their men's track coach is gone 8/31/2013. this is from a fan site:

Here's what we've got so far. It's early, but this is some of the buzz we've picked up so far today:

- If DeLoss Dodds has his choice it looks like Texas A&M's Pat Henry will be the first choice and Texas will make a strong push for the Aggies' head coach.

- As of January 2012, Henry had a base salary of $280,000. The number we were told today is somewhere around $500,000 of what he's actually compensated in College Station.

- What I was told is that no matter what Henry's total compensation is, Texas wouldn't have any problems doubling the salary. I asked if Texas would be willing to spend close to $1 million to give Henry total control of the track program if that's indeed what it took.

"Well, they want to be the best and it's looking like they'll do what it takes to get the best," is what I was told.

- While Henry appears to be Dodds' top choice, LSU's Dennis Shaver and Oregon's Robert Johnson are also said to be top choices.

This rumor was floating around in Eugene At the NC's. Talk was that in an addition to 500 K, Coach Henry was not a big fan of the new AD ( rumored to not be crazy about track), he is upset that we still have no outdoor track, and that he has already accomplished much in College Station. Let's hope he stays!!!!!

Henry does have one of the nicest indoor tracks in the nation here.

Henry prefers the SEC to the Big 12. Now that he's tried both I don't think he wants to go back to the Big 12. Furthermore, if he were the coach at Texas would he continue the indoor boycott (which started before the move to the SEC)? Or would he return to an indoor schedule that consists primarily of trips to College Station? Seems like it's better to just stay in CS. And we do plan to eventually build an outdoor track.

On the other side of the coin... The Texas Relays is a big deal. Plus Texas is almost certainly able to (or willing to) compensate him more than us. And Henry doesn't exactly get along with everyone in our athletic department.

I think if Texas offers to build a top-notch indoor facility and pays him close to $1 million then it'll be really hard to turn down.

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And Henry doesn't exactly get along with everyone in our athletic department.

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Who doesn't he get along with?

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I think if Texas offers to build a top-notch indoor facility and pays him close to $1 million then it'll be really hard to turn down.

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I wouldn't blame him. But I am not sure tu is willing to do that (where the hell would they build the indoor track?).

The only thing Henry has to gamble is that dodds is not long for there. He may find he doesn't like working for the new AD anymore than he does Hyman.

He does get paid really well here and has a great indoor facility.

I have heard the outdoor track is probably first or second in the queue after the football stuff gets done.

[This message has been edited by Clown Question (edited 6/17/2013 7:45p).]

I've always heard that LSU's unwillingness to let Henry tinker with their outdoor track played a part in him leaving LSU. And LSU has an indoor track, albeit an older facility.

The guy means business on facilities.


I understand that we can't come up with an outdoor track overnight, but I'll be a little disappointed if we lose him over salary. I realize it might be somewhat ridiculous to pay a track coach that much money, but there might not be a person at this university who is better at their job than Pat.

I like to believe, but can't prove it, that many elite coaches such as Henry are not in it for the money. That doesn't mean they don't care about money, but they aren't the public figures like football and basketball coaches and don't feel some ego-driven need to make a ton of money. They coach a negative revenue sport, and their highest glory is achieved at the NCAAs and possibly by sending athletes to the Olympics.

So simply throwing money at him doesn't seem like an effective strategy.

Maybe he is at an age where he'd like to live somewhere else. But then again maybe not. Is he happy in B/CS? Is his family happy?

If A&M is not showering him with what he needs to be happy, then A&M is completely screwed up. Henry has produced more NCs than any coach at A&M in an NCAA sport than I can remember (and I graduated in 1980).

I also question the sanity of going to UT-Austin now - when Deloss' future is uncertain, they are fighting scandals, and generally underperforming across the board.

[This message has been edited by SpicewoodAg (edited 6/18/2013 8:45a).]

Henry has won 7 national titles for A&M. Whether he stays or goes his era has been a great success.

But what is the incremental benefit to the athletic department if he wins #8 and then #9 and so forth? Seems like it lessens with each title.

