Texas A&M head football coach Mike Elko may have ventured into financially sensitive territory when he went after the Aggies’ largest fan site.
During postgame remarks after Texas A&M’s 27-6 loss Saturday to then No. 14 Missouri, Elko took aim at the negative posters on TexAgs.com, ridiculing the website as “Billy’s cesspool” in a pointed reference to its co-owner and editor-in-chief Billy Liucci.
Elko later apologized for the remarks, saying he regretted his response to a press conference question “in the heat of the moment”, while noting his “tremendous relationship with Billy”.
But Elko’s personal connection to Liucci is only part of the story. Liucci’s company, Maroon & White LP, which publishes TexAgs and operates several related businesses, also maintains a substantial financial relationship with Texas A&M’s primary athletic resource development vehicle, the 12th Man Foundation.
According to its latest tax filings, the 12th Man Foundation paid Maroon & White LP $6.28 million in fiscal year 2025 for “external marketing services.” This made Maroon & White the 12th highest paid independent contractor in history.
The nature and scope of these services are unclear. Liucci and a spokesperson for 12th Man did not respond to emails seeking comment and clarification.
The 12th Man Foundation, a legally separate nonprofit, is the primary fundraising arm and official ticket provider of Texas A&M Athletics, transferring more than $72 million to the school in FY25 to pay for “scholarships, programs and facilities.” The organization also provided $19.4 million in unrestricted donor funds to cover the upfront buyout payment owed to former head football coach Jimbo Fisher, Elko’s predecessor and former boss.
Maroon & White LP’s relationship with the 12th Man Foundation is long-standing, although the scale of payments appears to have increased in recent times. In FY24, the foundation reported paying $1.12 million to the publishing platform. The relationship dates back to at least 2011, when the parties announced a marketing agreement offering shared benefits to donors to the 12th Man Foundation and TexAgs premium subscribers.
TexAgsTies to the university’s athletic ecosystem also extend to the world of name, image and likeness. TexAgs has partnered with Texas Aggies United, the official NIL partner of Texas A&M, to provide “support and services in content production, technology, administration, marketing and athlete activation.” Although there is no known direct financial partnership between the university and TexAgsin 2021, the website paid $10,000 for exclusive media access to two Aggies football players. This would be the first NIL media access agreement of its kind made public.
TexAgsThe media kit claims monthly web traffic of 400,000 unique visitors and 32 million page views. In 2008, the website merged with a print newsletter, Maroon & White Report, which Liucci was editing at the time. According to the site’s header, the company, including its video production arm, Texas FilmWorks, employs more than 40 people.
Liucci initially reacted to Elko’s remarks with anger. In a TexAgs In the interview before the coach walked back his comments, Liucci admitted to being “pissed off for about an hour.”
He added: “When you lose the (Missouri) game like A&M, and when the season is going the way it has, and it’s an answer in a press conference and you don’t have time to have a deep, nuanced conversation to really, really explain what you mean and what’s in your heart…you run a very high risk of alienating the people who fill the stadium.”
Liucci later revealed on Barstool Sports’ Wake Up Bar Stool podcast that it was former Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel who helped calm him down.
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