ESPN filmed a promo for it’s “College GameDay” show in College Station yesterday.  After winning an online poll for the right to have the spot shot at Kyle Field, 3,500 Aggie fans turned out to take part.

ESPN’s Chris Fowler was impressed:

“They were camping out in 100-degree weather.  I said they were loyal; I didn’t say they were smart. But that’s what you do when you’re passionate.  This (scene) doesn’t really surprise me, because it’s well known around the country, and particularly around football, the level of passion and loyalty here.

We’re flattered, (but) we also know this is more of a statement of what they think of their program than it is our program.  The lure of being on camera is pretty strong for a lot of them, too.”

The A&M/ESPN spot will begin airing by the start of football season.

Texas A&M’s Kevin Sumlin kicks off our SEC Media Days coverage.  New to the SEC and to College Station, the ex-Houston coach is getting his baptism into the big-time head coaching world today.

We’ll live blog the gist of his conversation and then circle back with a stand-out quote or two soon after.

* Sumlin says he’s glad to head things off because he didn’t want anyone to say the “new guy” threw things off schedule.

* Sumlin says he and the A&M family are excited about joining the SEC.

* He seems a tad bit nervous, but it’s early and he’s likely never seen a room of media as big as he’s seeing right now.  Seems likable and conversational, however.

* Sumlin says he and his team understand how tough the SEC is and he said everyone’s pointed out to him — and he was already aware of it — that the Aggies will face the last four BCS title-winners all in his school’s first season.

* Sumlin said walking into the SEC’s coaching meeting this spring, he knew the move to the SEC “was real.”

* He says he’s been through the search for a quarterback before — which helps — but it’s always more comfortable having a starter come through spring practice.  He says at the latest A&M will name a starter a couple of weeks before the school’s opener.

* “We need to be bigger and faster against the SEC’s defenses.”  That was Sumlin’s answer when asked if he needs to change his system in the new league.

* Sumlin pointed out that his system is not “pass happy” and that his pass-run split is usually a lot closer to 55-45.

* “We took a little team from Houston over to Starkville and won once.  We’ve played against some teams in the SEC.”  Sumlin added that he’ll know more about the strength of the league next February than he does right now.

* The coach says he’s focused on the opener with Louisiana Tech, but “there is no doubt” that A&M fans are excited about the SEC home opener against Florida.  Points to ticket sales as proof.

* Asked if moving the kickoff spot shows that football is moving toward a kickoff-free game, Sumlin says he’s not in favor of nixing that element from the game.

* On a sidenote, he’s now much more comfortable.  When he got through the opening remark and into the Q&A portion, Sumlin seemed more at ease.  He seems more relaxed than most SEC first-timers.  He cooled off quick… in a good way.

* Sumlin says Texas will be the emphasis in recruiting, but “being in the SEC has improved our footprint nationally, particularly moving east.”  Says A&M will have to have a “national recruiting prowess” to become the type of program he wants to become.

* Asked about LSU possibly becoming A&M’s last game of the season, Sumlin said he has nothing to do with scheduling.

* Sumlin says the SEC West is “a pretty damn hard league.”  He says the combination of size and speed are what sets the league apart.  “And the depth in the front.”

* A&M will have to develop depth up front on defense as it moves from a 3-4 to a 4-3.

* Sumlin says tailback Christian Michael “looks fine” and that he pulled him out of spring practice just for safety’s sake.

* Seems to be tired of having people act like he didn’t know A&M was heading to the SEC when he took the job.  Makes it clear he knew what he was walking into.  He also said that he expects to win.  (What coach would say otherwise?)

* Les Miles said Missouri and Texas A&M need to “strap it up” to join the SEC a few months ago and Sumlin isn’t disagreeing.  Says he knows what he’s talking about having come from the Big 12 and Oklahoma State.  Well done.

Our overall grade for Sumlin’s “performance” based on comfort, friendliness, openness… we’ll give him a 4 on a 1-5 scale.  A good debut for A&M’s young coach.  No wonder Aggie fans are excited.  Now all he’s got to do is win football games.

There once was a day when a coach could go speak to a booster club, poke a little good-natured fun at a rival school, and no one but the folks on hand would know about it.  But that was before talk radio, cell phones, social media and websites (not unlike this one).