Also the reality...track & field is probably the #7 or #8 sport on campus in order of importance behind (obviously) football, men's basketball, baseball, women's basketball, soccer, and softball. With the possibility of a new coach being needed in men's basketball (a sport that can finish in the black financially), that may be where the AD has to/needs to spend his money.

also Henry has been unable to deliver a Jamaal Charles-equivalent to the football program. That's always been the carrot that Byrne dangled to the fanbase. A great track program will attract great football players. But it really hasn't happened at A&M

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A great track program will attract great football players.

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I never bought into this idea. It may have been true at one time. Alabama's track team is nothing. Yes Florida, LSU, and Oregon have good track and good football. But I don't think they are good at football because of good track teams.

A&M should have GREAT teams in the Olympic sports without regard to football.

Is Henry getting bored with NCs? Did he get bored with NCs at LSU? How about a new goal of producing American Olympians? Or improving our distance running? Holding on to the baton so we can run away with a title and show how dominant we can really be?

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also Henry has been unable to deliver a Jamaal Charles-equivalent to the football program.

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How many years did Charles run track at tu? How did track and football work out for Marquis Goodwin at tu? Arguably, it hurt him in both sports.

Actually Alabama's track program is turning around rather quickly with Coach Waters at the helm (100 meter NCAA champ, 4 x100 runner-up).

Point taken about the football analogy though. Byrne has always been a track guy (got his first major gig at Oregon) and would say anything to benefit that sport.

The recruiting media always asks the football players "why did you chose A&M over (school x)."

Not once have I heard the kid even mention track. Maybe 1 kid of 85 thinks about this.

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I also question the sanity of going to UT-Austin now - when Deloss' future is uncertain, they are fighting scandals, and generally underperforming across the board.

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I think this statement is the no. 1 reason why Henry would not take the job. I am not convinced dodds has the authority to actually offer that kind of package since it has to get tu bor approval. The bor is basically at war with powers and dodds is big reason for that.

A lot of football players follow track. Having a great program is not a bad thing. However, I think having a winning football program does infinitely more for football recruiting than having a winning track program. Being good at track certainly doesn't hurt football recruiting but being bad at it probably doesn't either.

That said, we pay Henry really well. He has a top of the line indoor track and is in line for a top of the line outdoor track. He would get an outdoor track at tu but an older one (which also serves soccer) and no indoor track.

If he goes it is because he doesn't like Hyman (of course dodds is probably gone in year or so) and/or the money.


[This message has been edited by viva torrente (edited 6/18/2013 2:17p).]

This a test for hyman. So far i haven't been overly impressed with. You don't let tu come in and steal your national championship track coach. As we have seen mediocre coaches are a dime a dozen(fran, Sherm, Kennedy, Childress). You do what it takes to keep the good ones.

Has Hyman done anything thus far that has seemed impressive? On any front? We'll see how this plays out.

He hasn't even been here a full year. I don't recall Byrne doing much his first year either and he had a bunch of work to do.

Hyman has inherited a rather smooth running ship.

Our first year in the SEC was not a time to try and change much. Hyman's focus should have been on transitioning into the SEC and dealing with change. I bet the athletic department had its hands full just with all the new schedules, the new championships in all sports, etc.

I think the athletic department still owes A&M money. So Hyman was probably also dealing with many financial issues. We had to pay the Big 12 to leave.

I bet he had his hands full. In the meantime we have had an amazing year. We will finish 5th in the Directors Cup (I think our best finish ever).

Finishing a $450M expansion plan for Kyle Field could not have been a trivial project.

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I think the athletic department still owes A&M money.

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wrong

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We had to pay the Big 12 to leave.

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wrong

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Finishing a $450M expansion plan for Kyle Field could not have been a trivial project.

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Henry isn't going anywhere. Not only will a salary increase and bonus come soon, but what competition would he get in the big 12? Even when we were in the big DF he would always always state how the SEC was the conference to beat year in and year out. Also, a new outdoor facility is coming, not in the next 1-2 years, but it is coming. It's just kind of unfortunate that Blue Bell park and Kyle field got first dibs even before Hyman was here. Again, if Henry is going anywhere it's going to be in the SEC, and fundamentally (as someone above said), it's not about the money for him, he's got pleeeenty of it.

The AD paid the money back a while ago.

