The Battalion: January 18, 2018 by The Battalion

Cassie Stricker — THE BATTALION

A lawsuit filed by 15 Aggie donors against the 12th Man Foundation alleges that promises made when they made their contributions are not being upheld following Kyle Field renovations.

12th Man Foundation sued for breach of contract A&M donors file class-action lawsuit claiming promises made about seats, parking were broken By Ryan Brown @ryanpbrown03 A group of former students has filed a class-action lawsuit against the 12th Man Foundation in Newton County claiming a breach of contract. The suit, filed on Dec. 28, 2017, argues the donors are no longer receiving the gameday parking and seating accommodations they were promised when they made their contributions. Fifteen donors filed the suit, spearheaded by plaintiff Nathan

Hines, Class of 1980, and lists 28 foundation trustees as defendants. The plaintiffs assert that from the late 1970s through the mid-1990s, the foundation promised the donors that their contributions entitled them to the best available parking and seating locations. These agreements were considered “handshake deals” until the early 1990s, when the foundation began putting these new agreements in writing. The plaintiffs allege the foundation has denied the privileges promised to them years ago. The donors’ main issues with the foundation’s actions are outlined in the lawsuit. “The foundation has breached, and continues to breach, its agreements with the Endowment Owners by no longer providing the ‘best available’ home and away game seat locations, tickets and best available home game-day parking locations,” the suit said. The donors are being represented by Bill Cobb of Cobb &

First conference victory

Counsel, Scott McQuarrie of the McQuarrie Law Office and Blair Bisbey of Seale, Stover & Bisbey. On Jan. 2, Cobb & Counsel released a statement describing their clients’ dilemma with the foundation. “The 12th Man Foundation concluded that reselling parking and renovating Kyle Field would be ‘an opportunity to earn more revenue,’” the statement said. “Choosing money over integrity, the 12th Man Foundation reneged on several of its promises and resold the Permanently Endowed Scholarship owners’ parking and seat locations to the highest bidders.” Following a similar suit filed in March 2015, Mark Riordan, then vice president of marketing and communications for the foundation, told the AP the foundation was making attempts to further accommodate the desires of endowment donors. LAWSUIT ON PG. 2

Traveling to Tuscaloosa

Cassie Stricker — THE BATTALION

Sophomore forward Robert Williams made the 110th block of his career Tuesday night.

Cassie Stricker — THE BATTALION

Freshman guard Chennedy Carter leads her team with 96 assists and 36 steals.

Men’s basketball breaks losing streak, defeating SEC opponent Ole Miss

Women’s basketball looks to overcome SEC loss with a win over Alabama

By Alex Miller @ AlexMill20

By Ryan MacDonald @ Ryan_MacDonald2

It seemed as if another miraculous three-pointer would hinder Texas A&M from earning its first SEC win of the season. But Ole Miss guard Breein Tyree’s potential game-winning basket circled out of the rim at the buzzer and the Aggies snapped a five-game losing streak, beating the Rebels 71-69 at Reed Arena Tuesday night. Both A&M head coach Billy Kennedy and forward Robert Williams said the team had been hoping for a win the past few days

— their wishes were finally answered. “We’ve been praying for a breakthrough, using that word the past couple of days,” Kennedy said. “You’ve got to get a break and I believe it was going to go out because we’ve had too many things go wrong.” After coming out on the losing end of two one-point losses in the past two weeks, center Tyler Davis was pleased to come away M. BASKETBALL ON PG. 4

The Aggies enter the game after a narrow overtime loss to Georgia on Sunday, 92-84. The maroon and white got off to a slow start in the game, netting just 23 percent (4-of-17) from the field in the first quarter. The Aggies found their rhythm offensively, scoring 42 points in the second half and forcing overtime. However, Georgia’s offense wore the Aggie defense down, outscoring them 19 to 11 in the overtime period and winning the game.

