HOW A
TRADITION
WAS BORN:
AGGIE
RING DAY

Since April 2000, the celebration has grown to embrace the entire Aggie Network

BY SUE OWEN '94

CONTRIBUTOR: FINNLEY WILLMS ’27

When the Clayton W. Williams, Jr. Alumni Center opened in 1987, it became Texas A&M’s new hub for ordering Aggie Rings and picking them up. The Association of Former Students took over the Aggie Ring Program in 1969 at the request of the university’s president, Maj. Gen. Earl Rudder ’32.

2023 photo by Gabriel Herrera ’21

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2023 photo by Gabriel Herrera ’21

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Among the students who camped out early on the first Aggie Ring Day in April 2000 were, from left: Jenny (Coleman) McCumber ’00, Shelly (Brumbaugh) Alexander ’01, Laurie (Sanders) Sexton ’00, Shawana Brady ’00, Delta Jolly ’02, Melissa (Atkinson) McCurry ’00, Andrea (Cline) Grayum ’00, Brad Brown ’00, Steven Dennis ’00 and Chris Coker ’00.

Photo by The Association of Former Students

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HOW IT ALL STARTED

It's not often that the beginning of an Aggie tradition can be pinpointed. It's even more rare to know who the Aggie behind it was. But for Aggie Ring Day, both of these facts are known.

Porter Garner '79 became executive director of The Association of Former Students in January 2000, and he recalled recently that one of his goals was this: "We've got to do something to celebrate the milestone, the emotional achievement of earning an Aggie Ring."

For decades, the process of receiving your Aggie Ring had been very low-key. The news went out that a shipment of Rings had arrived, and students came by to pick them up.

Garner had observed this since he began work for The Association in 1981. And when the Clayton W. Williams, Jr. Alumni Center opened in 1987, with its two-story Flores Hall, Garner noticed that students even felt hesitation about going inside: "Sometimes they put their backpacks outside," he said. "They wiped their feet; they spoke in hushed tones."

They'd walk in, be given their Aggie Rings by Association volunteers or staff members and then go on about their day.

Allison Mallory '97 confirmed: "I showed up in a baggy T-shirt and a ball cap, and no one was here," she said while attending the Nov. 1, 2024, Aggie Ring Day to see her son, Carter '26, receive his Aggie Ring. "You just walked in with your roommate or whatever, and picked up a Ring ... I love that it's now a big deal."

Students were still camping out early for Ring Tickets in September 2004. The tradition persisted until Ring Ticket Pull went online in April 2010.

Photo by Dave Morris ’06/The Battalion

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The advertisement that ran in The Battalion for the first Aggie Ring Day — still bearing the old description of “Aggie Ring Delivery” — offered “carnival games, free food and live entertainment.”

2000 image from The Battalion

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Though Aggie Ring delivery was quiet, the students themselves were still enthusiastic. In the mid- to late 1990s, Aggie Ring anticipation was so high that some Aggies would camp out the night before at the Williams Alumni Center “with sleeping bags and radios,” according to The Battalion.

Garner wanted to honor students’ pride and achievement in a friendly, celebratory way.

When he became The Association’s associate executive director in 1993, he directed a team to work on improving the process. The students camping out were welcomed (“We’d bring them pizzas,” Garner recalled), but he also wanted to eliminate the need to camp out. “It was first come, first served,” he said. “We just didn't want every student to feel like they had to get there to get early in the line.”

A better system was devised; gradual improvements were introduced, such as balloons and photo opportunities; and not long after Garner was elected to The Association’s top position (now called president and chief executive officer), the team was ready to transform what was still advertised as “Aggie Ring Delivery Day.”

Students were still camping out early for Ring Tickets in September 2004. The tradition persisted until Ring Ticket Pull went online in April 2010.

Photo by Dave Morris ’06/The Battalion

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2000 image from The Battalion

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This ranks as one of the best days of my life, definitely one of my best experiences as an Aggie.

