My son will be a freshman in the corp this fall, we are very proud of him, and his commitment to A&M. He has grown up going to games and has been to 50 of them spending all of his time with me, but now he will have his corp commitment to contend with. My question is, what access does a parent have to his kid before, during and after the game (including Friday night)? I see some corp outfits have their own tailgate program, is that for all corp members and parents. Any help in establishing my expecations would be helpful.

Gig'em!

PS. His sister will be a freshman as well, but not in the corp so we will have to balance both kids.

There will be limited interaction starting 90 minutes (I think) prior to kick-off as the outfits fallout for march in. Each outfit may have activities such as cookout either before fall out/march in (afternoon/night game) or post game (11 am game).

It will largely depend on the outfit he is in.

When I was in the Band our outfit had a cookout/tailgate depending on the kickoff time and week. We were free until a certain amount of time before kickoff, when we had to go back and change into uniform and get ready to march in. During the game we were expected to be in the stands playing but there wasn't a ton of regulation on if we saw someone when we went to concessions, bathroom break, etc.

After the game we usually had no requirements and could do what we wanted.

I know CT's always seemed to have even more free time which makes sense since they didn't have to worry about much other than the march in, but I know things have changed since I was on campus regarding marching into Kyle, etc.

Each year he'll get more freedom, I wouldn't expect a ton when he is a fish but he should still have Friday night and Sunday unless the outfit is having some kind of specific training.

tokyoag said:

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My son will be a freshman in the corp this fall, we are very proud of him, and his commitment to A&M. He has grown up going to games and has been to 50 of them spending all of his time with me, but now he will have his corp commitment to contend with. My question is, what access does a parent have to his kid before, during and after the game (including Friday night)? I see some corp outfits have their own tailgate program, is that for all corp members and parents. Any help in establishing my expecations would be helpful.

Gig'em!

PS. His sister will be a freshman as well, but not in the corp so we will have to balance both kids.

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Friday should be wide open.

Saturday before march in or whatever they call it now since they don't actually walk in will be limited. I would say 2 hours before march in he will be with his outfit.

After the game he should be available. If we win he will have to catch the yelleaders and throw them in the pond but after that he is free.

You won't see your kid for awhile. Get used to it

whatamaroon said:

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Advice: buy a home or rent an Airbnb and feed his fish buddies the night before or after the game. He will appreciate your actions when he is 25. Gig em !

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This. The post above is funny yet has an accurate point. Fall semester of his freshman year he will not have much free time at all until after the game is over at which point he'll likely be exhausted. He will be expected to be at every outfit activity with his new fish buddies. His fish buddies will have to be there earlier than the rest of the outfit and stay later for every activity.

If you want to see him get a house for the weekend and feed him and his fish buddies after the game in a home/backyard environment. Sit around and listen to the stories they will be telling. Let your son sleep in on Sunday. Don't get him up to come say goodbye early in the morning.

Typical fall weekend is busy for midnight yell, say 11pm to 1am. May be up early Saturday for outfit PT or special event on a a home game weekend. About 2-3 hours before game time they get ready for march-in (what is really now March around), and do a march in review around campus. They like an audience for step off at the quad and along the route. Adds to the atmosphere.

After the game until Sunday evening is typically free time to rest, eat, do laundry, pick up dry cleaning, go shopping, socialize. That ends with call to quarters Sunday usually around 4-5pm if I recall. There will be special events scattered in there as well some weekends.

It's been 20 years since I was in, so things may have changed.

Friday-Corps run, come back clean up and go get something to eat. (Good time to take your son and buddies to dinner) after dinner, go to Northgate or hang out somewhere else til it's time to get ready for Yell.

Saturday-depends on what time the game starts. Early game, wake up, start polishing brass and shoes and getting ready for march in. Do march in, go to game, and you are free until 4PM Sunday. We would have a family bbq on the quad after the game(if it was an early kick) or before the game(if it was a late kick)

You mentioned during the game, but your son needs to be standing with his buddies, not sitting with you. The fish who go off a lot and don't hang out with their buddies are the ones that quit.

He doesn't know just yet, but it will be a squadron as he wants to follow his grandfather and go into the Air Force.

I'm just here to educate the OP that WE HAVE RULES.

Rule #1.

Thank you Whatamarron. We have purchased a motorcoach and will be making a weekend of home games, parents weekends. Good advice on treating the others on Friday. He will have to learn the Hoggin thing, as I have reminded him constantly that well built woman with generational money need loving too.

Ghost91 said:

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I'm just here to educate the OP that WE HAVE RULES.

Rule #1.

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I was waiting for this.

No advice to offer, just here to say Congratulations from one parent to another! You've done an amazing job raising your kids!

tokyoag said:

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Not the son, dummy.

Not football weekend related, but fish review weekend he'll want to sleep as soon as review is over, waking up just to eat. So be prepared for limited interactions with him that day.

awesome!

I respond to this to potentially tremper your expectations. If your son's squadron puts on a big tailgate, know that he and his buddies set it all up, and are responsible to break it down. So for night games, you shouldn't expect to see him until Sunday. All squadrons are not this way, but I'm saying there's a chance.

