Texas A&M AD Eric Hyman yesterday announced he is stepping down, declaring his "surprise resignation via an email to the A&M athletic department and 12th Man Foundation employees," according to Brent Zwerneman of the HOUSTON CHRONICLE. Neither the 65-year-old Hyman nor A&M "gave a reason for his stepping down, and the school did not announce a timetable for naming a replacement." Texas A&M President Michael Young will "oversee the hiring" of a new AD. The school is "expected to tab a candidate from outside the university -- and Hyman will stay onboard until his successor arrives." While Hyman's predecessor, Bill Byrne, "kept in communication with the fan base with a Wednesday Weekly online posting, Hyman stayed more in the background at A&M, sometimes frustrating fans who wanted to hear from him, especially in the midst of and after disappointing seasons." Texas A&M women's basketball coach Gary Blair: "It's a huge surprise. Everything that he's done in our athletic department has been very positive, as far as from the coaches' point of view. ... But sometimes people need change in their lives" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 1/6). In Austin, Suzanne Halliburton notes Texas A&M under Hyman's leadership renovated Kyle Field, spending more than $500M on the "massive upgrade to give the football team one of the largest stadiums in the country" (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 1/6). In Dallas, Kate Hairopoulos notes the move comes a day after Hyman "reinforced his support for football coach Kevin Sumlin." Hyman had been the "only high-ranking official to publicly weigh in on the state of the football program after a tumultuous" season (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 1/6).
ALL ABOARD: In Texas, Robert Cessna writes Hyman's tenure will be "remembered more for what he didn't do than what he did." He opted "not to fire men's basketball coach Billy Kennedy after last season's late swoon, which stretched A&M's NCAA tournament drought to four straight years." Two months later, the A&M baseball team "didn't earn a national seed despite having Hyman on the selection committee." Hyman "lost support because it appeared he wasn't taking action." The only head coach he "hired while at A&M is women's tennis coach Mark Weaver in a national search that ended with a local hire." From the perspective of an AD "needing to make some noise, the move was a safe one and went unnoticed." At A&M, he "played more of a caretaker role when it came to personnel, especially with Sumlin already in place." Deputy AD Marcy Girton "seemed more in charge of the day-to-day stuff, probably by design and maybe for good reason, but it didn't help Hyman's image" (Bryan-College Station EAGLE, 1/6).
TAKING HIS BALL AND GOING HOME? CBSSPORTS.com's Dennis Dodd wrote it "looks, smells and breathes like Hyman was told something he didn't like and walked instead of having to do it." It seemed like he "resigned on principle." A source said, "I'm so confused with organizational structure. I don't know who the lead guy in charge is" (CBSSPORTS.com, 1/5). ESPN.com's Ivan Maisel writes the adrenalin of A&M's "gobsmacking debut in the SEC in 2012 is spent, and what's left is a program adrift." Since Sumlin "arrived four years ago, he will be on his third university president and his third athletic director," which is "not a formula for success" (ESPN.com, 1/6).
