Memorial service Aug. 30 for revered Texas A&M mascot

A service has been scheduled Aug. 30 at Kyle Field to remember the late Texas A&M mascot Reveille VIII.

Organizers say Reveille VIII will be laid to rest 10 years to the day from her debut as mascot. The revered 12-year-old collie had been ill and died June 25.

In 2014, then-A&M cadet handler Ryan Kreider deflected an SMU wide receiver from the dog. Kreider threw himself in front of the out-of-bounds player. A&M went on to win that game 58-6.

Kreider has been invited to attend the service this month.

The Aggies will play Northwestern State that day.

Florida: Former Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley has declined to say what, if anything, then-Gators coach Urban Meyer told him about Zach Smith’s domestic violence arrest in 2009.

Meyer was placed on paid leave last week by Ohio State amid questions about what he knew and did about accusations of abuse made against Smith. The former Buckeyes assistant coach was fired July 24 after his ex-wife sought a restraining order against him. The couple divorced in 2016.

The Associated Press asked Florida to provide details regarding how Meyer and his bosses handled Smith’s arrest nearly a decade ago, but Foley declined to comment Friday through a university spokesman. Foley is now Florida’s emeritus AD.

Meyer released a statement last week saying he has “always followed proper reporting protocols and procedures when I have learned of an incident involving a student-athlete, coach or member of our staff by elevating the issues to the proper channels.” It raised questions about what Florida officials, specifically Foley, knew and how they reacted to Smith’s arrest on June 21, 2009.

Smith was arrested on a charge of aggravated battery on a pregnant woman, his wife. He was a graduate assistant on Meyer’s staff.

According to a Gainesville Police Department report, Zach and Courtney Smith got into a verbal altercation over infidelity about 3 a.m. when Zach Smith brought a female co-worker home after a party.

The report says Zach Smith pleaded with his wife to let the woman spend the night. Courtney Smith ended up taking the woman home and got into a heated argument with her husband upon her return home.

He grabbed his wife “by her T-shirt, picked her up and threw her into the bedroom wall,” according to the report. Courtney Smith was eight to 10 weeks pregnant.

Zach Smith denied throwing his wife or any form of physical violence.

Smith has never been criminally charged or convicted.