Former Athletic Director Ross Bjork Says Goodbye to Texas A&M
The Texas A&M Aggies are on the hunt for a new athletic director, with former AD Ross Bjork leaving College Station for the Ohio State Buckeyes, where he will officially take over for the retiring Gene Smith this summer.
Friday, however, was Bjork's official last day with Texas A&M, marking the end of an up-and-down tenure.
And with Bjork now moving on, he released a statement via social media thanking Aggieland for their support.
As I serve my last day at Texas A&M, I wanted to give thanks to everyone around Aggieland. It was an honor to work here the last four and a half years and for twelve years in the SEC. I appreciate the Board of Regents, Chancellor Sharp, 12th Man Foundation Board, coaches, staff, and most importantly, the student-athletes at Texas A&M. To the donors, fans and students
- the 12th Man is the real deal and I know you care deeply about the Aggies and deserve success. I want to give special thanks to President Mark Welsh for his support and positive and steadfast leadership and I can't wait to watch him propel Texas A&M University.
Our goal was to make Texas A&M better than we found it and I am proud of what we accomplished on and off the fields of play. Our family will always love and cherish our time in Aggieland and these special bonds will last a lifetime.
Thanks & Gig'Em
Bjork had been with the Aggies since 2019, spending the last few years and change attempting to revitalize the Texas A&M football and basketball programs from the ground up.
During that time the Aggies set new records in overall grade point average, NCAA Graduate Success Rate, and NCAA Academic Progress Rate.
Bjork also had a solid success rate at hiring coaches for the Aggies, with all three of his 2021 coaching hires making deep post-season runs in Baseball and Men's and Women's golf.
As far as football is concerned, however, Bjork's track record was a bit more rocky.
Bjork played a huge role in the 10-year extension of head football coach Jimbo Fisher in 2021, which turned out to be a disaster for the Aggies.
Bjork eventually found Fisher's replacement in former Duke head coach and Texas A&M defensive coordinator Mike Elko, after a controversial coaching search.
Fisher would eventually go on to be fired this fall, just two years after the extension, forcing the Aggies to pay a record-setting buyout of more than $75 million to replace him - breaking the previous record held by Gus Malzahn by more than $54 million.
While the Aggies begin their search for a new AD, former longtime head coach R.C. Slocum will serve as the interim athletic director.