The Fall semester of freshman year is extremely demanding on cadets. Each outfit's weekend schedule may vary somewhat but your son's priority will always be his outfit. The demands will ease somewhat around Thanksgiving but from FOW until then, the best thing you can do is to encourage him to hang in there. When they're seniors, leading the Corps into Kyle, you'll know that it was the right decision. Along the way, whether it's leadership, RVs, the Cav or special training (or none of the above) they will make lifelong friends and become real Fightin' Texas Aggies, and the rewards will speak for themselves.

https://ibb.co/LdGC3wXV

^ hot sister!

btw, there will be plenty of activities/events that your son will be able to share with you. Famiky Day/ Outfit bamquets and tailgate/ pre--march in gathering/RV activities if he selected....

just be aware he will be VERY busy and the best way is just to support him and give him the time he needs. Let him take the lead as far as when y'all can meet and socialize.

You'll be amazed hiw they mature!

wombat74 said:

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The Fall semester of freshman year is extremely demanding on cadets. Each outfit's weekend schedule may vary somewhat but your son's priority will always be his outfit. The demands will ease somewhat around Thanksgiving but from FOW until then, the best thing you can do is to encourage him to hang in there. When they're seniors, leading the Corps into Kyle, you'll know that it was the right decision. Along the way, whether it's leadership, RVs, the Cav or special training (or none of the above) they will make lifelong friends and become real Fightin' Texas Aggies, and the rewards will speak for themselves.

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Thank you, he is fully committed and we are fully committed to supporting everything he does in the corps.
Thanks to everyone who sent notes of congratualations, inspiration and ideas, we are proud of both. This is the beginning of a great journey for both and for us as parents of two Fighting Texas Aggies.

Brother Shamus said:

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You won't see your kid for awhile. Get used to it

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Experience says, let him decide if/when he wants to see family. This is the best, busiest, most exciting, and most challenging time in his life. Time to let him go and grow. He'll reach out when he needs to.

gA_CMAB_FA said:

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Brother Shamus said:

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You won't see your kid for awhile. Get used to it

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Experience says, let him decide if/when he wants to see family. This is the best, busiest, most exciting, and most challenging time in his life. Time to let him go and grow. He'll reach out when he needs to.

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I agree with this.

Freshmen Fall is very busy. Best way to see him and show support is right before they step off before football games.

Congrats again!

A Class of 1974 BQ here, the relationships that your son experiences especially the ones that graduate with you, men or women, you learn that you have people will literally take a bullet for you.
You will have someone that will keep up with you, your family and children.
The Corps of Cadets is a large fraternity of people. We are Aggies forever, proud of their Aggie Ring.
A&M is hard, in a lot of ways but the Corps will take of the Cadets to make sure you graduate.
I am an old bass player in the Aggie Band. The relationships you will make, will surprise you with how many people will fight for you. They are friends forever, to your grave & Heaven.
I also think A&M is a whole lot more Religious than baylor.

Respectfully, your original post struck me odd at first. Then, reading over the thread, it seems you're simply excited to have two kids going to Texas A&M next year, and you should be!

As someone that went through the Corps and in general experience of going through college, I recommend you allow him the space to explore it. It is a magical time for student and parent alike. But part of the experience is going through the transition from relying on family to relying on yourself, unit, and others.

I put myself through college, but was very close to my mom (who has since graduated herself from this life). But I look back and am very grateful I went through A&M when we weren't so connected by technology, and today, there are ample ways to check in without being there "too often." These days, we have FOW Check In with parents and families; when I came to A&M, you literally drove yourself and showed up on campus yourself. We had no mobile phones, I had to be plan when I could call my mom from a landline somewhere. We didn't have outfit BBQs before games. I did have some very close friends of the family that lived in College Station, Roy worked for the University and I always knew where his office was if I needed him.

Now, don't get me wrong. I am not one of those "Well, in ol' Army days..." types...

I applaud the Corps for changing the check in process for FOW to involve parents and families in checking their cadets in. It really builds community, and is a fantastic way to get Corps alumni volunteers involved and "re-connected" to the Corps. Definitely go to that to check your son in, and enjoy meeting the other Corps parents, as well as any other programming they have that day for you.

Outfit BBQs are fantastic. We didn't have them in my day, but those too are awesome "connectors" of parents to their cadets today, cadets to their mentors, builds community, etc. Definitely attend those as often as you can. Many of the cadet parents become lifelong friends as well by going to those.

Of course, Parent's Weekend, Final Review, and other similar events that are designed to have family there would be great to go to as well.

But outside of that, I recommend allowing him to make his own plans. For example, Friday nights. Leave that to him to learn how to navigate new friendships for Midnight Yell, etc. Go to games separately for the same reason. Looking back, the only times I attended a game as a cadet with my family were just a few away games. I suppose maybe picking one at Kyle Field a season may not be too intrusive, probably one of the lesser out of conference games for example.

I can imagine you are excited (especially since you're posting several months in advance), but I do encourage you to strike a balance of enjoying it with him and giving him his space!

Mam, don't try to control your son or his circumstances. Just let go and let the corps have him. In 4 years you will get back a mature son you may have thought could never happen.

You guys are cracking me up right now