Q: After all the work that has gone into The Zone at Kyle Field, what are your thoughts about the facility finally opening up on Sept. 18?

Groff: I'm extremely excited about it. It's kind of typical of getting ready for a home game every year, but then this year with the partial construction, there's more details that we have to work out. But it's really exciting.

Q: What can the A&M fans expect, as far as logistics, for entering Kyle Field as the season goes along?

Groff: That is a real positive part about it. The two ramps in the north end are completed, and those people going into the lower deck of The Zone will enter through the ramps on both the northeast corner and northwest corner. Although there will be construction fences, the ushers will take the tickets there at each corner.

The Zone Club members will enter The Zone through the building doors on each side of the elevator shafts. And we will have a path through the construction site from the MSC to the west side and north end. The Club members will come down the road right next to the Zone offices, and then there will be a 25-foot wide section going to the front end of The Zone, and then there will be a 25-foot wide walkway going to the west side parking lot (Lot A).

Right now, the plans are for the escalator to be working (for Club members), and one elevator right now is projected to be ready. And concessions and restrooms will be fully operational (except for the Touchdown Terrace, set to open Oct. 9).

Q: How is the progress going for the opening of the upper deck of The Zone?

Groff: We could probably have had it for the first game (vs. Tulsa) if we had restrooms and concessions up there. They have assured us that on Oct. 9, we will have the upper deck ready. Throughout the year, they will continue to work on The Club and all the areas under The Zone, including the officials' dressing room, training rooms and auditorium. The official date we have heard from the contractors for completion would be mid-February.

Q: What is the timetable for beginning the Plaza project outside The Zone?

Groff: It was approved by our Board of Regents in July. We anticipate shortly that the design will be completed, and it will go out for (construction) bids, with the hope the contract would be awarded in December. Construction of the Plaza area could then start in January, and it's projected to be done by August of 2000.

The Letterman's Association is building a museum, and the first part of that building project was included in The Zone project. The finish-out of the museum is to be directly handled by the Letterman's Association, and it's also projected to be completed by August of 2000.

Q: Will the E. King Gill statue and Reveille graves currently at Cain Park be moved back to the Plaza?

Groff: Those will all be part of the restoration of the Plaza area and will be ready by August of 2000.

Q: Did all the scrutiny and speculation about when The Zone would open wear on you as the athletic director?

Groff: It really wasn't worse than before. This is my third expansion project. The first one wasn't that difficult with the adding of the second decks. But then in 1978-80 when we added the third decks and press box, we went through the same thing, as some things got behind there. I really don't feel that it was the contractor's fault with The Zone. I think it was the sign of the times in terms of labor. Traditionally with a big project being done by this university, we were dependent on going to Austin, Houston, Dallas or San Antonio to get skilled labors because this community doesn't have that many available. The whole state's economy was booming, and it was build, build, build everywhere. Those people weren't willing to come up here when they could get the same work in their hometowns. So it was very difficult to move the project along.

Q: Is The Zone almost grander than you could have imagined?

Groff: Over the years I was able to visualize what it could look like. It looks a whole lot like I thought it would. But to get up in there and stand in it, it's really astronomical. I think for anyone in The Zone, there's really not a bad seat. We spent months on line of sight, and I thought we would never get past that point. But the time spent by the architects on sight lines was well-spent because there really isn't a bad seat in the upper deck or lower deck. You don't have an obstructed view, and you don't miss one inch of the field sitting up there.

Q: When the concept of The Zone was first unveiled, the thought behind it was to get rid of some bad seats in the old horseshoe and replace them with 22,000 better seats. With a record number of season tickets being sold (a 30 percent jump to almost 30,000), isn't that original plan coming to fruition?

Groff: It's a combination of two things. People were critical about why were tearing down the north end zone when we could have added seats in the south end zone. But we had plenty of seats. We averaged 62,000 in attendance and had 70,000 seats. The problem was they were poor seats in the north end. We needed more good seats.

The other part of it is the 12th Man Foundation has done a terrific in marketing. I think that has been reflected with our season ticket sales.

Q: What is your crowd estimate for the opening of The Zone for the Tulsa game?

Groff: I think it will be around 62,000 or 63,000. What we averaged before for non-conference games like Tulsa or Southern Mississippi was around 52,000-54,000.

Q: For the Texas game, will A&M place bleachers in the south end zone and seats on the track?

Groff: We ordered the same bleachers we had last year, which is 2,000 seats, and your seats on the track will add another 1,200 seats. That should get our number of tickets sold to around 83,000. And the total attendance will probably be around 84,000 or 85,000.

Q: Looking further down the road, what is going on with the master plan for adding and upgrading athletic facilities?

Groff: We have HKS (architecture firm) preparing a master plan for our athletic facilities. We should have the first draft of the plan in mid-September. And we have the 12th Man Foundation going through the quiet phase of its ($35 million) capital campaign. Those two facets are connected. Can I say that we'll start the construction in the next three years? No. With some of those items on the master plan, I would hope that we could start on them in the next three years.

I don't think I would be a very good business man if I put us in debt more in terms of long-term capital. What I think we build in the future should be done on a funds-available basis.

Q: All the pieces seem to be coming together for the football program and for much of the entire athletic program. Do you see it that way?

Groff: I think it is. What's made the project easier to come together has been the success of the football program. We won a championship last year, and this year with us being highly-ranked, if we could somehow get in the national championship game. winning a national championship would just put us over the top.

I don't have any problem dreaming about a national championship. I know you have to have a lot of luck. Joe Paterno went undefeated a couple of years and didn't win a national championship. But with the BCS rankings, it's easier to get into that national championship game than in the old days. It's not just a far-out dream for A&M. I think it's real. The quality of the program that R.C. (Slocum) has developed here, it's ready to take that next step. Why can't that next step be taken by the Aggies?