Aggies tap AD from rival
COLLEGE STATION – Texas A&M has turned to a Southeastern Conference West division foe for its next athletic director.
The Aggies announced the hiring of
Ross Bjork of Mississippi late Thursday night. Bjork, a native of Dodge City, Kan., arrived in Oxford, Miss., from Western Kentucky in 2012.
Bjork, 46, replaces Scott Woodward, who exited A&M about a month ago for his alma mater, LSU.
Second-year A&M football coach Jimbo Fisher, who had a close relationship with Woodward, has said that A&M had consulted him on whom to hire. Bjork takes
over the reins from former A&M football coach R.C. Slocum, who has served as interim athletic director for the past few weeks.
“I am so honored to accept this position and look forward to greeting coaches, staff and the entire 12th Man,” Bjork said in a statement. “I remember visits to Kyle Field even before its massive renovation, being
enthralled with the whole environment. I love leadership lessons, especially in military history; The Corps of Cadets – the ‘Keepers of the Spirit’ – are also a wonderful draw to the university. I will always aspire to live up to the core values that the university holds dear, and to compete for and win championships.”
A&M has among the deepest financial pockets in the nation and pays Fisher $7.5 million annually. According to a report from
about a year ago, Bjork made $700,000 annually with the Rebels, while Woodward made nearly $1 million annually with the Aggies.
Bjork played fullback at Emporia State in Kansas in the 1990s. He then earned a master’s degree in athletic administration from Western Illinois in 1996.
His Mississippi tenure had plenty of twists, considering the long-downtrodden football team played in New Year’s Six bowl games following
the 2014 and 2015 regular seasons under thencoach Hugh Freeze.
But Freeze, whom Bjork didn’t hire, resigned after it was discovered he’d used a university cellphone to call escort services, according to reports at the time. The Rebels’ football program also was found to have committed multiple recruiting violations under Freeze and under Bjork’s overall watch.
Bjork inherits what should be a stable coaching situation among the major sports at A&M. Fisher is still new in College Station and finished 9-4 in his first season with the Aggies (the first time A&M has won nine games since 2013).
Prior to his exit, Woodward fired basketball coach Billy Kennedy and hired Buzz Williams from Virginia Tech. And baseball coach Rob Childress is set to take his program to a 13th consecutive NCAA tournament.