Texas A&M Football
* He was born and raised around the A&M campus. His grandmother had a house on Foster Street across from the administration building and he lived in a duplex in that area until he was about five years old. His father was a former yell leader, so living a life that revolved around A&M was natural. Many other relatives of his worked around A&M when he was young which helped grow his love for the community and the school that much more.
* He remembers sneaking up to the top of G. Rollie White Coliseum when he was 12 or 13 years old to try and get a glimpse of the football games that would go on at Kyle Field.
Texas A&M Media Relations
John Thornton (far right) was a part of A&M's SWC title team in '75 and has remained a steadfast rock in Aggie Athletics since his playing days under Shelby Metcalf.
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* Over the years, he has worn enough hats during his time at A&M to provide good leadership in his current position. Being the interim athletic director has been a throwback to his coaching career. In both coaching and where he is now, he focuses on what he can get done in a single day.
* Because of his basketball career, he is able to relate with the student-athletes on campus. The different roles he has served in the athletic department has allowed him to see and meet all different types of student-athletes from different walks of life. Being able to associate with all of those different student-athletes has been inspiring to him.
* Scheduling is like anything else in athletics, it doesn’t seem that hard if you take it at face value. Once you get into it however, it can be very hard because there are so many different pieces moving around within your school. It gets even more complicated when you look at scheduling on a conference level and you have many schools trying to do all sorts of things with so many different sports.
* This season in particular was more difficult to schedule because A&M had to try to find two games six or seven months before the season starts, which is unheard of for football. Having Arkansas on the schedule forced A&M to find another game, since that game is now going to be a conference matchup. The athletic department did they best they could, and are getting pretty close to having the 2013 schedule set as well.
* He’s taken his time as interim athletic director very seriously and has come up with some things that the department needs to focus on. Instead of doing one mass meeting, he decided to go out to the various departments and present his main theme of his interim time, communication. The move to the SEC is a huge step for A&M, and he knows the school needs to get their stuff done and not be distracted at all.
* Going to the SEC meetings next week in Destin, Florida will be an interesting experience, but it won’t be anything new to him because of the orientation the SEC has already put him through. The whole transition has been very professional, and while these meetings will attract the media, it’s also a business event. A&M is a premier university going into a premier conference, and both will have an impact on each other.
* When he was initially recruited to A&M by Metcalf, it was decided that they didn’t have enough spaces for him and that he should try going the junior college route. He needed some time to mature, and playing at a junior college allowed him to do just that. While in junior college, his team played the A&M freshman team and beat them in San Antonio, but got their butts kicked when they played at A&M. During the game at A&M, he got in a fight with some of his future teammates and ended up with a big scratch down his chest. Later on, he and the other players laughed about the fight once they were teammates.
* It was a challenge to work for Metcalf side-by-side. You go through life and see people that are impact-makers, and Metcalf was one of those people. He was so unique and the way he handled people was an art form. Metcalf knew how to push all the right buttons to get people to do things for him, and that allowed him to be a great coach.
* In basketball, just like any other sport, recruiting is the lifeblood, and Billy Kennedy has done a remarkable job of filling in the holes that his team showed this past season. Back in the day, student-athletes didn’t spend the summer in College Station, but now they are here almost year around. He loves the talent level that Kennedy has brought in and is looking forward to seeing next year’s team play.
* When hiring a new coach, you only have a certain window of time to get things done. A coaching hire happens pretty fast, and you never know who is trying to get the latest scoop on the search. Even though it moves quickly, a lot of planning goes into bringing on a new coach because it’s so important to get it right. It can be an exhaustive experience, but his past life as a coach has helped him be effective in the athletic department and during coaching hires.
* He wouldn’t be where he is now if it wasn’t for Bill Byrne and what he did in his time at A&M. His leadership was monumental for the school and the level of success A&M has had is a testament to him. He has a tremendous amount of respect for Byrne and is grateful for the chance he had to be part of the success under him.
* In taking the next step, it’s critical to find someone who understands the momentum the university has right now. It will take someone a while to understand A&M for what it really is, and once they do, it will make them a better salesman for the school. Athletics is a partnership with the university and being able to pull groups like the Former Students Association and the 12th Man Foundation is key to sustaining the level of success A&M has had recently.
* What he is focused on in his interim role is what he can do right now to contribute to the overall success of the athletic department. He has really keyed in on academic opportunity for student athletes as of late. Student-athletes in this day and age are nontraditional students because they are always doing something year around. What he is trying to do is roll out and tweak some majors that create opportunities for student-athletes that haven’t been there before. Hopefully, this will lead to careers that these student-athletes are excited about which in turn will make them better students.
* He’s been extremely impressed with the way Kevin Sumlin has handled things in his first few months on the job. The confidence and experience Sumlin brings to the table makes him a very smooth guy and a great marketing for the university. He’s very thoughtful about what he does and maximizes the chance to win by being so. A few months ago, Sumlin took his new staff on a tour of campus so that they could become familiar with what they would be pitching to recruits. To take that time to indoctrinate his coaches into what it means to be an Aggie shows the dedication he has to the football program and to the school.
* Depending on the sport, the competition level in the SEC goes way up. A&M is up for the challenge though because they have recruited athletes who want to play at the highest level and are committed to keeping the facilities where they need to be to stay competitive.