Matt Morello '01 at the first Aggie Ring Day in 2000

SPECIAL
THANKS TO
BALFOUR

Since 1947, Balfour has been the sole manufacturer of Aggie Rings, bringing craftsmanship and hand-worked detail to each treasured symbol. Balfour helped sponsor the creation of this story, and in 2023 they collaborated with The Association of Former Students on a documentary that traces the Aggie Ring from its beginnings to the worldwide status it holds today.

The first Aggie Ring Day featured activities and games such as “human bowling.”

Photo by The Association of Former Students

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On April 6, 2000, nearly 3,000 Aggie Ring recipients were welcomed to an afternoon celebration with free soft drinks and popcorn, carnival games like “human bowling” and a dunking booth where campus administrators, Association staff and the Aggie yell leaders got soaked.

Students came with groups of friends. Matt Morello ’01, who came with three fellow cadets to get their Aggie Rings, told Texas Aggie magazine, “This ranks as one of the best days of my life, definitely one of my best experiences as an Aggie.”

That delivery of almost 3,000 Aggie Rings was the largest in history at the time. A quarter of a century later, the size of April’s Aggie Ring Day has more than doubled, with nearly 7,000 recipients expected on April 4-5, 2025.

As Hanadi Wade ’09 opens her Aggie Ring box in April 2008, her mother, Hana Taha, captures the moment and Sara Hannie ’07, center, shares the joy.

Photo by The Association of Former Students

Jenny (Coleman) McCumber ’00 was fully prepared on the very first Aggie Ring Day with her Ring receipt and two forms of ID.

Photo by The Association of Former Students

As Hanadi Wade ’09 opens her Aggie Ring box in April 2008, her mother, Hana Taha, captures the moment and Sara Hannie ’07, center, shares the joy.

Photo by The Association of Former Students

Jenny (Coleman) McCumber ’00 was fully prepared on the very first Aggie Ring Day with her Ring receipt and two forms of ID.

Photo by The Association of Former Students

The September 2002 Aggie Ring Day featured snowcones.

Photo by Allen Pearson/The Association of Former Students

The September 2002 Aggie Ring Day featured snowcones.

Photo by Allen Pearson/The Association of Former Students

G. Rollie White Coliseum hosted Aggie Ring Days in 2008 while the Clayton W. Williams, Jr. Alumni Center was remodeled.

Photo by The Association of Former Students

The first Aggie Ring Day featured activities and games such as “human bowling.”

Photo by The Association of Former Students

The first Aggie Ring Day featured activities and games such as “human bowling.”

Photo by The Association of Former Students

For the first Aggie Ring Day in 2000, students who arrived early hung out on the patio of the Williams Alumni Center.

Photo by The Association of Former Students

“Jousting” was one of the carnival games at the first Aggie Ring Day.

Photo by The Association of Former Students

For the first Aggie Ring Day in 2000, students who arrived early hung out on the patio of the Williams Alumni Center.

Photo by The Association of Former Students

“Jousting” was one of the carnival games at the first Aggie Ring Day.

Photo by The Association of Former Students

The central area of the Williams Alumni Center, known as Flores Hall, offers an area to rest and wait during a 2002 Aggie Ring Day.

Photo by Allen Pearson/The Association of Former Students

The central area of the Williams Alumni Center, known as Flores Hall, offers an area to rest and wait during a 2002 Aggie Ring Day.

Photo by Allen Pearson/The Association of Former Students

Parsons Mounted Cavalry kicks off Aggie Ring Days with a ceremonial cannon shot.

Photo by GradImages for The Association of Former Students

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In recent years, including fall Ring Days and other deliveries, more than 15,000 new Aggie Rings are distributed annually.

On that first Aggie Ring Day in 2000, it was noted that over 90% of Aggies who qualified for the Aggie Ring ordered theirs. Today, that number is 94% among Texas A&M undergraduates.

More events were added over the years, and the crowds grew as Aggies began bringing their families to share in the experience. By 2007, Aggie Ring Day was kicking off with a yell practice and the boom of Parsons Mounted Cavalry’s cannon.

The Association had also begun partnerships to offer Ring Day T-shirts marking the occasion. Currently, C.C. Creations offers the official Aggie Ring Day shirt for each event.

