The Texas A&M athletics department, like most Americans, has lived well beyond its means. Well, those days are over, at least for the time being.

A struggling economy has everyone pinching pennies, and A&M will be under even more scrutiny because of a $16 million loan that former president Bob Gates gave athletics director Bill Byrne four years ago coming to light recently. The money, for the most part, has been spent. Now it's time to live within the budget and collect from where Byrne saw fit to invest, which was heavily in every sport.

Gates and Byrne came up with a sound plan four years ago. Hire good coaches and build first-class venues, which would attract the best talent and result in victories. That would lead to national exposure, corporate support, donations and more ticket sales. The Aggies, with one of the nation's largest fan bases, eventually would become more than self-supporting, taking their place alongside elite programs like Ohio State and Texas.

Gates and Byrne knew the Aggies needed a stimulus package to get things jump-started. Wally Groff, the money man at A&M for decades before Byrne arrived, had taken the first steps toward bringing the athletic department into the 21st century. The Zone, Reed Arena, the Student Rec Center and the Mitchell Tennis Center were facilities opened under Groff's watch. Byrne kept adding. Traditions Club, the Cox-McFerrin Center for Aggie Basketball, the Gilliam Indoor Track Facility and the indoor football facility all opened under Byrne. He also made some good hires, especially basketball coaches Gary Blair and Billy Gillispie, along with track coach Pat Henry.

The Aggies also started winning in almost everything. A&M finished a school-best 12th last year in the Learfield Sports Directors' Cup (formerly the Sears Cup). That all-around improvement also showed up in the Lone Star Showdown competition. The Aggies beat the Longhorns last year for the first time and tied them this year, allowing A&M to retain the trophy.

Despite all that success, in a recent Internet poll taken by The Eagle, a fifth of more than 2,000 responders gave the Byrne regime a D or F grade. Why? A big reason is the football program.

The Aggies are 36-37 in Byrne's six years. During the same time, Texas is 66-11 with five bowl victories, including a national championship in 2005. Oklahoma is 66-15, playing for the national championship twice.

It's not just that the Aggies aren't winning in football. Byrne gave a raise and extension to former head coach Dennis Franchione, who eventually received a buyout of $4.4 million after the mess of his secret e-mail newsletter and the inability to win. That buyout again will come under scrutiny because of the $16 million loan.

That was a costly and bad hire, especially if the athletic department intends to pay back this loan. Franchione will receive $1.7 million this year, and $1 million more next year. That's going to make it even harder for the Aggies to balance the budget.

Byrne has done a great job giving every sport the resources needed to be successful, but can that continue in these tough times?

Universities all over the nation are cutting expenses to try to avoid dropping sports, but not all have been so lucky. Washington dropped both of its swimming programs. So did Pepperdine, along with men's track and field. Indiana State dropped both tennis programs. And Cincinnati eliminated scholarships for track, cross country and swimming.

No one is immune.

Stanford, which has won the U.S. Sports Academy Directors' Cup 14 years in a row, had to cut $1.8 million from its budget this past year, including cutting 24 non-coaching positions -- remember, A&M will pay Franchione $1.7 million for doing nothing. Stanford has to cut another $3.3 million in the upcoming year after endowments dropped by nearly 20 percent.

Stanford, though, has 35 varsity programs, which is 15 more than the Aggies. The least amount of money Stanford spends on a program is $475,000. Stanford has an annual budget of approximately $75 million, which is comparable to A&M.

Stanford continues to get great value, though. Stanford has almost a 200-point lead on North Carolina in this year's Directors' Cup with 1,258.75 points. A&M, which is in 20th, has 626, but the Aggies should crack the Top 10 by season's end with a strong finish by the spring sports.

A&M's national championship in golf last weekend was a nice return on that $16 million loan. The Aggies could add a national track championship next weekend -- or maybe even two.

But that $16 million loan isn't going to be considered paid in full until the baseball team makes the College World Series, the basketball teams make the Final Four and, of course, the football team wins the Big 12. Some will say it's already been too long since 1998, which was A&M's lone Big 12 football title.

Gates and Byrne knew Oklahoma and Texas were football programs that were going to continue winning, which took a lot of pressure off those schools' other programs. The Aggies had to elevate their football program, which Gates and Byrne had to think was happening with Franchione's 7-5 turnaround season in 2004. They, along with the Aggie nation, were sadly disappointed. It also was a wasted opportunity.

A&M's football program has been stuck in neutral or in transition for years. That's been bad enough, but Baylor, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech have all gotten better, compounding A&M's $16 million problem.

A Top 10 finish in the Directors' Cup, even with a national championship or two, doesn't balance out a 4-8 football season in many people's eyes. If A&M had been 9-4 with a bowl win, there probably would be a movement to lend the athletic department another $16 million, which would be good business.

But until A&M starts winning in football, Gates' loan will be questioned as the Aggies watch their pennies.