Kevin O’Connor Kommentary September 25

Texas A&M’s Athletics Director Presents An Update To The A&M System Board Of Regents

Texas A&M athletics director Trev Alberts presented an update to the A&M system board of regents during a workshop meeting on Thursday (August 1). Alberts, who was named AD on March 13, brought up the department’s culture, student-athlete experience, business operations, and the department’s challenges and opportunities. Alberts said this is the first time since 2018 that A&M athletics is not on NCAA probation or in an active investigation. June’s Kyle Field soccer match and George Strait concert generated a profit of roughly $6.5 million dollars. A reduction of about 18 employees in the athletic department’s administration has saved $2 million dollars. Alberts then said there is probably additional room for more staff reductions. Alberts also brought up how coaches budgets are impacted by the expected court decision where A&M athletes would receive 22 percent of the athletic department’s revenue. Academically, Alberts said the student-athlete cumulative grade point average is the highest ever at just under 3.1. And the graduation success rate is among the highest ever at 87 percent, something that Alberts wants to see raised to at least 90 percent. Click below to hear Trev Alberts report at the August 1, 2024 Texas A&M system board of regents workshop meeting. Listen to “Texas A&M's athletics director presents an update to the A&M system board of regents” on Spreaker.

College Station City Council Continues Studying Possible Fee Changes For Parks & Recreation Programs

For the second time in three months, the College Station city council discusses increasing fees for parks and recreation programs and services. Dominating the more than one hour discussion during the council’s July 25th meeting, was how much of the actual cost should be paid by users who don’t live in College Station. Currently, non-residents pay a 20 percent surcharge on most programs and services. Mayor John Nichols believed there were four votes to have a rate structure for non residents that is 25 percent higher. The discussion also included Bryan residents paying a surcharge similar to what Bryan charges for College Station residents, and a higher rate for non-residents who do not live in Bryan. The council is also considering staff proposals to solicit sponsorship money from private businesses, have sports participants pay umpires and referees, and increasing marketing and promotional efforts to get more participants. The College Station council will consider final action on a new fee schedule during its August 22nd meeting. Click HERE to read and download presentation materials from the July 25, 2024 College Station city council meeting. Click below to hear comments from the July 25, 2024 College Station city council meeting. Listen to “College Station city council continues studying possible fee changes for parks & recreation programs” on Spreaker.

Increased Demand Continues At The City Of Bryan’s Legends Events Center

The city of Bryan’s Legends Events Center is nearing the end of its second year of operation. An update during the Bryan city council’s July 9th meeting included statistics showing growth in all performance areas. Click HERE to read and download presentation materials from the July 9, 2024 Bryan city council meeting. The director the Destination Bryan tourism office, John Friebele, says the economic impact of Legends through the first nine months of the fiscal year is over $23 million dollars. That’s compared with $15 million from the prior fiscal year. The number of events has increased from 19 to 25, resulting in an increase of participants from 48,000 to 73,000. The council was told that Legends supports more than 10,000 jobs and generates more than $482,000 dollars in tax revenue. Friebele said Legends generated nearly 20,000 nights stayed in hotels through the first nine months of the fiscal year. That’s an increase of more than 3,000 from the year before. Bryan hotels get 39 percent of the room nights associated with events at the Legends Center, while College Station gets 61 percent of the room nights. Friebele said there is a need for more rooms that can hold four guests to accommodate sports tourism. One issue brought up during the council’s discussion is security. Legends general manager Jamie Cox says the new Brazos Valley Youth Sports Association will be hiring private security following curfew issues earlier this year that resulted in calls from councilmembers to police. Cox says Legends is also on the radar of private security hired by the city. Click below to hear comments from the July 9, 2024 Bryan city council meeting.