Parsons Mounted Cavalry kicks off Aggie Ring Days with a ceremonial cannon shot.

Photo by GradImages for The Association of Former Students

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Since its unveiling Sept. 18, 2009, the Haynes Ring Plaza has become one of Texas A&M’s most-photographed spots. See more photos from the unveiling at tx.ag/HaynesRing.

Photo by The Association of Former Students

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Blake Watson ’21 displays his mobile Ring Ticket, an innovation that has been making Aggie Ring Day faster and smoother since The Association’s web team launched them in 2015.

Photo by Richard Badillo for The Association of Former Students

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After the Williams Alumni Center’s renovation in 2008-09, the brand-new Haynes Ring Plaza greeted guests. There, the 3-ton Haynes Ring was unveiled as part of Aggie Ring Day celebrations on Sept. 18, 2009.

And Aggies kept camping out for the fun of it, at least until April 9, 2010. That was the first Aggie Ring Day to incorporate the digital ticket process created by Association staff. Students were able to pull Ring tickets a week in advance, and they used the extra time to better plan and coordinate their Aggie Ring Day with friends and family.

Such changes helped lead to a deeply meaningful aspect of Aggie Ring Day: having someone special, such as a mentor or a family member, hand your Aggie Ring to you.

“Being able to present your child with their Ring is so awesome as a parent, and I think my parents, even though they weren’t Aggies, would have really enjoyed that experience,” said Joe Benningfield ’99 at the November 2024 Aggie Ring Day, where he presented daughter Cassidy ’25 with her Aggie Ring.

Seeing her hard work culminate in getting her Aggie Ring means “everything,” he said. “I’ve traveled the world in my work, run into people wearing Aggie Rings everywhere. There’s always that instant camaraderie and connection you have. So, I know she’s going to have that.”

Being able to present your child with their Ring is so awesome as a parent, and I think my parents, even though they weren’t Aggies, would have really enjoyed that experience.

Joe Benningfield ’99

During the early 2010s, students began dressing more formally for the occasion as crowds continued to increase.

Though the dunking booth and carnival games had been phased out, there was still live entertainment, with Aggie student musical groups and dance performances by the Aggie Wranglers.

Aggie Ring Days were also held at Texas A&M branch campuses in Galveston and Qatar and at the new Texas A&M School of Law.

Today’s Aggie Ring recipients bring an average of 10 guests with them.

GradImages for The Association of Former Students

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At a 2009 Aggie Ring Day, the Huddleston Video Wall was used to help announce which group of recipients was picking up Aggie Rings.

Photo by The Association of Former Students

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During the early 2010s, students began dressing more formally for the occasion as crowds continued to increase.

Though the dunking booth and carnival games had been phased out, there was still live entertainment, with Aggie student musical groups and dance performances by the Aggie Wranglers.

Aggie Ring Days were also held at Texas A&M branch campuses in Galveston and Qatar and at the new Texas A&M School of Law.

By 2015, the crowds had grown to between 20,000 and 50,000 at the Williams Alumni Center.

The Association estimated that students were bringing 10 or more guests on average, Kathryn Greenwade ’88 told The Battalion.

“I tell people who come to volunteer to hand out Rings that, ‘You’re going to see four hours of smiling,’” said Greenwade, an Association vice president who had been on the original team creating Aggie Ring Day.

John Sharp ’72, chancellor of The Texas A&M University System, agreed. “It is a really great event and great day,” he said in a 2016 video about the difference that Aggie Ring Day was making.

Praising Garner’s foresight, Sharp said, “He turned it into what it is today, where students and their grandparents and extended families of Aggies all come—[a] very emotional experience in getting the ring.

“I wish we’d had something like that when I was there, but I’m really glad that Porter put that into effect.”

Photo by GradImages for The Association of Former Students

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AGGIE RING
SCHOLARSHIPS

Another aspect that The Association added was the creation of Aggie Ring Scholarships, which will mark 20 years in 2025.

The first scholarship for an Aggie Ring was established in 2005 by Diana and Michael ’85 Connor. Their endowment allowed for scholarships to be given each year to members of the Singing Cadets to pay for their Aggie Rings.

