COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KRHD) — For more than three decades, R.C. Slocum helped shape Texas A&M football — first as an assistant, then as head coach from 1989 to 2002.
A statue outside the north end of Kyle Field now makes that legacy permanent.
Slocum finished his head coaching career with a 123-47-2 record — the most wins in program history. He spent 30 years coaching at Texas A&M, including 16 seasons as an assistant before taking over as head coach, and he never coached a losing season.
His teams won four conference championships, including three straight Southwest Conference titles from 1991 through 1993, followed by the 1998 Big 12 championship. The Aggies also made 11 bowl appearances under Slocum, and his teams finished ranked in the AP Top 25 10 times, including three Top-10 finishes. His defenses helped build the reputation of the Aggies' famed "Wrecking Crew."
But for Slocum, the wins were never the whole story.
"But the bigger mission that I had was saying, I gave, and I always said this, someday when I meet the big man upstairs, the big head coach, and he said, OK, let's talk about what you did down there. I gave you 100 something young men every year for you to lead. And let's talk about, yeah, I don't care about that not going 3 on 4th down or any of that. I want to talk about those young men and what you did with them, what kind of influence," Slocum said.
His impact on his players and the community has outlived his coaching career.
"I had some guys who had never had a man in their lives that was put his hand on the shoulder and say, son, I can't let you do that. That's not good for you. I'm, I'm not gonna let you, I'm not gonna let you stay out that later. I'm not gonna let you do this or that. Or put his hand on and said, son, I love you. I'm so proud of you, man. I never had that. And I wanted to be that guy for a lot of them, and I got some of them here, some of them here call me dad, and they call me, they call me on a regular basis," Slocum said.
The statue, created by sculptor Steven Whyte, stands near Entry 5 at the north end of Kyle Field, honoring one of the most influential coaches in Texas A&M history.
