FCS

The opposition to a potential rebranding at Texas A&M-Commerce scored a big victory this week when university President Dr. Mark Rudin said he no longer supports changing the name to Texas A&M University-Dallas in an email sent to the Lion Family earlier this week. Dave Campbell’s Texas Football has verified the validity of the correspondence.

In the message posted by the A&M-Commerce Alumni Association on Facebook, Dr. Rudin said, “Based on the feedback received, I cannot support the option of changing the name of our university to Texas A&M University-Dallas. I have informed the Board of Regents (BOR) and Chancellor Sharp that I will not be pursuing a name change of our university to Texas A&M University-Dallas now or in the future.”

While Dr. Rudin does not have a vote on the BOR, his decision will be highly regarded by its members and Chancellor Sharp. Texas A&M-Commerce Director of Athletics Jim Curry noted during our conversation at Southland Conference Media Day that Texas A&M University-Dallas was one of many potential names the university was discussing concerning rebranding. Curry also confirmed that alum and non-FBS fan favorite East Texas A&M is also a name under consideration.

Notably, Dr. Rudin did not state in the email the university was no longer considering rebranding for the seventh time in school history.  Dr. Rudin has received his share of criticism from alums during his tenure. However, he deserves credit for listening to the numerous individuals, groups, students, faculty, staff, alumni, and university supporters who provided feedback on the potential rebranding. Hopefully, this is the beginning of the university’s administration repairing its relationship with those upset about the previous name change and moving to NCAA Division I.

The United Athletic Conference announced a partnership with GameStrat to provide sideline tablet technology to its schools. “The United Athletic Conference is thrilled to partner with GameStrat as its solution tool for in-game team video analysis. GameStrat gives our coaches and players the ability to compete at the highest levels and provides them with an additional resource to allow their talents to shine on gameday,” UAC Chief Operating Officer Kyle Grooms said in a statement.

The UAC becomes the second non-FBS conference to announce an agreement to use video technology on the sideline and in the coaching booth in 2024, with the Lone Star Conference announcing its partnership with SkyCoach during its Media Day. The NCAA approved the ability of teams in all three divisions to use tablets to view in-game videos only last April.