More Aggie Ring Scholarships were created in 2006, 2007 and 2008. And in 2009, The Association’s Board of Directors officially created the Aggie Ring Scholarship program.

Today, some 400 to 500 Aggie Ring Scholarships are awarded each year through The Association of Former Students. (To apply, current students should fill out the annual University Scholarship Application—including answering the Aggie Ring question on the “Eligibility” section—at the appropriate time before they order their Aggie Ring.)

Photo by GradImages for The Association of Former Students

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2024 photo by Vacanva for The Association of Former Students

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Anticipation for Aggie Ring Days continued to grow.

"I was so excited. I could barely sleep last night,” Taylor Longoria ’21 told KBTX-TV at her Aggie Ring Day in 2019. “I have been waiting for this day ever since I first came to A&M as a freshman, and now it's just like one of the happiest feelings I've ever had. Definitely feel like I earned it.”

Each Aggie Ring Day, between 200 and 400 volunteers assist in delivering Aggie Rings. Some are Texas A&M faculty, staff and administrators. Many are former students.

“Ring Day has become my favorite tradition,” said volunteer Todd Riemenschneider '89, who has been helping hand out Aggie Rings since 2020.

“It is always an all-happy day for generations of Aggies, Aggie fans and even rivals,” he said. “For those hours we are handing out Rings, age, color, nationality, religion, political affiliation and other factors just do not matter.

“We are all just Aggies.”

2024 photo by Vacanva for The Association of Former Students

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For those hours we are handing out Rings, age, color, nationality, religion, political affiliation and other factors just do not matter. We are all just Aggies.

Todd Riemenschneider '89

HOW HAS
AGGIE RING DAY
CHANGED?

Aggie parents talk about the contrasts between the way they picked up their Aggie Rings and their Aggie children’s Ring Day experiences.

London Gribble ’24, left, celebrates getting her Aggie Ring in April 2023 by taking a photo in Aggie Park with her friend Rylea (Green) Edsel ’23.

Photo by GradImages for The Association of Former Students

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The newest major change to the look and feel of Aggie Ring Day was the 2022 completion of Aggie Park, envisioned and developed by The Association and funded by private donations as a gift to Texas A&M University.

With 20 acres of newly developed park space that leads up to the Haynes Ring Plaza and Williams Alumni Center, the crowds and groups attending Aggie Ring Day had dozens of new locations to gather and take photos.

2024 photo by Vacanva for The Association of Former Students

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April 2023 saw the debut of the Aggie Ring Day Marketplace in Aggie Park, offering local vendors as well as services such as cleaning and polishing Aggie Rings.

Aggie Ring Day will soon be elevated even further. The Association is designing a building for Aggie Park that will include enough event space for Aggie Ring Day to become an indoor event, no longer subject to the weather.

2024 photo by Vacanva for The Association of Former Students

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2024 photo by Vacanva for The Association of Former Students

During the state of Texas’ COVID lockdown in 2020, Association staff shifted gears quickly to mail over 6,500 Aggie Rings to their recipients.

Photo by The Association of Former Students

2024 photo by Vacanva for The Association of Former Students

During the state of Texas’ COVID lockdown in 2020, Association staff shifted gears quickly to mail over 6,500 Aggie Rings to their recipients.

Photo by The Association of Former Students

The opening of Aggie Park in 2022 offered more space for Aggie Ring Day recipients and their guests to celebrate and relax.

Photo by The Association of Former Students

The opening of Aggie Park in 2022 offered more space for Aggie Ring Day recipients and their guests to celebrate and relax.

Photo by The Association of Former Students

Aggie Ring Day has been held more than once in Kyle Field’s Hall of Champions, including this 2021 event. Such moves have usually been because heavy thunderstorms and lightning are predicted.

Photo by The Association of Former Students

Since the Haynes Ring Plaza’s opening in 2009, it has hosted many joyous Aggie Ring Days.

2018 photo by The Association of Former Students

Since the Haynes Ring Plaza’s opening in 2009, it has hosted many joyous Aggie Ring Days.

