Former Bryan High all-state defensive end Jessie Everline practiced with Texas A&M for the first time. Everline didn’t sign a national letter of intent on signing day because of concerns he would not meet NCAA entrance requirements. He retook the entrance exam in April and made a qualifying score. He didn’t report with the other A&M freshman last week because he hadn’t been approved by the NCAA Clearinghouse. He was cleared earlier in the week and became A&M’s 25th freshman signee.

Former Bryan High multi-star athlete Jo Beth Palmer was hired as the school’s volleyball coach. Palmer earned all-district honors in three sports at Bryan, leading the Lady Vikings to district championships in each. She was an All-American in track and signed with the University of Texas, where she also played volleyball. Bryan also hired Bobby Jack Goforth as head campus coordinator and head football coach at Sam Rayburn Junior High. Goforth was head football coach and athletic director at Caldwell for 10 seasons.

Texas A&M made a deal with Gaylord Broadcasting Co. to have nonconference home games against UTEP, Iowa State and Arkansas State televised by at least 17 stations. The games would be at 11:20 a.m. The move helped A&M come close to the $1.25 million it budgeted for television revenue that year from football and basketball. A&M officials predicted it would fall at least $500,000 short after the NCAA lost exclusive control over college football television rights.