Texas A&M's new football coach Mike Sherman hasn't won a game at Kyle Field yet, but he's certainly winning over Aggies of all ages.

Sherman has been very visible since moving to Aggieland. But more importantly, his program is reaching out to others.

Sherman, his staff and the Aggie players will coach 500 youth Saturday. The "Aggie Youth Experience" is free for boys and girls ages 8 through 13.

"The whole purpose is for our players to give something back to these young kids who might follow or idolize our players," said Tim Cassidy, associate athletics director for football. "It also will be neat for our guys. This is what A&M is built on."

There are spots left, but interested participants should register on AggieAthletics.com quickly for the chance to wear maroon on Kyle Field.

The good news for parents or guardians is that they also get to watch Saturday's Aggie practice in conjunction with the clinic.

Besides the clinic, Sherman also is seeking two A&M students to coach in the Maroon & White Game on April 19.

"I told the students it was their team, so I wanted to make it more of their team by letting them coach it," he said.

Sherman also will have forums with the students to get their input on the program. His first forum will be at 1:30 p.m. Thursday in the Memorial Student Center Flag Room.

For a guy whose been working in the NFL for the last decade, Sherman sure has a handle on A&M and college football.

Texas A&M women's basketball associate head coach Vic Schaefer interviewed Thursday for the vacant head coach's position at North Texas.

Oklahoma State assistant coach Kenya Larkin and Clemson associate head coach Shanice Stephens had previously interviewed, while former Texas-Arlington head coach Donna Capps will interview Friday.

North Texas is looking to replace Tina Slinker, who did not have her contract renewed after 19 seasons.

North Texas went 14-18 this season, including an 8-10 record in the Sun Belt's West Division.

A&M leads Texas 7 to 4.5 in the Lone Star Showdown and is poised to win. That seemed so remote four years ago when Texas cruised to a 10-point victory in the inaugural 19-sport competition.

The Aggies also have positioned themselves for a record-setting season in the U.S. Sports Academy Directors' Cup. A&M is in 15th place with 479.75 points.

The Aggies have recovered from a slow start. A&M didn't score points in cross country, volleyball or football but got a big boost from basketball -- 73 points from the women for a fifth-place finish and 50 points from the men for a 17th-place finish. A&M earned another 80 points in women's swimming for a fourth-place finish.

A&M's highest finish in the Directors' Cup was 16th in 2003-04. A&M was 18th last year with a school-record 881 points.

The Aggies should fare well in the sports ahead -- softball, baseball, tennis, golf and outdoor track and field. A&M is currently only 88.75 points out of 10th place.

Stanford leads with 907 points, while Texas is second at 684.

A&M indeed is building champions, which was the theme athletics director Bill Byrne announced when he arrived. There's no doubt this is the best all-around sports year in A&M history, yet it's somewhat hard to say that with conviction when the football team went 7-6 and lost in the Alamo Bowl.

What would fans rather see? A&M have success in all sports? Or the Aggies win a BCS football game and the national championship in men's basketball yet barely finish in the Top 50 in the U.S. Sports Academy Directors' Cup?

The later is what will happen to Kansas. The Jayhawks won a BCS football game and the NCAA Men's Tournament title in basketball but are in 40th place in the Directors' Cup. And they won't get much help from their spring sports.

A simpler solution would be for the Aggie football team to join the other top A&M programs, which is why Sherman is in Aggieland.

• Robert Cessna's e-mail address is robert.cessna@theeagle.com.