The Texas A&M Aggies football program represents Texas A&M University in the sport of American football. The Aggies compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and are a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Texas A&M football claims three national titles and 18 conference titles. The team plays all home games at Kyle Field, a 102,733-person capacity outdoor stadium on the university campus.
History
Early history (1894–1964)
Texas A&M first fielded a football team in 1894, under the direction of head coach F. Dudley Perkins. The team compiled a 1–1 record. W. A. Murray served as A&M's head coach from 1899 to 1901, compiling a record of 7–8–1.
From 1902 to 1904, J. E. Platt served as A&M's head coach, his teams compiling a record of 18–5–3. From 1909 to 1914, A&M compiled a 38–8–4 record under head coach Charley Moran. Moran's 1909 team finished undefeated, and all but one of Moran's other seasons the Aggies only lost one game each year. Under head coach Edwin Harlan, the Aggies compiled a record of 12–5 in two seasons and joined the Southwest Conference.
Dana X. Bible became Texas A&M's head coach in 1919, leaving LSU, and under his tutelage the Aggies compiled a record of 72–19–9 in ten seasons. Bible's 1919 Texas A&M Aggies football team, which was undefeated, untied, and outscored its opposition 275–0, was retroactively named a national champion by the Billingsley Report and the National Championship Foundation. In the 1922 Dixie Classic, Bible made his most visible and lasting impression in his A&M career when he began the Twelfth Man Tradition. Bible had a roster of only eighteen players, who had to play both offense and defense against the heavily favored Centre College. He lost three players to injuries early in the game, but the Aggies took the lead. Fearing more injuries and a possibility of having to forfeit the game for lack of men, Bible called upon a reserve halfback, E. King Gill, who was in the press box running stats for the team, to suit up and be ready if needed. The Aggies wouldn't need Gill's help to win, but since then A&M students stand throughout football games to show their willingness to play if needed. Bible departed the Aggies after the 1928 season to accept the Nebraska head coaching position.
After Bible's departure, A&M brought in Matty Bell from TCU to lead the Aggies football program. Under Bell's tutelage, the Aggies compiled a record of 24–21–3. However, the Aggies did not play up to the standards set by Dana Bible's tenure, and Bell left for SMU after five seasons. Homer Norton was hired away from Centenary to replace Bell in 1934. A&M enjoyed great successes under Norton. The 1939 Texas A&M team went 11–0, beating Tulane in the Sugar Bowl, and was named a national champion. Norton's record at Texas A&M was 82–53–9, giving him the second most wins of any coach in Texas A&M Aggies football history. Among the many stars that Norton developed were John Kimbrough and Joe Routt. Norton was fired in 1947 when his team went 3–6–1 and lost to archrival University of Texas for the eighth straight year.
In December 1947, Harry Stiteler was promoted from running backs coach to head coach for the Texas A&M football team following the firing of Homer Norton. In Stiteler's first season as head coach, the Aggies failed to win a game, accumulating a record of 0–9–1. For the 1949 season, the Aggies won only one game and had a record of 1–8–1. Despite the poor record in his first two seasons, Stiteler developed a reputation as a good recruiter. In 1950, Stiteler turned the program around with a 7–4 record, including impressive wins over Arkansas (42–13) and SMU (25–20) and a 40–20 win over Georgia in the Presidential Cup Bowl at Baltimore. The 1950 team had the best record of any Texas A&M football team in the first decade after World War II (1945–1954). In December 1950, Stiteler reported that he had been attacked and beaten by a stranger near the Shamrock Hotel in Houston, where Stiteler had been scheduled to address a group of Texas A&M alumni. Stiteler tried to downplay the incident, but the press reported Stiteler declined to provide details to the police and that there were conflicting versions as to what had happened. The San Antonio Light reported the incident under a banner headline, "MYSTERY SHROUDS STITELER BEATING." In March 1951, Stiteler admitted that he had misrepresented the facts concerning the assault. He reported that he had known his attacker and "the affair was a personal one." Embarrassed, Stiteler submitted his letter of resignation to the President of Texas A&M upon revealing the true facts concerning "my affair in Houston." Following the resignation, the members of the football team issued a statement in support of their former coach:"We believe that whatever happened to Mr. Stiteler was a personal matter and it should have remained that. A lot of us boys came to A. and M. in 1948 not because A. and M. had won games but simply because of Harry Stiteler and his character. He has never ceased to set us that same example in the years we have played and worked for him." In three years as the head coach at Texas A&M, Stiteler compiled a record of 8–21–2. Raymond George, previously USC's