Jack Little vividly remembers sitting on a quiet bus outside Oklahoma’s Memorial Stadium following the Aggies’ 51-6 loss to the Sooners in 1999.
Just the night before, Little and his wife, Carolyn, had been asked to lead the Championship Vision capital campaign, as Texas A&M and the 12th Man Foundation were about to embark on a fundraising trek to build and improve athletic facilities.
The decision to answer the call and pledge his time during the early years of his retirement came swiftly and surely.
“I told Carolyn, ‘We’re going to do a lot of things we’ve wanted to do now that I’m retired. But this is something that I really feel we have to do to get some facilities so that we can recruit on a level playing field,’” Little recalled. “I just felt like it was an opportunity to serve, and we couldn’t walk away from it.”
Little, the former president and CEO of Shell Oil and a distant relative of E. King Gill, seemed a natural fit to head up the Championship Vision. At a dinner to honor Little on April 22, A&M president Dr. Robert Gates said it was imperative to have someone of Little’s stature lead A&M into a new era of athletic and academic excellence.
“Like the legendary Mr. Gill, Jack came to the aid of the Texas A&M team at a time when it really needed it,” Gates said. “He’s really provided extraordinary leadership. We can’t express how much gratitude we feel for that leadership and the support he has provided for us.
“Jack’s support of the university, as a whole, and athletics, in particular, advances every part of Texas A&M. I think the kind of contributions that Jack and Carolyn have made have been very important in helping us be competitive on a national level—not just a conference level—but on a national level in athletics.”
Little oversaw a capital campaign that raised more than $50 million in five years, surging past its original financial goal of $35 million.
One of the lead gifts for the Championship Vision came when Little donated $1 million for the opening of the Jack and Carolyn ’60 Athletic Complex on the west side of the A&M campus. Within the complex, locker rooms, coaches offices and training facilities were constructed for the track and field, soccer and softball teams.
And the new facilities have paid huge dividends for current and future A&M student-athletes.
“From my perspective, what was really important for Jack and Carolyn to see was the difference their gift made,” said Director of Athletics Bill Byrne. “Four or five years ago, they made a gift that was really going to help women’s athletics and the track program. This year, our softball team is almost undefeated. We’re hosting the national championships in soccer. We had the No. 1 recruiting class in the country in soccer two years ago.
“And Pat Henry may have the No. 1 recruiting class in track and field coming in here this next year. And it’s because we have something to show the athletes that makes them feel that what they’re doing at Texas A&M is important.”
Little, who is a member of the 12th Man Foundation’s Executive Committee, has been a longtime supporter of A&M and its athletic programs. Even during the Aggies’ 4-8 football season in 2003, Little’s backing of coach Dennis Franchione and the A&M program never wavered.
“The great thing about Jack is he’s just been a great friend all the way through,” Franchione said. “He and Carolyn sought Kim and I out. We didn’t have to seek them out. They sought us out and made us feel welcome.
“That first year when things were up and down, every Tuesday morning or so, there would be a card from Jack Little on my desk. He would write a little note, and it really meant a lot to me.”
Although the $35 million goal for the Championship Vision was reached, and later surpassed, Little knows there is little time to reflect on any past accomplishments, even those as sparkling as the Bright Football Complex.
After all, A&M resides in the ever-competitive Big 12 Conference, where schools are building and improving their athletic facilities at a breakneck pace.
A&M took the lead with its football building and academic center, but such facilities as Olsen Field, the Aggie Softball Complex and Anderson Track Complex are in need of major improvements and additional amenities. A major indoor track and practice facility for football is also part of a long-term master plan.
“It’s obvious that we have other facilities that we have to build here,” Little said. “We knew that when we started the Championship Vision campaign in 2000. We knew that the original $35 million goal was just a drop in the bucket for what we had to have here at A&M.
“For the foreseeable future, we need the mindset that we’re going to be in a money-raising business—whether it’s for academic or athletic purposes. There is just so much need that we have here. We have fallen behind. Some of our facilities and infrastructure need replacement, repair or modernization. We just have to step up and do that.”
Like Gates, Little appreciates the well-balanced education Texas A&M can offer. And athletics helps keep the Aggie spirit alive like few entities can.
“I’m so gratified that Dr. Gates has the attitude of companionship for athletics and academics,” Little added. “When you come to A&M, you get a complete education here. But you get a lot of other things that stay with you your whole life. One of those things is the opportunity to go watch a football game or basketball game or whatever else and exhibit that Aggie spirit that cannot be replicated anywhere in this world.”