A&M head coach Gary Blair attributes the loss to his team’s inability to limit Georgia’s three best players: Caliya Robinson, Mackenzie Engram and Gabby Connally, who had 19, 23 and 37 points, respectively. “Their big three players had 78 points,” Blair said. “My three are averaging 52 [points per game], they had 59 and it still wasn’t enough. We’ve got to do such a better job

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LAWSUITCONTINUED “The seat holders have been given the ability to select seats before anybody else and in an area that is not going to cost them any more money,” Riordan told the AP. In 2004, an executive committee was created by the foundation in order to increase fundraising and explore increased revenue opportunities. The lawsuit describes the initial dispute between the donors and the committee that represented the foundation. “[The committee] focused initially on parking, and realized that it could make more money reselling parking locations near Kyle Field on game days,” the suit said. “From that point forward, the foundation began to chip away at the benefits it had promised to the Endowment Owners.” A statement from the executive committee in 2004 identified parking at Kyle Field as a valuable game-day commodity; making it important to the foundation as a fundraiser. The suing parties attempted to resolve their issues with the foundation without legal action; However, they were unsuccessful after their efforts were ignored, according to McQuarrie and Cobb, who described the plaintiffs’ actions in the released statement. “If the 12th Man Foundation just acted with integrity, keeping its promises, this lawsuit wouldn’t have been necessary,” Cobb said. Since 2011, more than a dozen lawsuits have been filed against the 12th Man Foundation for similar reasons, according to the Houston Chronicle. Cobb & Counsel related the case to the Aggie core values in a series of answers to frequently asked questions regarding the case. “At the intersection of money and morality, a strong moral compass is required,” Cobb & Counsel said in the FAQ. “The foundation’s refusal to honor promises to faithful Aggies is wrong and contrary to Aggie core values.” The 12th Man Foundation was not available to speak with Battalion reporters regarding the case.

What did you do on your extra day off?

“I’m thinking about going to the Rec because I’m hoping there’s not going to be a lot of people there. I’m not even halfway there yet, but I’m already regretting my decision.” Candace Tu , finance freshman

“I’m just walking around trying to find some friends to hang out with on a cold day like this. There’s not many people out though.” Jonathan Chu , engineering freshman

“I actually think I have a head cold or it’s from allergies, because I’m from Austin so cedar and mold is very high right now. So I’m just kind of coming down from that and I thought Beutel was open, but it’s wasn’t so I was like, ‘Well let me go get some pizza.’” Kirida McDaniels , engineering freshman

“I have a five page essay that’s due, so I’m just doing that. I was supposed to do it over the break, but that didn’t work out.” Karthik Rao, physics freshman

“I’m finishing my fundamentals of chemistry module because that’s not due for another week or so, but I want to get it done before I start classes. And reading my textbooks that I have to read.” James Anderson , renewable natural resources freshman

Compiled by Luke Henkhaus and Megan Rodriguez

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The Battalion | 1.18.18

The break in brief: What you might have missed during the holidays As 2017 came to a close and 2018 began, many events made headlines all over the world. National news, Fightin’ Texas Aggie football and Hollywood hits kept the winter break busy. Here are the stories you should know.

Compiled by Luke Henkhaus, Megan Rodriguez, Taylor Fennell and Angel Franco NEWS

The FCC repeals net neutrality The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to repeal net neutrality on Dec. 14, 2017. The change will allow broadband providers to discriminate between different kinds of data and charge for priority access to certain websites. While this vote will take weeks to make a difference in people’s everyday lives, the FCC was immediately countered with pushback and various organizations planning to file lawsuits.

U.S. and North Korea tensions rise Tensions have escalated between the United States and North Korea, as Kim Jong Un doubles down on efforts to develop his nuclear arsenal. Early into the new year, the North Korean leader became the target of further public response from U.S. President Donald Trump, whose Jan. 2 tweet described a “much bigger and more powerful” nuclear button on his desk, which sparked a wave of criticism and online jokes of the president’s approach to the issue.

