Ross Bjork Tenure With Texas A&M Comes With Pros And Cons For The Long Haul

Ross Bjork should be remembered for the positives he provided to the Texas A&M Aggies, but will mostly be mentioned for a contract extension.

Ross Bjork did enough good during his time in College Station to understand why fond farewells are being sent his way.

He also wasn't perfect, which leads to the "see you later, won't miss you" crowd having their moment in the sun.

Bjork's off to Ohio, where he'll take over for Gene Smith after 18 seasons beginning July 1. He'll hopefully keep up the same pedigree that made the Buckeyes one of the college football pioneers in a new day and age for athletics.

And Texas A&M will start fresh. Again. Bjork's departure marks the fourth time since 2012 that the Aggies have gone headhunting for an athletic director to transform all sports into SEC powerhouses.

Bjork's time in College Station will be met with criticism. It's earned, too, especially when given the football team's status and what it took for change to come to Kyle Field.

Yes, the Jimbo Fisher contract extension was terrible. It wasn't even necessary, given that the former coach was only three years into his current 10-year deal that rewarded him an annual salary of $7.5 million.

But in the SEC, either you're coaxing talent to come your way or fighting off others from stealing your personnel. LSU required a head coach, and Scott Woodward convinced Fisher to leave Tallahassee. At the time, the Aggies were rolling with a preseason top-10 ranking and were coming off a 9-1 campaign with an Orange Bowl victory.

A slight upgrade in salary? Sure, maybe fans can understand that. An extension of years? Even then, people were perplexed.

And what was to show for it in the end? Three underachieving years where regression set in, madness took over and hope was lost?

There's that, plus the $77 million leaving the booster's bank accounts from now until 2031.

Yes, the firing of Fisher was essential, but so was the hiring of Mike Elko from Duke. That too came with hiccups under Bjork as initial conversations surrounded Kentucky's Mark Stoops first.

When Elko arrived, he was greeted with a warm embrace from a fan base that praised his name while serving as Fisher's defensive coordinator. For Bjork, some were willing to give him the cold shoulder.

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Those are the same folks who now wouldn't offer Bjork a jacket for the chilling winters in Columbus come next December. Even now temperatures are enough to make Bjork shiver.

Football is life in Texas. It's part of weekly planning beginning on Friday evenings that carry over to Sunday afternoons. It's a staple of the state and a part of the culture.

But it's not all Texas A&M is. Bjork ensured that, too with his internal hirings and handling of funds.

Under Bjork's watch, A&M's athletic department generated the seventh-most revenue in the NCAA during the 2022-23 academic year, according to USA TODAY. The Aggies brought in over $193 million in annual revenue from its athletic play alone.

Who was higher? Ohio State led the way, followed by Texas and Alabama. Both schools just played in the postseason and made runs in both NCAA Tournaments for men's basketball and baseball.

Next up was Michigan, who recently claimed a national title up the road in Houston. Then came Georgia, fresh off back-to-back national title runs in college football. After that was LSU, which took home the title in Omaha in the College World Series and saw its two stars drafted No. 1 and No. 2 in July.

That's it. No one else came close to A&M in the remaining top 10 in both annual revenue and annual spending. Bjork's efforts made sure that the Aggies were mentioned in conversations from here on out.

Athletic directors are more than just people who hire and fire coaches. They must invest in upgrading facilities, complexes, and stadiums every few seasons while also building relationships for future endeavors across the sporting world.

That only happens with funding, a weak point for the Aggies back in the day. Bjork made it a strength and carried that success over to the future of athletics surrounding name, image and likeness.

The Aggies were one of the first programs to embrace the future of NIL. He worked with the state Legislature on building a new NIL law and offered opportunities for athletes to build revenue and look past their playing time in College Station.

Bjork was also at the forefront of changing A&M culture beyond the football world. He made seven hires during his time as the Aggies AD, and extended the contract of Buzz Williams, who will run A&M's basketball program through the 2028 season.

Some hires are starting to blossom as he departs. Tisha Ford and the softball team reached the Austin Regional finals last season in the NCCA tournament and look ready to make a run for Oklahoma City with a veteran roster.

Volleyball coach Jamie Morrison is fresh off leading the Aggies to a tournament bid this past fall, which only occurred once under Laura “Bird” Kuhn in five years.

Women's basketball coach Joni Taylor was tasked with replacing a legend in Gary Blair. In Year 1, the Ags went 9-20. Right now, they're 14-3 and just picked up wins over Auburn and Tennessee.

Golf coaches Gerrod Chadwell and Brian Kortan have both exceeded expectations. Chadwell has led the women's team to back-to-back NCAA tournament semifinal appearances. Kortan's taken the men's team to the NCAA Championships over the past two years.

But none match the home run swing Bjork took when he decided to pry Jom Schlossnagle away from TCU after 18 seasons. Since replacing Rob Childress, A&M baseball has been one of the SEC's finest, reaching the College World Series semifinal in 2022 and the SEC title game a year later.

The Aggies are also expected to be front-runners to make it to Omaha in Year 3 under Schlossnagle's watch, too.

Bjork's hiring of Elko remains a mystery, and perhaps his legacy. Firing Fisher will be attached to his resume, though there are plenty of people A&M fans can thank or curse for that move following the Ole Miss loss on the road in early November.

Elko is trending up entering offseason workouts. He's added 21 players via the portal with starting experience and kept 12 recruits as part of the class while flipping two more on the Early Signing Period. Two years from now, maybe A&M is hosting a playoff game.

Against Bjork's Buckeyes? One can only dream of the showdown at Kyle Field between the AD's shiny new program and the one he departed.

But Bjork left A&M in promising hands and immense upside. Not many athletic directors will enter a job with a brand-new indoor football complex and a state-of-the-art indoor track and field facility already paid for by the last person in charge.

Bjork's relationships with boosters and the 12th Man Foundation paved the way for enhancements into the world of NIL, a world that is much uncovered and won't be for years in the future. But it's a world A&M wants to be a player in, and thanks to the aggressiveness of the former AD, it will be.

There will be much to discuss from Bjork's tenure when looking back at the program's state several years from now. There's negativity surrounding his name, but it's mostly recency bias over a laundry list of concerns.

It mostly has to do with football and a contract extension, which could be a fond memory if things go according to plan with Elko. Chris Del Conte felt the criticism when Steve Sarkisian was hired following Tom Herman's exit from Austin.

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Do you think the Longhorns are better off because of it or have the hateful words on message boards carried more weight?

Maybe the grass is greener in Columbus. Summers are supposedly nice, and the foliage has to be a selling point around Saturdays in early October.

But the grass is mighty greener in College Station. It will remain that way in a new era of Aggie athletics.

And fans can thank Bjork for that.