New Texas baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle has seen no shortage of critics since leaving Texas A&M for its in-state rival. However, he apparently did so with the blessing of the Aggies’ new athletic director.
In an interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Schlossnagle claimed that Trev Alberts, who became Texas A&M athletic director in March, told him before an NCAA tournament regional game that it would be “OK to move on.”
The context of the alleged advice was Schlossnagle voicing his frustration with the speed of the renovations at Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park:
“Trev came to me the day before the regional to have a conversation. He asked me if I was frustrated. I told him that I had some frustration with how slow the ballpark process was going and that it was tough to operate without a sport administrator, but I was committed to working through it. He then made a comment to me kind of comparing his situation of leaving his alma mater, Nebraska. He said to me, You know, Jim, if you ever dont feel like this is the place for you, thats OK, and its OK to move on.
I was a little taken aback by that, and that was the moment that I began to think that maybe this wasnt going to work out. No one ever contacted me or my agent about a new contract for our staff, so I just decided to focus on getting our team to Omaha and winning.”
The Texas A&M board of regents approved an $80 million stadium renovation last month.
Schlossnagle had been very clear about what he wanted to see from Texas A&M’s baseball stadium, telling ESPN in May that he wants a new ballpark double the size of Olsen Field that could essentially be the Camden Yards of college baseball, ushering in a new era of architecture for the sport.
Alberts, who was previously the AD at his alma mater of Nebraska for three years, telling Schlossnagle he could leave would certainly be an interesting development in a coaching move that has been anything but normal.
Schlossnagle told the Star-Telegram he believed Texas A&M would be his last job, but everything changed after the Aggies’ loss in the College World Series championship. The coach berated a reporter for asking about his future and indicated he would never take another job, then agreed to join the Longhorns one day later.
He apologized to the reporter during his introductory news conference at Texas, but there was no avoiding a bad look, especially when he was leaving for a fierce rival.