When news broke on June 30 that USC and UCLA were departing from the Pac-12 in favor of joining the Big Ten, the sports world erupted. Conference team movement has been a hot topic during 2022 after multiple conferences announced realignment including the Big 12, the American Athletic, Conference USA and the SEC.
On brand, the next day was the 10th anniversary of Texas A&M’s conference realignment, leaving the Big 12 in favor of the SEC alongside Missouri. Throughout the Aggies’ time in the SEC, things have been up and down, but the Aggies have seen their fair share of success.
Early in the switch, A&M football took the world by storm with the meteoric rise of “Johnny Football.” Johnny Manziel became the first freshman ever to win the Heisman Trophy and the first Aggie since 1957 before capping off his season with a Cotton Bowl win.
A&M has earned a bowl bid every year since joining the SEC, going 6-3 over that span. The team has also gone 46-35 in conference play, with no win more significant than the 41-38 upset over No. 1 Alabama on October 9, 2021.
In basketball, the men’s team sat at the top of the conference in 2016 with a 28-9 record. That team had four future NBA players and advanced to the Sweet 16 off a double-overtime win over Northern Iowa. During the Billy Kennedy head coaching era, the Aggies finished the season ranked twice, both times advancing to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA March Madness tournament. Since joining the SEC, the Aggies have gone 188-135.
On the women’s side, the Aggies earned a regular-season conference title in 2021 and an SEC Tournament title in 2013. The women’s team made the NCAA Tournament every eligible season except 2021 and went 232-94 during the last 10 seasons, 104-54 in conference play. At the end of the 2022 season, the team watched head coach Gary Blair retire after a half-century of coaching, two decades of which were spent in College Station.
Out on the diamond, A&M softball is entering a new stage after Jo Evans, the team’s head coach since 1997, will not be brought back for next season. During Evans’ 10 years with the Aggies in the SEC, Davis Diamond saw an NCAA tournament appearance in every eligible season and a record of 357-189. In 2017, the team advanced to the Women’s College World Series.
For baseball, the Aggies made their second College World Series appearance since leaving the Big 12, advancing the furthest A&M has ever seen during its 2022 campaign. In its first season under coach Jim Schlossnagle, A&M had its first-ever multi-win appearance in Omaha, Neb. Eight out of the last 10 seasons saw NCAA tournament appearances for A&M baseball with a regular-season SEC West title in 2022 and an SEC Tournament title in 2016.
Beside Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park lies the track and field stadium, home of the team with the most hardware over the last decade. Under the leadership of coach Pat Henry, A&M has seen plenty of success during his tenure. The men’s team has two SEC titles with four runner-up finishes and two NCAA titles with one runner-up finish. The women’s team has one SEC title and one NCAA title with five and three runner-up finishes, respectively.
On the tennis courts, the women’s team finished the 2022 season with the best record A&M has ever seen, 33-2. The Aggies earned their second SEC regular-season title and their first SEC Tournament title. The men’s team has a regular-season title in 2015 and an SEC Tournament title in 2013 and 2015. Neither team has missed the NCAA Tournament during that span.
A&M soccer missed the postseason in 2022, but during the Aggies’ first nine seasons, they won two regular-season titles, three SEC Tournament titles and made the NCAA Tournament nine seasons. In 2014, the team advanced all the way to the NCAA Tournament College Cup before losing to Virginia, ending the 22-3-2 season for A&M.
Multiple other A&M women’s teams have won titles since leaving the Big 12. The Aggies earned one SEC title on the links when the women’s golf team won in 2015. The A&M volleyball team won a conference title in 2015, too. Lastly, the women’s swim and dive teams have also seen plenty of success in the SEC, winning four consecutive titles between 2016 and 2019.
In 10 years, the Aggies have gone through plenty of changes, shifting from the Big 12 to the SEC. From upsets to postseason runs, A&M’s time in the SEC has only just begun, and with old rivals in Texas and Oklahoma set to join them in the upcoming seasons, more memories are bound to be made along the way.
