Debt shackles Sherman

By John Hillman  |   Monday, June 15, 2009  |  Comments( 6 )

Texas A&M Aggies
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At Texas A&M, political football has supplanted the gridiron variety. After only 18 months on the job, Aggie president Elsa Murano resigned under pressure on Sunday. Her recent revelations about athletic debt may eventually cost head football coach Mike Sherman his job.

In his defense, Sherman had no connection to the $16 million loaned from the University’s general fund to the athletic department in 2005. The responsibility for the arrangement falls on the shoulders of former president Robert Gates, currently the nation’s Secretary of Defense, and athletic director Bill Byrne.

But a power struggle erupted on the A&M campus between chancellor Mike McKinney and Murano. In her annual review, McKinney gave Murano low performance marks. He also suggested the president’s position be eliminated, and the duties of the office be combined with his as chancellor.

She countered the chancellor’s report with a defense of her first year in office and mentioned the athletic department must follow a strict business plan to repay the $16 million debt. The large intra-departmental loan had drawn no previous mention in the media until Murano brought it to light.

With Murano returning to an A&M faculty role, new battle lines will be drawn. Aggie fans still gnash about last year’s 4-8 mark that included losses to Arkansas State and Baylor, and Sherman finds himself in hot water with only one season under his belt.

Many Maroon and White partisans believe McKinney and Byrne rushed in their hiring of Sherman. After firing former head coach Dennis Franchione on Nov. 23, 2007, Sherman accepted the top football position in Aggieland only three days later.

If Sherman leads A&M to another losing season in 2009, the hands start in motion for another coaching change. The combination of a soft economy and a weak gridiron program make repayment of the $16 million loan a difficult situation.

However, Sherman can salvage his position with a few key wins. If the Aggies don’t slip up against New Mexico, Utah State or UAB, they can run the nonconference table with a victory over Arkansas. Although the Razorbacks aren’t a top SEC team, beating an old SWC rival in the new stadium of the Dallas Cowboys would earn prestige points with alums.

A&M also entertains the lower half of the Big XII North next season and a 3-0 mark over Kansas State, Iowa State and Colorado appears doable. A win over Baylor, which hasn’t defeated the Aggies in College Station since 1984, would keep the wolves at bay.
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About John Hillman

John Hillman graduated from Baylor University in 1974 with a BBA in accounting and earned an MBA from Baylor in 1987. He worked for accounting firms until 1982 when he became the chief financial officer for an independent insurance claims adjusting service, a position he still holds today....
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