When Jim Schlossnagle left TCU after 18 seasons three years ago, he told me he expected to retire there. He was 50 then and had no desire to coach into old age.
He wanted a new challenge, something on a grand scale, and few places in college baseball offered such a place as Texas A&M.
But three years and two College World Series appearances later, including one win shy of the CWS National Championship on Monday night in Omaha, Schlossnagle, now 53,
shocked the college baseball world and beyond when he left the Aggies for the rival University of Texas Longhorns.
The move came a day after Schlossnagle had led A&M to within a run of the College World Series national championship.
It was the greatest moment in the history of Aggies baseball, and 12 hours later, he left College Station for Austin.
Schlossnagle knew the move would send shockwaves between the rivals, but he didn’t anticipate irate Aggies posting his cell phone number, Venmo account and home address on social media.
During an interview with the Star-Telegram, Schlossnagle explained what transpired to set up the move, including his deep friendship with Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte,
his mounting concerns about A&M athletics’s financial instability and his relationship with the Aggies’ new athletic director, Trev Alberts.
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