The AD is doing fine overall. I think there will be the opportunity for Hyman to show his stuff, as some coaches retire and others move on. But it is foolish to think he is going to shake things up his first year. Byrne didn't even do that and he had to shake things up.

The Kyle is probably the biggest thing going on right now for the AD. That is first and foremost the priority, simply because it could turn into an engine that would fund everything else.

You guys also act like our athletic dept. is tight with money. Hiring a new baseball / basketball coach is not hiring a new football coach, and Sumlin recently got his bump. Making room for around 250-500 thousand more for our best athletic coach is not a problem for a lucrative athletic program like A&M, stadium renovations or not. Johnny has made us a tooooon of extra money by the way.

[This message has been edited by Tamu_mgm (edited 6/19/2013 1:13p).]

If we land Tony Brown, a very highly thought of defensive back, track will have played a significant part in that. We will see what happens. I think the biggest thing the track team has done for the rest of the sports is greatly contribute to a growing winning atmosphere, as well as further putting the A&M name out there, and putting it out there alongside a bunch of winners.

We settled for something like 12 million with the Big 12.

We may be looking for a new basketball coach, and it may be we will have to pay that new coach 1.5-2 million a year to get who we want. We may have to pay Kennedy a little bit of cash, too. I'm not sure, but I would have to question what is happening with all this new revenue we are supposed to be seeing if we can't do that and find another 250-500k to pay Pat Henry. I've been sitting here watching Auburn become very, very aggressive in coaching hires and my expectation is we should be able to be rather aggressive, too.

As someone who cares about track, and the "other sports" in general, I would definitely take it as a big, Texas sized Deloss Dodds "**** you, little brother" and that would just be tough to swallow.

I'm sure Kyle Field is the "priority" but, for me, it wouldn't excuse losing Pat Henry. The funding mechanisms for the stadium should be separate from the rest of the department, but if its pushed the athletic department to the limit that its spilling over into the rest of the budget, than perhaps you have to question the wisdom of such a robust, and quite frankly, excessive, project.

[This message has been edited by TXAggie2011 (edited 6/19/2013 5:46p).]

^^Agree, funding for the new outdoor facility / coaching salary upgrade for Henry could get tricky, but I still think Henry won't leave for more fundamental reasons.

- Will he want to rebuild yet again? Granted he's been great at doing so, but in a recent interview he stated how it took him until year 3 to get the athletes that he really wanted to recruit here at A&M to be nationally relevant. t.u. is no shlum for recruits to look at especially if Henry hypothetically were there, but it would still take a few years to get up to speed just in recruiting alone.

- Will Henry be guaranteed the resources he wants? More specifically, will t.u. throw down for a indoor facility and/or upgrades to the outdoor facility immediately even if Dodds is there? If Dodds isn't there, I just don't see it happening for at least 2-3 years if not more, and with Dodds there I don't see an immediate approval from the BOR. So why would Henry leave based on his dissatisfaction in one area of resources here at A&M for a different area of dissatisfaction of resources at t.u.?

- Would he want to regress to the big 12? Granted, he proved he could win nattys in that league, BUT he's also been a huge fan of the SEC ever since he's been here (pretty sure he had a significant voice heard by Loftin in our move to the league as well), stating how the competition is what makes the league so consistent on a national level every year. He could absolutely demolish the big 12 year in and year out, but would it give his athletes the same level of preparation for the national stage as the competition that his athletes now face in the SEC? Of course not. For example, I don't think I'm alone in saying that a second place finish from our women this year was a pleasant surprise to say the least (especially since Rodgers quit), and it's no question that SEC competition prepared us for that finish with what was originally expected to be a worse team. Our men's team was a baton grasp away from being the sole national championship, when Florida, Arky, and Oregon among others were very strong and picked to win it this year. But what got us that natty? The preparation from running against the best in the nation: the SEC. So basically what I'm asking is would a down team (relative to good years for a program) in the SEC be better prepared for the national meet than a down team in the big 12? I think the clear answer is yes, and Pat Henry knows it's yes, and I just don't see it as being realistic that he'll downgrade in competition just for a shinier stadium.

[This message has been edited by Tamu_mgm (edited 6/19/2013 7:59p).]