Last week, Florida’s Will Muschamp — the former defensive coordinator at Texas — told a Gator fan club the following:

“You ever been to College Station?  It’ll be the only time you go.”

Ha, ha.  Big deal.  Technically, Muschamp could make that same comment regarding just about any other SEC school’s hometown, including his own.

But asked about the comment from Florida’s coach, Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin took the bait and responded.  That wasn’t all he took.  His response seemed to suggest he’d also taken offense to the joke:

“He needs to worry about his own team.”

Good grief.

Technically, Muschamp’s joke wasn’t about A&M’s team, it was about a town in Southeast Texas.  And also he happened to say that A&M could boast “a very SEC-like atmosphere.”

When a coach calls another coach Ray Goof as Steve Spurrier used to do with Georgia’s Ray Goff, that’s crossing a line.  There’s a difference between funny-poke and funny-mean.  ”Ray Goof” was funny-mean.  Muschamp’s comment was of the funny-poke variety.  (Like Spurrier’s other oft-quoted dig at Tennessee: “You can’t spell Citrus without U-T.”  Funny-poke.)

Still, Aggie fans will love the fact that Sumlin won’t take any guff — not Goff or goof, either, probably — from anyone.  Even when the guff given was pretty darned tame to begin with.

And some people thought A&M wouldn’t fit in the SEC.  Please.

Speaking at a Gator booster function last night, Florida’s Will Muschamp was asked what Gator fans might expect from their first trip to Texas A&M this September.  The ex-Texas defensive coordinator responded with a chuckler that would make any Longhorn proud:

“It will be a very SEC-like atmosphere.  It’s one of the few places in the Big 12 that I would say that about…

You ever been to College Station?  It’ll be the only time you go.”

That’s a pretty small shot to take – and it drew laughs according to The Gainesville Sun — but you can bet Aggie fans won’t be amused.  (Possibly because living in College Station has already put them in an ornery mood.  We kid!)

The key for Muschamp will be to make sure Gator fans are smiling just as wide as they leave College Station as they were last night.

Bill Byrne oversaw a decade of great success at Texas A&M before stepping down from his post as athletic director yesterday.  Aggie teams collected 46 Big 12 championships and 17 national title banners during his stay in College Station.  It’s hard to find fault with that kind of success.

If only some of that success and some of those titles had come in football.

Former Texas A&M football coach Jackie Sherrill has decided to pass on being politically correct and has instead spoken his mind regarding Byrne’s watch:

“No question Bill did a great job with the upgrading of facilities with the non-revenue sports, and when you look at the overall athletics department, certainly you see great improvement in those areas.  Unfortunately, when you look at every university, it is remembered by what it did in football.  When you talk about Alabama, you’re not talking about golf.  When talking about Southern Cal, [you're] not talking about tennis…

Unfortunately, we have not been successful in one area, basically the one most universities are judged on.  There were a lot of successes [for A&M], more than any other school in the Big 12, but when you talk Big 12 you mention Oklahoma or Texas first because of football.”

The parents of A&M’s equestrian team might not want to hear that, but it’s the truth.  If A&M had been winning championships in football, Byrne — whether he backed a move to the SEC or not — would probably still be in place today.  Presidents and trustees aren’t as quick to force guys out when they’re overseeing winning, money-making football programs.

Byrne wasn’t.  And now he’s out.

Texas A&M athletic director Bill Byrne made his retirement official today at a press conference in College Station.  Calling his 10-year run “an incredible journey,” Byrne said he will take on a the role of special advisor to the A&M president R. Bowen Loftin as of today.

One wonders just how much advice Loftin will actually seek from a man he’s pushing out the door.  As we suggested this morning, Byrne announced that he will indeed retire in full at the end of August, gone by football season as expected.  He will then receive a settlement “equal to the present value of the last year of his contract” which runs through the end of August in 2013.

Associate AD John Thornton will take over as the Aggies’ interim AD until Lofton can land a replacement.  A&M’s president called the divorce amicable, adding: “It’s no secret Bill and I haven’t seen eye-to-eye on various issues.”

The main issue being Texas A&M’s jump from the Big 12 to the SEC.  Byrne said he had no role whatsoever in that decision (or in the hiring of football coach Kevin Sumlin, for that matter).  ”Those are decisions made above my pay grade,” he said.  ”You’re taught to salute and carry on and that’s what we’ll do.”

