, the Aggies enter the SEC with a degree of momentum. A&M ranked ninth in the 2011-12 Directors' Cup standings, which measures performance by NCAA-sponsored sports. The Aggies ranked second among Big 12 schools behind Texas at No. 5 and second among SEC schools, present and future, behind Florida at No. 2.

The engine of all college athletics, however, is football, and there the Aggies have miles to go and no time to sleep. They were also-rans in the Big 12, and now they enter the league that has produced the last six BCS national championships, replete with 100,000-seat football palaces that tower over A&M's Kyle Field.

"People act like they told me A&M was going to the SEC after I took this job. I knew that," new football coach Kevin Sumlin said this spring.

"We understand it's going to be extremely challenging, but at the same time because of our resources here at A&M, because of our venue, our game-day atmosphere, our location, the ability to attract top student-athletes, I think we're going to have a real chance. The challenge is how quickly we can do that."

Sumlin's office overlooks the new $9 million player-development building that opens in August. Out of sight, but not out of mind, however, is Kyle Field, which has not had substantial renovations since the 1990s, an eon in today's collegiate facilities race.

Sumlin's job is to win games. The job of Houston businessman Sam Torn, chairman of the Kyle Field redevelopment campaign for A&M's fund-raising 12th Man Foundation, is to provide the financial wherewithal to revamp and rebuild the historic foundation of Texas A&M athletics.

"We want to create a venue that can sustain us for the next 50 to 100 years," Torn said. "Our goal is excellence, and we understand there is a cost to excellence. And Aggies are ready to assume the cost and make the commitment."

Torn said he hopes that the sports facilities firm Populous will have a plan for Kyle Field's renovation or replacement to be presented to Loftin by November, after the Aggies have had their first look at the likes of Alabama's Bryant-Denny Stadium and Auburn's Jordan-Hare Stadium.

More than just sports

"We're excited to be able to go to some of the storied venues in college football," Torn said. "That said, we are not going to the SEC to compare ourselves with anybody. We want to excel and be the best, whatever that takes, and that is our plan."

But first comes Day One in the SEC, the first day of Loftin's much talked-about "100-year decision." And the tale of where it ranks in the order of seismic changes at A&M, regent Jim Wilson said Saturday, has yet to be told.

"It will be down the road, when we see if it does for us what we believe it will do, which is to help our brand nationwide and worldwide," he said. "I'm talking about the university, not just athletics. It's being on national TV, but it's more than that. We are hopeful that this will drive the university."

And when it comes to forecasting the Aggies' on-field performance in the SEC, Loftin falls back on a cherished A&M tradition.

"We're going to show up," he said. "We'll do well. I have great faith in our coaches. They're good people. We have great student-athletes. We're going to compete.

"We may not win every game, but you know what they say about Aggies: We've never been beaten. Outscored, maybe, but we won't be beaten."

david.barron@chron.com