December 5, 2011

To: Students, Faculty and Staff

Many of you have expressed disdain about the manner in which head football coach Mike Sherman was dismissed last week. I share in your concerns. Let me assure you that our intention was for Coach Sherman to be informed of his dismissal in a face-to-face meeting last Friday morning. However, when this confidential information was leaked to a media outlet late Thursday afternoon, I instructed Athletic Director Bill Byrne to contact Coach Sherman as soon as possible, via cell phone because he was out of town. We wanted Coach Sherman to hear the news from a Texas A&M official first and not from a media report. Like you, I am angry that the mishandling of sensitive information forced us to react in this manner, and I am disappointed in this breach of trust. This is a reminder that in this age of instantaneous media, words have consequences and affect lives. All employees, and especially one who has done so much to instill our Aggie values into the lives of our student-athletes and larger student body, deserve better. I have the utmost respect for Coach Sherman, and appreciate the many contributions that he has made to Texas A&M.

R. Bowen Loftin