The Lettermen’s Association at Texas A&M University is a membership organization for all former athletes from Texas A&M to stay connected with each other and the Aggie community. By serving as a liaison between the Texas A&M athletic department and former athletes, the Lettermen’s Association hosts reunions, tailgates, and oversees all aspects of the Texas A&M Athletics Hall of Fame.
The organization maintains about 1,500 to 1,750 members. An associate membership is available to any former athlete. The regular membership is available to athletes no longer eligible to compete and the athlete must have won a varsity letter in their sport at Texas A&M. Regular members have a few additional perks, like replacing a varsity jacket.
All members have an annual fee, but can opt to become a lifetime member. Lifetime members can make a one-time payment or establish a payment plan over four years.
One of the perks of being a member offers the ability to take part in the selection process for the Texas A&M Athletic Hall of Fame, only available for members of the Association. Active members are able to submit nominees to be inducted. Every year, usually around 200 nominees are submitted and narrowed down by the executive committee to 15.
“Then we have a selection committee meeting which we invite all of our past Hall of Fame inductees back, along with some other athletes to make sure we have fair representation across every sport and era,” says Cathy Capps, assistant athletic director at Texas A&M. “We read through the biographies of every nominee and open the floor for very confidential conversation.” Then, the committee conducts a blind vote and the top eight nominees are inducted into the Texas A&M Athletic Hall of Fame.
The Association also organizes reunions for all sports on a regular basis and hosts happy hours in different regions to keep Aggies from all over connected. For championship teams, their anniversaries are held at Kyle Field on a game day.
“We give them two free tickets, have a tailgate, serve them a meal, then present them onto the field for recognition,” says Capps.
Another perk of membership is the ability to apply for football season tickets in the Lettermen Association’s preferred seating area in Kyle Field, only offered to members. For special games, the organization will sometimes host pregame or postgame tailgates to try and rally members to the event. For every home football game, the Lettermen’s Club is open to members and their guests to enjoy the game and mingle with each other.
“We basically provide opportunities for former athletes to stay connected and engaged with Texas A&M Athletics and each other,” says Capps.
One focus of connection for the organization is career networking. Included in membership is a business directory on their website for current and former student athletes along with an internal information system of former athletes who are in the position to hire.
The Lettermen Association often hires athletes as interns for the help, since the Association only has three full-time employees.
“We often have current student athletes that have an internship to fulfill so we started having athletes in the office,” says Capps. “They’re hard workers, dedicated, and disciplined. We’ve had very good luck with our interns.”
The organization has at least one intern a semester. This fall they will have a special student returning, a former football player, Pat Thomas. At 68 years old, Thomas has played football for Texas A&M, played in the NFL, and coached in the NFL.
“The one thing he never accomplished was getting his degree, so he came back to A&M to finish out his degree,” says Capps. “It’ll be an amazing story once he walks across the stage.”
The Lettermen’s Association works to help current and former Aggie athletes to pursue their ambitions. The organization has many perks for former Aggie athletes, but their ultimate goal is to keep the fellowship and camaraderie alive well-after graduation.
