Utah State football: USU gets most bang for athletic buck

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Before Utah State even took the field at Texas A&M's historic Kyle Field, the Aggies were already winners — in the office, not necessarily on the field.

Texas A&M's Laboratory for the Study of Intercollegiate Athletics completed a study recently in which the budgets for NCAA Division I athletic departments were contrasted with performance on the fields and courts.

Utah State was awarded the Excellence in Management Cup as the most efficient department in the nation. The award measures and awards schools that win the most conference and national championships while operating in a cost-effective manor. The formula calculates total department spending, the number of sports played, the number of championships won and sorts things out.

Utah State, with a minuscule budget compared to those of schools in the SEC, Pac-10 and other power conferences, was determined to provide the best bang for the buck.

LONE STAR HOMECOMING: Eight Texas natives were on the sideline at Kyle Field wearing an Aggie uniform — a Utah State Aggie uniform.

USU has 13 Texas natives on the roster, but only eight made the travel roster.

Among them were seven from the greater Dallas/Fort Worth area and one (Xavier Bowman) from Houston, just a short drive away from College Station.

"I was given an opportunity here, so I wouldn't say it was their loss or anything," Bowman, a senior wide receiver, said. "I'm thankful that I'm at Utah State, and I'm glad to be playing this game close to home, because being up in this region of the country I don't get to play too many games in Texas."

Playing in front of family and friends is a rare treat for the Texans on the USU roster.

"It's bigger for us Texas kids," said sophomore linebacker Jacob Actkinson. "I've been looking forward to this game ever since I signed back here in 2006. It's nice to be able to go back home and play in front of friends and family, and I know a lot of guys on our team have friends and family coming."

CHASING A RECORD: Utah State quarterback Diondre Borel has always been known as an elusive runner who can break free at any moment.

He's not the only run-first quarterback has used, though.

Former Aggie Leon Jackson III spent nearly three years as the starting quarterback at USU and, not surprisingly, is the school's all-time leading rusher as a quarterback — for another game or two.