It was spring break of my freshman year. The Texas A&M basketball team had reached the NCAA tournament after surprisingly winning the Southwest Conference tournament as the eighth seed. I was unable to see the Aggies first-round NCAA game against Duke, which they lost.
That was 1987. Since then, the Southwest Conference has retreated into collegiate athletic history. In the many years since, I’ve not had another chance to watch the Ags in an NCAA tourney game. That is, ’til now.
Texas A&M waited 19 years for a trip back to the NCAA tournament, so what was another few minutes?
The Aggies (21-8) joined about 350 fans in a conference room in Reed Arena to watch this year’s pairings show on Sunday night. After only a few nervous moments, Texas A&M was one of the first names that appeared, drawing a No. 12 seed and a matchup with fifth-seeded Syracuse (23-11) on Thursday in Jacksonville, Fla.
The room exploded with cheers as coach Billy Gillispie raised both arms with clenched fists. His players embraced and danced around him as dozens of cameras flashed.
“You just hope and hope and hope and pray,” said Gillispie, finishing his second season. “We were just lucky to have our name come up.”
The 46-year-old Gillispie nearly broke down in tears three times as he addressed the fans from a podium.
“Y’all know me,” he said, “I get emotional. It’s always great to have your name called on that show.”
The Aggies will make their first NCAA tournament appearance since 1987, two years after the field was expanded to 64 teams. Texas A&M lost to Duke 58-51 in the first round in Indianapolis, the site of this year’s Final Four.
The Aggies, 3-7 in the NCAA tournament, made their deepest run in 1980, beating Duke and North Carolina before losing to eventual champion Louisville 66-55 in the Sweet 16.
None of the past mattered on Sunday night.
“Six months of basketball for this opportunity,” said senior guard Chris Walker. “You can’t even put words on how it feels.”
The only history many Aggies were recalling on Sunday night was the 7-21 record in 2003-04.
When Gillispie replaced Melvin Watkins, he visited guard Acie Law and his family at their home in Dallas. Gillispie promised Law that he would get the Aggies to the NCAA tournament.
When Law took the podium on Sunday night, he looked at Gillispie and thanked him.
“Words don’t describe how I’m feeling,” Law said.
Whoooop!
Now, the question that remains is this: how much will finally having Texas A&M involved affect how I fill out my March Madness brackets?