New Texas A&M AD Scott Woodward said that he will "pay most attention to football and men’s basketball, A&M’s two biggest revenue generators," according to Suzanne Halliburton of the AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN. While at the Univ. of Washington, Woodward "turned an athletic program that was hemorrhaging money into a revenue generator." Texas A&M's basketball team "is in great shape," ranking 15th in the latest AP poll, but football is "in turmoil after finishing 8-5 for the second straight year." When his predecessor, Eric Hyman resigned last week, it "appeared to take most folks off guard," but the formal process to bring in Woodward "appears to have been in the works since Christmas." Woodward even said that he "had been in contact" with Texas A&M President Michael Young "for months." Woodward’s hiring "makes sense, given his relationship" with Young, his former boss at UW, and Woodward’s "longtime ties to the SEC." The 52-year-old "is an LSU graduate who grew up in Baton Rouge" (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 1/12). Woodward: "I'll be very involved in a positive, constructive way. In a collaborative way. I'm not a meddler or a micromanager." Young said that Hyman deserves "'enormous credit' for A&M's smooth transition into the SEC nearly four years ago," but added that he and Hyman "began having serious discussions about the department's future within the past couple of weeks" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 1/12).