GOP passes tax reform The Republican party’s sweeping tax reform bill was passed Dec. 18 after a lengthy period of negotiation and revision. Major cuts to the corporate tax rate and temporary lowering of individual tax rates were hailed by top Republicans as a victory for the U.S. economy, while Democratic leaders criticized the bill of catering to the wealthy while increasing the federal debt.

SPORTS

Meredith Seaver — THE BATTALION

A&M goes 7-6 overall following Belk Bowl loss The Aggies fell to Wake Forest 55-52 during the Belk Bowl on Dec. 29 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Led by interim head coach Jeff Banks, A&M saw stand out performances from redshirt freshman quarterback Nick Starkel and junior receiver Christian Kirk, who finished the game despite an apparent leg injury in the third quarter. In the end, it wasn’t enough to nail down the win, as Wake Forest plowed through the A&M defense for a final total of 646 yards.

Sam MacDonald — THE CRIMSON WHITE

A dramatic end to the college football season When SEC west rival Alabama trailed Georgia to start the second half of the College Football National Championship game, Bama head coach Nick Saban made the decision to bench his starter Jalen Hurts for true freshman Tau Tagovailoa. In overtime, down by three points, Tagovailoa found DeVonta Smith for the 41-yard walk-off touchdown to beat Georgia 26-23, giving Saban his sixth national championship, tying A&M and Alabama legendary coach Bear Bryant.

LIFE&ARTS

New movies making a splash In the political thriller “The Post,” Katharine Graham (Meryl Streep) and Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) work together to expose the shocking Pentagon Papers. The movie sheds light on the journalists who risked everything to uncover the truth. “The Greatest Showman” is a star-studded musical that loosely tells the story of P.T. Barnum’s circus of “freaks.” The voices of Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron and Zendaya appear throughout the movie, resulting in a spectacular soundtrack.

Stars speak out at Golden Globes Time’s up. That’s what Hollywood’s hottest stars were saying at this year’s Golden Globes event dressed in black attire and demanding equality. Oprah stole the night when she became the first black woman to win the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award and made an uplifting speech to the oppressed women who have been silenced by powerful abusers. As fans reacted, “#Oprah2020” quickly began trending on Twitter.

Music Aggies should be streaming After months of musical silence, Troye Sivan dropped a new single, “My My My!” The dance-pop song is upbeat and gives off serious ‘90s vibes. In her self-titled debut album as a solo artist, Camila Cabello provides a mix of confessional piano ballads and Latin-inspired pop beats. In another ‘90s-inspired single, Cardi B joined forces with Bruno Mars for a remix of his 2016 song, “Finesse.” Meredith Seaver, Sam MacDonald and Creative Commons

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THE BATTALION is published Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays during the 2018 spring semester and Tuesday and Thursday during the summer session (except University holidays and exam periods) at Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843. Offices are in Suite L400 of the Memorial Student Center. News: The Battalion news department is managed by students at Texas A&M University in Student Media, a unit of the Division of Student Affairs. Newsroom phone: 979-845-3315; E-mail: editor@thebatt.com; website: http://www.thebatt.com. Advertising: Publication of advertising does not imply sponsorship or endorsement by The Battalion. For campus, local, and national display advertising call 979-845-2687. For classified advertising, call 979-845-0569. Office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Email: battads@thebatt.com. Subscriptions: A part of the University Advancement Fee entitles each Texas A&M student to pick up a single copy of The Battalion. First copy free, additional copies $1.

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M. BASKETBALL CONTINUED

Cassie Stricker — THE BATTALION

Junior center Tyler Davis scored 20 points against the Ole Miss Rebels.

