'He Didn't Tell A Soul!' Why Mike Elko Kept the Return of 'Power' A Secret

The Texas A&M Aggies will walk out to Kanye West's "Power" for every home game this season, and none of them knew it until it played prior to their season opener.

Aug 31, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; The Texas AM Aggies' Corps of Cadets cheer during the first half of the game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Kyle Field. / Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Kyle Field felt powerful Saturday evening.

The reason why? Along with the cultural shift that Mike Elko brought with him to College Station was the revival of songs near and dear to the hearts of the Texas A&M Aggies.

"Power" by Kanye West made its return to Kyle Field during the Aggies' pregame entrance, and the only one who knew about it was Elko. He made sure of that.

“I think I looked my own child 25 times in the eye and lied to his face to make sure this thing didn’t get out,” the coach explained.

His reasoning was as simple as pressing the button to play the song again. After it was taken away following Kanye West's antisemitic comments online, Texas A&M faithful had a hard time connecting to the "new song" that was heavily teased for last season.

It was catchy, sure, but it wasn't "Power."

“I don’t think I needed to ask the players what they wanted and I didn’t tell the players," Elko said. "I didn’t tell anybody. I know what that song means to Kyle Field.”

Aug 31, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; A general view of fans cheering during the first half of the game between the Texas A&M Aggies and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Kyle Field. / Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

When the siren sounded after the Aggie drum line finished its cadence, fans and players were eager to find out if they'd be gifted with the song they'd asked back for months. After all, none of them were in the loop.

“He didn’t tell a soul," Texas A&M quarterback Conner Weigman said, "which was pretty impressive because you know how quickly stuff gets out around here.”

That's why when it played, the stadium aptly erupted.

"It was cool just being in the tunnel," Weigman explained. "You hear it come on and everybody look(ed) at each other, and we were like, ‘No way.’ It was a pretty cool feeling.”

“(It) was sick,” transfer safety Marcus Ratcliffe added. “That had my adrenaline going to the max. That was, again, the best thing ever.”

Elko might have made the final call, but it wasn't purely his decision. As soon as he took the helm of the program, bringing back the Aggies' iconic song was atop his list. Luckily, the bigwigs in the athletic department bought into his vision.

“We were sitting on that one for a long time," Elko explained. "That was something I know that was really important to this fanbase ... (so), when we had a change in leadership in the athletic department, we kind of felt like that was something we could bring back."

Moving forward, the Aggies' roster knows that it'll get to hear "Power" every time it's in the tunnel — the secret's out. Even so, it won't make the experience any less special. For them, or Elko.

And if given the chance to do it over, the coach still wouldn't tell anyone.

“You guys have often asked me how my experience at Texas A&M has helped me, and one of the things I’ve learned over the years is if you don’t want something to get out, don’t tell anyone,” Elko said of keeping the song a secret. "That’s maybe where my experience at Texas A&M has helped me.”