Texas A&M AD Bill Byrne Won't Serve Past Contract, President R. Bowen Loftin Says

COLLEGE STATION, TX - SEPTEMBER 26: Athletic director Bill Byrne of the Texas A&M Aggies speaks prior to a press conference for Texas A&M accepting an invitation to join the Southeastern Conference on September 26, 2011 in College Station, Texas. (Photo by Aaron M. Sprecher/Getty Images)

Bill Byrne, who has headed Texas A&M's athletics department since 2003, has a year and a half left before his time will be up in College Station.

The end of Texas A&M AD Bill Byrne's time isn't exactly over, but it is limited: Texas A&M President R. Bowen Loftin said today Byrne, who has been in charge since 2003, won't serve after the end of his contract in about 13 months. Chuck Carlton of the Dallas Morning News broke the story:

Texas A&M president R. Bowen Loftin said today that AD Bill Byrne will not serve past current contract that expires Aug. 31, 2013.

— Chuck Carlton (@ChuckCarltonDMN) April 20, 2012

Aggies football hasn't yet won a conference championship under Byrne. And they've only won their most recent bowl game, the 2011 Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas, which happened after Byrne's firing of one of the two coaches he hired, Mike Sherman. Byrne's firing of Sherman was apparently his death knell, as he has been in talks about his role going forward with the university since.

However, Byrne was in charge for some important events in Aggies history: first of all, Byrne was the AD as the school decided to leave the Big 12 for the SEC. And College Station saw unprecedented on-court success. The men's basketball team became relevant under Billy Gillispie and Mark Turgeon, going to six straight NCAA Tournaments after only six trips in school history beforehand. And the women's team went from a total of two tournament appearances to a constant contender under Byrne hire Gary Blair, including a national championship in 2011.