Jim Schlossnagle Goes In Depth on Decision To Leave Texas A&M Aggies

Former Texas A&M Aggies head baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle went in depth on why he chose to leave for the Texas Longhorns.

University of Texas baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle, right, is introduced by Athletic Director Chris Del Conte at his introductory news conference at the Frank Denius Family University Hall of Fame Wednesday June 26, 2024. / Jay Janner/American-Statesman / USA

Jim Schlossnagle shocked the college sports world when he left the Texas A&M Aggies less than 24 hours after losing the final game of the College World Series.

It was even more shocking that he left College Station to take the opening with the Aggies' arch-rival Texas Longhorns.

Obviously, that is not a decision that sat well with many Aggies, with some of the more irrational fans even allegedly sending death threats to Schlossnagle, his staff, and their families.

That said, at the end of the day, Schlossnagle's choice of where he wants to work is up to him and him alone, and in a recent interview with Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth-Star Telegram, he revealed his reasons for taking the job in Austin.

And according to Schlossnagle, there were multiple factors at play.

University of Texas baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle, second from left, poses for photos with his assistant coaches, left to right, Michael Earley, Nolan Cain, Max Weinerat his introductory news conference at the Frank Denius Family University Hall of Fame Wednesday June 26, 2024. / Jay Janner/American-Statesman / USA

"I would say that with everything that was going on within the department financially, the agreement we made to begin construction on the ballpark in June of 2024 began to slow down, and that was disappointing," Schlossnagle said. "Then we had the football coaching change (with Jimbo Fisher’s firing). That eventually led to a new athletic director, which always makes any coach wonder what direction things are going. In late April, they laid off my sports administrator Chris Park, during the season when we were ranked No. 1 in the country. That created a vacuum of leadership for our program."

However, facilities, and staffing were not the only factors that led to Schlossnagle's decision.

In fact, the final nail in the coffin may have come from new athletic director Trev Alberts, who met Schlossnagle's frustration with a comment that didn't sit right with the former Aggies coach.

"Trev came to me the day before the regional to have a conversation. He asked me if I was frustrated." Schlossnagle said. "I told him that I had some frustration with how slow the ballpark process was going and that it was tough to operate without a sports administrator, but I was committed to working through it. He then made a comment to me... ‘You know, Jim, if you ever don’t feel like this is the place for you, that’s OK, and it’s OK to move on.’ I was a little taken aback by that, and that was the moment that I began to think that maybe this wasn’t going to work out."

Whatever the case, Schlossnagle is now in Austin, while the Aggies have begun their search for a new skipper.

That search that could be resolved imminently.

Some of the names being mentioned include Oklahoma's Skip Johnson, Wake Forest's Tom Walter, and former Aggies hitting coach Michael Earley - all of whom have interviewed for the job.