W. BASKETBALL CONTINUED on defense that we’re not doing right now.” The biggest thing the Aggies will look to adjust is the speed of their defensive rotations, as the Aggies were slow to close out Georgia, which led to open shots on the perimeter. “We didn’t execute a lot of things on defense, we missed a lot of our rotations,” junior forward Anriel Howard said. “We forced a few of our shots. Defense is more so what we have to work on for sure, because we weren’t rotating and gambling as a team as well as we should have.” A&M will have little room for error defensively, as Alabama boasts strong guard play from Hannah Cook and Shaquera Wade who are averaging 13.8 and 9.8 points per game, respectively. Alabama also comes into the game winning three of their last four SEC games, proving they are not a team the Aggies can overlook. “They know how to score, they’ve got some really good guards and some posts that can finish at the rim,” Howard said. “It’s going to be a matter of us wanting to win and having the desire to play hard.” An area of emphasis for A&M this week has been passing. The Aggies rank fourth in

the SEC in points per game but are eighth in the SEC in assists. In order to be more efficient on offense, Blair points out that his team needs to be more patient and wait for a better opportunity. “We’re shooting the ball with 15 seconds to go on the shot clock too many times, when we need to work the ball around a little more,” Blair said. “We need to go from a shot to a good shot to a great shot, and that just takes a little patience.” Sunday’s game was the Aggies’ second straight overtime game. Senior Khaalia Hillsman, who played all 45 minutes against Georgia, said the Aggies will be fresh coming into tonight’s game. “Being tired is just a mindset,” Hillsman said. “If you think about how tired you are, you’re going to get more tired. Yesterday we came in, got some recovery and we feel good. It helped our mentality.” Added to the stakes in tonight’s game is the fact that Blair considers it to be a “friendly rivalry game” as Alabama head coach Kristy Curry used to be an assistant coach at A&M and her husband, Kelly Curry, now an assistant coach at Alabama, is an A&M graduate. The Aggies game against Alabama will be televised on SEC Network+. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.

with a win in a tight game. Davis hit the game-winning shot on a putback layup with 22.4 seconds to go. “Fighting like that and then coming out on top is always good,” Davis said. “As long as we keep playing hard and our effort is great every play, we have a chance to win close games.” Offensively, the Aggies had polar opposite performances in the second half. In the first 10 minutes, A&M was colder than the weather in College Station, going 2-of-12 (16.7 percent). After a timeout was called with 9:58 to go, the Aggies began to solve the puzzle and finished the game 10-of-17 (58.8 percent) from the field. A&M also had four offensive rebounds in that stretch that were converted into eight second chance points. “We came out at the start of the second half and started getting loose again,” Kennedy said. “We had some turnovers, some missed opportunities to score and we got sloppy. I think down the stretch, we did a

Jesse Everett — THE BATTALION

Junior forward Anriel Howard has contributed 215 points to the Aggies during the 2017-2018 season.

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better job of executing and getting the ball in the paint, whether it was off the drive or Tyler and Rob did a good job getting on the glass.” Leading the charge down the stretch were the Aggie big men Davis and Williams. Davis recorded his sixth double-double of the season with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Williams had 18 of his own, with 12 coming on six dunks. “I thought Williams in the second half was really good,” Kennedy said. “He was all around the rim and he was going to the glass on both ends of the floor and blocking shots. In the first half, we couldn’t get him going.” With the monkey off his back, A&M can focus on turning its first league win into more as the Aggies host Missouri on Saturday at 3 p.m. “We’re all relieved,” Kennedy said. “As long as we can have all of our guys and stay healthy. We had some stretches where we’re really good and we’ve got to get back to making that more consistent.”

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Come Purchase A

2017 AGGIELAND YEARBOOK Thursday, January 18th and Friday, January 19th Table located in the12th Man Hall of the MSC The 2017 Aggieland Yearbook is a photojournalistic record of the 2016-2017 school year. The 115th edition of Texas A&M’s Official Yearbook.

$65.00 + Tax If you purchase a 2017 Aggieland during these two days, you can purchase previous Aggielands for a flat rate of $20 dollars.

Editor’s note: The Battalion will publish print editions every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday during the Spring 2018 semester.

Don’t forget to preorder your copy of the 2018 Aggieland yearbook, a photojournalistic record of the 2017-2018 school year. The 116th edition of Texas A&M’s official yearbook. Distribution will be the Fall 2018. Go online to aggieland.tamu.edu or call 979-845-2613 to make your purchase.

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