TexAgs.com was launched in 1998 by Peter Kuo (Class of ‘92). He was one of many Aggies who congregated online at the website GoBig12.com (R.I.P.), but when the site was rumored to be taken over by the Austin American-Statesman, Kuo saw a need to provide an alternative home for Aggies. He didn’t have any web programming experience, so he bought a copy of HTML for Dummies and got to work. After getting a functional site up and running, all he needed was a name. He found the perfect one displayed on his license plate: “Tex Ags.”
With the help of community donations and t-shirt sales, Kuo was able to launch the site and keep it running until signing on with an advertising partner. Once TexAgs began turning a profit, he paid back all the donations he had received, many for twice the amount of the original gift.
As TexAgs grew, Kuo turned down buyout offers from sites like Rivals.com and Fox Sports; however, in 1999, fellow Aggie graduate Brandon Jones (’95) and partners bought a large share of the site and took over as President & CEO, a position he still holds today.
In 2002, Jones and his business partner Josh Oelze (‘99) partnered with recruiting insider Billy Liucci (’98) and former A&M tight end Hunter Goodwin (’96) to launch a subscription service called TexAgs Premium.
Over the next several years, the TexAgs community grew in popularity and our forums became the online destination for Aggies wanting to discuss anything and everything — from football and recruiting to academics, hunting, politics, real estate and Aggieland itself, just to name a few. It was during this period that a couple TexAgs users themselves became infamous. In January 2006, aggiegrant06 famously broke the news that OU quarterback Rhett Bomar was receiving payments from a car dealership in Norman. Later that same year, former A&M president Robert Gates, who was a frequent visitor and poster on our forums, broke cover as ranger65 before heading off to become Secretary of Defense.
Traffic and subscriptions both steadily increased from 2002-2010, but really took off when Texas A&M began eyeing a move to the SEC in 2011 and became the center of the college sports universe. The two-year ordeal became the perfect storm of controversy and Aggie fandom, and it propelled TexAgs to what it has become today — a community of over 200,000 users, 12,000 subscribers, and a company employing more than 35 staff members.
TexAgs Radio — a three-hour show hosted daily by Gabe Bock ('03) on 1150 AM — was launched in 2011, and two years later, TexAgs moved into a new office located in the shadow of Kyle Field, complete with a new radio studio and space to host game day tailgates (come join us for one in the Fall!)
In 2014, Jones put together a video production group and produced the feature film SEC Ready, a documentary detailing A&M’s dramatic journey into the SEC. The award-winning group is now led by both Jones and Andrew Kilzer (’07) and operates under the name Texas FilmWorks.
In 2016, Jones and Oelze began licensing the TexAgs software platform under the name F5 Sports. As of 2019, F5 has launched 14 sites in other collegiate markets across the country — Oregon, Notre Dame, Baylor, Nebraska, USC, Georgia, and Florida to name a few.
While the company continues to grow and expand, the heart and soul of TexAgs remains our community. There are no more passionate, loyal, and rabid fans in the entire country than those on TexAgs.com. We’re thankful that we get to host such a vibrant community of Aggies, sincerely appreciate everyone who has been a part of it over the years, and — if you haven’t already — hope you’ll join us as well!
Thanks and Gig ‘em 👍
