Culture & Society

Texas A&M License Plates: The Aggies Are CLEV R

Texas Aggies have never been timid about showing their love for their school, and many drive the message home in a literal way – by using a personalized license plate.
By Keith Randall, Texas A&M Marketing & Communications September 19, 2007

license plates
Texas A&M’s many traditions can be evidenced by WHOOP, MAROON, HLABLU, HOWDY, FISH, BONFYR and HUMPIT.

(Houston Chronicle)

Texas Aggies have never been timid about showing their love for their school, and many drive the message home in a literal way – by using a personalized license plate. In the process, they’ve raised millions of dollars for hundreds of Aggie scholarships.

Its easy to tell where administrator Clifton Griffin, seen in the photo, earned his degree.

When it comes to forming ways to show their loyalty, admiration and love for their alma mater, all in six or less letters or numbers, many Aggies aren’t just smart, they are very clever — or in license lingo, CLEVER. Sometimes they have to be, especially when an early-bird Aggie got first crack at the obvious spelling of a much-desired word.

For example, when the obvious No.1 choice of AGGIE was already taken, some have resorted to AGGE, AGGY, AGEE, and of course, AGS.

Current and previous plate owners can be remarkably resourceful.  So how many ways are there to give the traditional “thumbs up” symbol of a happy Ag? Try GIGEM, GIGEMM, GIGGUM, GIGM, GYGEM or even GIGME.

Texas A&M’s many traditions can be evidenced by WHOOP, MAROON, HLABLU, HOWDY, FISH, BONFYR and HUMPIT.

The ever-present Aggie family tree can be seen in the form of AGDAD, AGMOM, AGIMOM, AGSIS, AGGIRL, TAMUM and even AGNANA.

Some Aggies are proud of their chosen occupations, such as AGLAWR, AGYJDG, AGPHD, ASEAG, LNDSCP and AGFLYR. Presumably, AGBOSS tells them how to do it, and he learned it by HRDWRK.

Those familiar with a microscope include AGVET, AGDVM, ZOOMED, H20ENG, AGDOC and his sibling, AGIDOC.

Senior citizen Aggies have their say in the form of OLDAG, OLAG, OLARMY and OLAGGY, and that extra man offering to help the football team is revealed by 12MAN and his better half, 12WMAN.

Vanity shows its face in PRDAG, 02BNAG, and STUDAG, and someone needs to show HUGEAG and BIGAG to the buffet line while THINAG is probably munching a carrot.

If it’s class reunion time, better consult TXAG63,  87GRAD, 53TXAG, 72AG, 81TAMU, 94GIGM, 95TXAG and 94ALUM, to name just a few.

For your marching musical pleasure, there are AGBAND, AGIBAN, AGBASS, CORPS and KADET, while AGSWIN is hoping for more Ag victories.

Fellow Aggies will no doubt wave to AGSRUS, AGSALL, AGSROK and AGSRWE who may be riding in an AGTRUK or AGVAN.

The all-encompassing, never ending friendly rivalry with arch-rival University of Texas is displayed by TUHATR, TUWHO, PUTU and YTU, while a successful Orangeblood convert proudly displays TUX4AM.

And no matter what, don’t forget to honk if you spot IBNAGY.

Some, like oceanography professor Bill Byrant in the photo, keep it simple and just use their names.

Texas A&M has led all other schools in Texas in sales of personalized plates, according to officials with the Texas Department of Transportation. The Aggies were the first school to top $1 million in sales of the plates, and since they first became available in 1990, Texas A&M plate holders have purchased about $2.5 million of the personalized plates, by far the most of any university and more than twice the amount of the second- and third-place universities combined.

Of the $30 personalized plate fee, $22 goes to the university in the form of student scholarships, meaning about 300 students receive scholarship aid from the sale of the personalized plates.

That’s good news for all in Aggieland, or to phrase it in plate terms, it means lots of AGBUCS for Aggie students.

Media contact: tamunews@tamu.edu.

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