defensive line coach, was hired as the 17th head coach of the Texas A&M Aggies after the Stiteler scandal. He served as head coach for three seasons, from 1951 to 1953, during which time the Aggies produced a total record of 12–14–4.College Football Data Warehouse Raymond George records by year Among A&M's notable wins during this time period were victories over Bud Wilkinson's Oklahoma Sooners, Henry Russell Sanders' UCLA Bruins and Bear Bryant's Kentucky Wildcats. George resigned as the Aggies head coach following the 1953 season. In 1994 as a result of the NCAA findings of major violations of NCAA rules in this case, Texas A&M became one of three universities to receive as many as seven public penalties since 1952. Between 1956 and 1977, the university was placed on probation three times and publicly reprimanded once for major violations of NCAA rules. This era began a series of NCAA rules violations that continued to 2020.Infractions report ncaa.org
Legendary coach Bear Bryant arrived in College Station after successful head coaching tenures at Maryland and Kentucky, signing a contract worth $15,000 per year. The Aggies suffered through a grueling 1–9 record in Bryant's first season, which began with the infamous training camp in Junction, Texas, during which time many Aggie football players quit the team. The "survivors" were given the name "Junction Boys." Two years later, Bryant led the team to the Southwest Conference championship, despite being on probation, with a 34–21 victory over Texas in Austin. The following year, star running back John David Crow won the Heisman Trophy and the Aggies were in title contention until they lost to Rice Owls. Bryant attempted to integrate the all-white Texas A&M squad. "We'll be the last football team in the Southwest Conference to integrate," he was told by a Texas A&M official. "Well," Bryant replied, "then that's where we're going to finish in football." After the 1957 season, having compiled an overall 25–14–2 record at A&M, Bryant left for Alabama, his alma mater, where he would cement his legacy as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, college football coach of all time.
A&M next turned to Iowa State head coach Jim Myers for its head coaching position. Under Myers, the Aggies struggled mightily, compiling a 12–24–4 record. The Aggies failed to win more than four games in a single season. The fallout that ensued from fans, boosters and the administration led Myers to join Tom Landry's Dallas Cowboys staff as an assistant coach. Hank Foldberg was hired as the Aggies head coach after Myers' departure, and brought with him high hopes that Aggie success would return. However, the struggles remained, in the form of a 6–23–1 record in three seasons. Foldberg was replaced after the 1964 season.
Gene Stallings era (1965–1971)
Fresh off helping Bear Bryant and Alabama win the 1964 national title as an assistant coach, Gene Stallings, one of the "Junction Boys", was named the head coach of his alma mater at the age of 29. The Aggies struggles persisted under Stallings. Texas A&M compiled a record of 27–45–1 in Stallings' seven seasons. However, the Aggies won the Southwest Conference in 1967, Stallings' only winning season at A&M. At the end of that season, A&M beat Alabama in the Cotton Bowl. During Stallings' tenure, the Aggies won the Southwest Conference in 1967, Stallings' only winning season at A&M. At the end of that season Stallings led Texas A&M to a victory over Alabama and mentor Bear Bryant in the Cotton Bowl, a victory where Coach Bryant carried Coach Stallings off the field. With the university only recently going co-ed, its military focus and the ongoing war in Vietnam, A&M struggled to recruit against its Southwest Conference rivals. He was fired at A&M following the 1971 season, but, like his mentor Bryant, would go on to become Alabama's head coach in the 1990s and solidify a Hall of Fame career there, winning a national championship in 1992.
Emory Bellard era (1972–1978) Texas offensive coordinator Emory Bellard became the Aggies' head coach in 1972 and brought with him the wishbone offense. In his seven years at Texas A&M, he finished with a record of 48–27 and three top-15 finishes. Acting as his own offensive coordinator, Bellard hired former high school football coaches to assist him as backfield coaches. Bellard's first two seasons at Texas A&M were difficult, as his Aggies finished 3–8 and 5–6, respectively. In 1974, with a pair of his own recruiting classes suited to run the wishbone formation, the Aggies went 8–3, then followed it up with two 10–2 seasons, including a pair of wins over Texas and three consecutive bowl game appearances. After starting the 1978 season 4–0, Bellard resigned mid-season after two consecutive losses: 33–0 to Houston and 24–6 to Baylor.
Tom Wilson era (1978–1981)
Tom Wilson was promoted from offensive coordinator to head coach of the Aggies following Bellard's resignation. The Aggies enjoyed moderate success under Wilson's tutelage, compiling a record of 21–19 and an Independence Bowl victory in 1981. However, the mediocrity did not sit well with the administration, and Wilson was fired after the 1981 season.
Jackie Sherrill era (1982–1988)