12th Man Slogan Removed from Century Link Field – Back to Texas A&M

In what some are saying is the first step towards possibly NOT paying Texas A&M what's expected to be an incredible amount of money, The Seattle Seahawks have removed a distinctive feature from Century Link Field.

For a number of years since the stadium opened the phrase "Home Of the 12th. Man" was emblazoned on the inside and elsewhere throughout the facility.

But as of the second week of August, it's gone, now replaced by "Home Of The 12's." Since 1922, Texas A&M has employed the 12th Man moniker in honor of E. King Gill. He was a former football player who was called down from the press box during a game with nationally top ranked Centre College. The Aggies depth was wearing down, and while Gill didn't actually make it into the game, the university was captivated by the idea that Gill was ready in uniform to play if called upon.

Thus, the 12th. man tradition was born. In the 1980's former coach Jackie Sherrill started auditioning students for a role on the Aggie kick off team. It was composed entirely of students who tried out. They ended up holding opponents to the lowest kick return average in the former Southwest Conference. R.C. Slocum, who coached later, changed that to allowing one student representative on special teams.

The school student cheering section are officially known as the "12th Man" at Kyle Field, the home of the Aggies.

The Seahawks had been using informal versions of the 12th Man slogan for a number of years, but since 2006 had been paying the university after A&M sued the team. The Seahawks had taken the 12th Man concept way beyond any other team that had used it besides A&M, and that's why they ended up in court. Much of it was because the team was profiting from memorabilia and merchandise sales including the 12th. Man.

 The university does hold the copyrights to the phrase "12th Man."  The current agreement signed in 2006 ends next year, and given the Hawks success, including winning a Super Bowl, it's expected A&M will be asking for millions of dollars if not more for continued use of the phrase.