Being in the SEC vs the Big XII makes very little difference in preparation for Nationals. What did it change on the schedule? Lemmie tell you, it changed 2 meets all year... It may make a difference in other sports, but it makes very little difference in track. So many so called 'facts' that come up on this board are pretty ridiculous. I also like the one where some know it all said that Coach Henry doesn't get along with the rest of the athletic department. What a tool to make that up.

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I also like the one where some know it all said that Coach Henry doesn't get along with the rest of the athletic department. What a tool to make that up.

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Probably the same tool that made up someone saying that Coach Henry doesn't get along with the rest of the athletic department. Cause no one said that.

fair enough, must have read that on a similar board about this topic. it is still comical to me to read the stuff that people make up...

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Being in the SEC vs the Big XII makes very little difference in preparation for Nationals. What did it change on the schedule? Lemmie tell you, it changed 2 meets all year...

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Considering track doesn't have meets every week or even every other week during the season, just two meets makes a big difference. I'll argue it forces you to bring your A game even more because of the few opportunities you have to beat the tougher competition. After all, you do not get many opportunities to prove yourself or qualify for regionals and nationals.

Plus, why don't you actually weigh in and contribute on the situation rather than just troll on everyone's comments?


[This message has been edited by Tamu_mgm (edited 6/20/2013 8:18a).]

I believe the point of the scheduling comment was that, unlike other team sports where you face an entirely different set of opponents with a conference change, A&M was already racing Florida, LSU, Arkansas, etc at various times every year. Our indoor invites, the New Balance meet, Texas Relays, Penn Relays, Oregon challenge, LSU Alumni Gold, Indoor/Outdoor Nationals are on the schedule every year. So there is significantly less to no adjustment involved in lining up next to Kimberlyn Duncan or Eddie Lovett in a conference championship meet when you've already seen them 2,3,4 times during the year. Whether you're in the SEC or the Big 12, a name program like A&M (or Texas for that matter) will be at the big meets during the year and have the other heavy hitters coming to their place as well.

Dodds has got to be tired of having the Aggies come to Austin and win team honors at the Texas Relays.

Aside from the salary issue, we have a large investment in the indoor track facility to protect. We have to keep Pat Henry to protect that investment.

If tu hires Henry away from us, tu gains an advantage in football recruiting because they will say that we keep Sumlin only as long as they let us keep Sumlin and have a factual occurrence to support that claim.

This is a high stakes situation for our athletic director and our athletic program. We need to do everything in our power to keep Pat Henry and I hope that our AD is prepared to do just that.

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I think the biggest thing the track team has done for the rest of the sports is greatly contribute to a growing winning atmosphere, as well as further putting the A&M name out there, and putting it out there alongside a bunch of winners.

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That. Has anybody cited it? No. But testosterone-jacked 17-year old boys like to be around winners, and track has enough of an impact on football players (they almost all have to do it in their hs offseason) that they certainly are aware of A&M's program being good. Especially in SEC country.

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I've been sitting here watching Auburn become very, very aggressive in coaching hires and my expectation is we should be able to be rather aggressive, too.

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Also, this. Assistants at Auburn's swimming program make more than a whole lot of D1 head coaches, including D1 head coaches at BCS programs.

Auburn's swimming programs have as many NCs as Pat Henry does.....(or at least in the same ballpark).

I would not pay our mens swimming coaches any more than they make now. They haven't done anything to deserve it.

Bultman - maybe.

But Henry is paid very well, right? Doesn't mean he doesn't deserve a raise. He is probably THE BEST COLLEGE TRACK COACH IN THE US.

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Texas has hired Mario Sategna as its new men's and women's track and field head coach. He was associate head coach of the men. #hookem #UT

They hired youth, and within the system. It happened so quickly, perhaps it was planned for a while.

So this thread was much ado about nothing!

Thank God they made the promotion.

No matter how strong the rumors were, I don't think t.u. could ever sacrifice their ego to hire a winning coach away from us. It wouldn't matter if it was Nick Saban, they wouldn't ever want to be seen as picking the "leftovers" of Texas A&M.

Pat Henry stays WHOOP!.

Forgive my ignorance, but what happened to the outdoor track complex that was built when I was in school? I know 20 years is a long time for some things, but I didn't think it would be for a minor sport college facility -- especially one that was pretty decent.