Dr. John Thornton discusses ins and outs of interim AD job
Notes from Dr. John Thornton interview
* He’s been enjoying his time as interim athletic director at A&M. He’s excited about what he can do during this time period. He has great support within the athletic department and enjoys working in a place that is stable and not broken.* He was born and raised around the A&M campus. His grandmother had a house on Foster Street across from the administration building and he lived in a duplex in that area until he was about five years old. His father was a former yell leader, so living a life that revolved around A&M was natural. Many other relatives of his worked around A&M when he was young which helped grow his love for the community and the school that much more.
* He remembers sneaking up to the top of G. Rollie White Coliseum when he was 12 or 13 years old to try and get a glimpse of the football games that would go on at Kyle Field.
Texas A&M Media Relations
John Thornton (far right) was a part of A&M's SWC title team in '75 and has remained a steadfast rock in Aggie Athletics since his playing days under Shelby Metcalf.
{"Module":"photo","Alignment":"right","Size":"large","Caption":"John Thornton (far right) was a part of A&M\u0027s SWC title team in \u002775 and has remained a steadfast rock in Aggie Athletics since his playing days under Shelby Metcalf.","MediaItemID":18459}
* Because of his basketball career, he is able to relate with the student-athletes on campus. The different roles he has served in the athletic department has allowed him to see and meet all different types of student-athletes from different walks of life. Being able to associate with all of those different student-athletes has been inspiring to him.
* Scheduling is like anything else in athletics, it doesn’t seem that hard if you take it at face value. Once you get into it however, it can be very hard because there are so many different pieces moving around within your school. It gets even more complicated when you look at scheduling on a conference level and you have many schools trying to do all sorts of things with so many different sports.
* This season in particular was more difficult to schedule because A&M had to try to find two games six or seven months before the season starts, which is unheard of for football. Having Arkansas on the schedule forced A&M to find another game, since that game is now going to be a conference matchup. The athletic department did they best they could, and are getting pretty close to having the 2013 schedule set as well.
* He’s taken his time as interim athletic director very seriously and has come up with some things that the department needs to focus on. Instead of doing one mass meeting, he decided to go out to the various departments and present his main theme of his interim time, communication. The move to the SEC is a huge step for A&M, and he knows the school needs to get their stuff done and not be distracted at all.
* Going to the SEC meetings next week in Destin, Florida will be an interesting experience, but it won’t be anything new to him because of the orientation the SEC has already put him through. The whole transition has been very professional, and while these meetings will attract the media, it’s also a business event. A&M is a premier university going into a premier conference, and both will have an impact on each other.
* When he was initially recruited to A&M by Metcalf, it was decided that they didn’t have enough spaces for him and that he should try going the junior college route. He needed some time to mature, and playing at a junior college allowed him to do just that. While in junior college, his team played the A&M freshman team and beat them in San Antonio, but got their butts kicked when they played at A&M. During the game at A&M, he got in a fight with some of his future teammates and ended up with a big scratch down his chest. Later on, he and the other players laughed about the fight once they were teammates.
* It was a challenge to work for Metcalf side-by-side. You go through life and see people that are impact-makers, and Metcalf was one of those people. He was so unique and the way he handled people was an art form. Metcalf knew how to push all the right buttons to get people to do things for him, and that allowed him to be a great coach.
* In basketball, just like any other sport, recruiting is the lifeblood, and Billy Kennedy has done a remarkable job of filling in the holes that his team showed this past season. Back in the day, student-athletes didn’t spend the summer in College Station, but now they are here almost year around. He loves the talent level that Kennedy has brought in and is looking forward to seeing next year’s team play.
* When hiring a new coach, you only have a certain window of time to get things done. A coaching hire happens pretty fast, and you never know who is trying to get the latest scoop on the search. Even though it moves quickly, a lot of planning goes into bringing on a new coach because it’s so important to get it right. It can be an exhaustive experience, but his past life as a coach has helped him be effective in the athletic department and during coaching hires.
* He wouldn’t be where he is now if it wasn’t for Bill Byrne and what he did in his time at A&M. His leadership was monumental for the school and the level of success A&M has had is a testament to him. He has a tremendous amount of respect for Byrne and is grateful for the chance he had to be part of the success under him.
* In taking the next step, it’s critical to find someone who understands the momentum the university has right now. It will take someone a while to understand A&M for what it really is, and once they do, it will make them a better salesman for the school. Athletics is a partnership with the university and being able to pull groups like the Former Students Association and the 12th Man Foundation is key to sustaining the level of success A&M has had recently.
* What he is focused on in his interim role is what he can do right now to contribute to the overall success of the athletic department. He has really keyed in on academic opportunity for student athletes as of late. Student-athletes in this day and age are nontraditional students because they are always doing something year around. What he is trying to do is roll out and tweak some majors that create opportunities for student-athletes that haven’t been there before. Hopefully, this will lead to careers that these student-athletes are excited about which in turn will make them better students.
* He’s been extremely impressed with the way Kevin Sumlin has handled things in his first few months on the job. The confidence and experience Sumlin brings to the table makes him a very smooth guy and a great marketing for the university. He’s very thoughtful about what he does and maximizes the chance to win by being so. A few months ago, Sumlin took his new staff on a tour of campus so that they could become familiar with what they would be pitching to recruits. To take that time to indoctrinate his coaches into what it means to be an Aggie shows the dedication he has to the football program and to the school.
* Depending on the sport, the competition level in the SEC goes way up. A&M is up for the challenge though because they have recruited athletes who want to play at the highest level and are committed to keeping the facilities where they need to be to stay competitive.
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