Loftin said of the SEC decision: “His input was sought.  It was never ignored… The decision was ultimately mine.”

In the end, Byrne oversaw dozens of Big 12 titles and 17 national crowns during his tenure.  None of those came in football, however.  If they had, he might not have been forced into retirement.  ”The one thing I wish we would’ve done is win more in football,” he said.

Aggies everywhere no doubt nodded in agreement.

Texas A&M AD Bill Byrne is on his way out.  What had been rumored for months was confirmed by A&M president R. Bowen Loftin on Friday.  The school and its athletic director were involved in talks designed to create an amicable parting.

Byrne’s contract runs through 2013 and the school says it will “honor the terms” of that deal, though Byrne will likely make a “natural transition” into another position before retiring next year.  So what will that position be and just how natural will it be for him to still be around while a new AD takes over his old office?

Here’s betting the natural transition never really occurs.  It will be easier for all parties to simply reach some sort of financial settlement and have Byrne exit sooner rather than later.  Oh, sure, he may still be given an office somewhere on campus like so many ex-coaches and ex-ADs, but the likelihood of him ever showing up and doing any actual work is slim.

If this plays out as most of these things play out, we suspect Texas A&M will have an interim AD in place by about the time of the SEC Meetings in late-May, early-June… and by the time a new full-time AD arrives in College Station, Byrne will likely be hitting a golf course.

If you happened to spy some of the Texas A&M messageboards on Tuesday, you know that rumors spread that Aggie AD Bill Byrne was being or had already been shown the door in College Station.  According to Sean Lester of The Dallas Morning News, there were even rumors that Jackie Sherrill — a man very familiar with the SEC — was set to replace him as the school’s athletic director.

Turns out, those rumors were just that — rumors.  David Harris of The Bryan-College Station Eagle tracked down an A&M spokesperson and got this terse response:

“Bill Byrne is the athletic director at Texas A&M.  It is our longstanding practice not to address rumors and speculation.”

Byrne has not been viewed as part of A&M’s pro-SEC majority.  At least that’s been the speculation for two summers now.  Worse still, one of Byrne’s subordinates was caught posting ugly comments about Aggie president – and Byrne’s boss — R. Bowen Loftin on a messageboard late last year.  Some thought Byrne would be ix-nayed at that point.

According to The Morning News, it’s now expected that Byrne and the university will simply part ways when his current contract expires after the 2013 season.  Either way, he remains in power for now.  At least according to that short statement released by the school.

Byrne has served in College Station since 2002.  His son Greg Byrne was once the AD at Mississippi State before moving on to Arizona, where he currently remains.

Georgia AD Greg McGarity has come out, opened up, and made it clear that the Mark Richt to Texas A&M talk is just that — talk.  McGarity told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution today:

“I had a conversation with Mark.  He wants to be our coach.  We want him to be our coach.”

Asked about the A&M rumors, McGarity said: “You don’t waste your time on (rumors) that have no legs.  We just know Mark is going to be our ball coach.”

McGarity told the AJC he has zero doubts about Richt’s return next season.

And in College Station, Kevin Sumlin just got a step closer to the Aggies’ head coaching job.

Orangebloods.com — the Rivals site covering Texas — is reporting this morning that “sources” claim Texas A&M officials are now considering moving from the Big 12 to the SEC in 2013.

(Before all the Aggie fans jump us and scream that Orangebloods is just a spin machine for the Longhorns: 1) We’re just bringing you their report, 2) We’re not saying it’s gospel, 3) They tend to do a better job of breaking stories than most Rivals sites.)

That said, we suggested last month that A&M might want to delay entry until 2013.  In our view at the time, such a move would allow the Aggies to give nearly two years notice to the Big 12 which should quell any talk of lawsuits.  It would allow them to depart without having to give up any type of exit fee/ransom.  And it would allow the SEC time to find a 14th school without having to rush.

Will A&M extricate itself from the Big 12 well before 2013?  Probably.  But there should be little doubt that this option is being discussed in College Station.  All options should be on the table at A&M right now.

(Sidenote — Everything below the “2013″ portion of the Orangebloods story… uh, yeah… that stuff is pure Texas spin.)