2018 photo by The Association of Former Students

When Aggie Rings were shipped to students’ homes in April 2020, recipients found their own ways to celebrate. Josue Baltierrez ’21, a manufacturing and mechanical engineering technology major, visited campus to take a few Aggie Ring photos to send to his family. He brought along the banner that Association staff packed into each box, hoping to help make the day special for recipients.

Photo courtesy of Josue Baltierrez ’21

A familiar Aggie Ring Day sight: Behind the long tables filled with Aggie Ring boxes, dozens of volunteers spend many happy hours presenting recipients with their Aggie gold.

Photo by The Association of Former Students

Photo courtesy of Josue Baltierrez ’21

A familiar Aggie Ring Day sight: Behind the long tables filled with Aggie Ring boxes, dozens of volunteers spend many happy hours presenting recipients with their Aggie gold.

Photo by The Association of Former Students

For many years, the Aggie Wranglers dance team provided entertainment for the crowds at Aggie Ring Days.

2009 photo by Texas A&M Division of Marketing & Communications

For many years, the Aggie Wranglers dance team provided entertainment for the crowds at Aggie Ring Days.

2009 photo by Texas A&M Division of Marketing & Communications

Aggie Park and Kyle Field make a terrific backdrop as Aggies take photos with friends and family to remember Aggie Ring Day.

Photo by GradImages for The Association of Former Students

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For Ernie Mendoza ’26, even though Aggie Ring Day has become a major event, it’s still very personal.

“I think everyone has their own experience with Aggie Ring Day, whether it’s their family or friends coming, they get their Ring and then come out here and take pictures,” he said at the November 2024 Ring Day, where he came to watch a friend getting his Aggie Ring.

“It’s a cool experience to share with another Aggie. Hopefully one day for me—I don’t have mine yet—but that’ll be the same, when my friends come to see me.”

YOUR SUPPORT MAKES IT POSSIBLE

Thanks to annual gifts from donors like you, The Association of Former Students organizes Aggie Ring Day and pays costs of more than $75,000 to hold these events that bring 35,000 to 65,000 members of the Aggie Network together in celebration.

Each year, The Association’s Aggie Ring Program conducts academic audits to help 15,000 Aggies order their Rings and ensure all qualifications are met. The Association protects the integrity of the Aggie Ring in numerous ways, including working collaboratively with Texas A&M on an almost daily basis to respond to violations of federal trademark protections on the design of the Aggie Ring.

Ring Program staff members also work year-round to reunite lost Aggie Rings with their owners and to process over 3,000 Aggie Ring repairs and 1,000 replacements annually.

The Association also manages the Aggie Ring Scholarship program, which includes fundraising to create more scholarships, honoring the generosity of scholarship donors and connecting them with their scholarship recipients.

$75,000

Paid to support Aggie Ring Day events

35,000-65,000

Members of the Aggie Network brought together

15,000

Aggies helped ordering their Rings

3,000

Aggie Rings repaired

1,000

Aggie Rings replaced

Anna Smith '25 is all smiles after receiving her Aggie Ring in April 2024.

Photo by Vacanva for The Association of Former Students

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HOW A TRADITIONWAS BORN:AGGIERING DAY

Porter Garner '79

HOW IT ALL STARTED

It's not often that the beginning of an Aggie tradition can be pinpointed. It's even more rare to know who the Aggie behind it was. But for Aggie Ring Day, both of these facts are known.

Porter Garner '79

SPECIALTHANKS TOBALFOUR

AGGIE RING SCHOLARSHIPS

HOW HASAGGIE RING DAYCHANGED?

YOUR SUPPORT MAKES IT POSSIBLE

$75,000

35,000-65,000

15,000

3,000

1,000

Make your gift to help The Association of Former Students uphold the tradition of the Aggie Ring and Aggie Ring Day.

HOW A
TRADITION
WAS BORN:
AGGIE
RING DAY

SPECIAL
THANKS TO
BALFOUR

AGGIE RING
SCHOLARSHIPS

HOW HAS
AGGIE RING DAY
CHANGED?