As we say goodbye to 2008 and hello to 2009 we've got a couple of final items to discuss before we jump fully into the new year. David Holbrook checked in today with a brief post with his thoughts on the hire of DeWayne Walker as well as an update on Chase, who is now preparing for the NFL draft in April. David informs us that Chase will play one final collegiate game as he suits up for the Texas vs. The Nation football game at the Sun Bowl in El Paso on January 31st. Aggie fans who want to see Chase one final time in person before he suits it up in the NFL next season should visit the Texas vs. The Nation website for ticket information.

The final AVCA Division I Women's college volleyball poll was released prior to Christmas and the Aggies (26-9), despite winning a first round match for the first time in school history, were not voted into the Top 25 (they ended up 27th). It's very surprising considering that they did end up ranked in the Top 25 in last season's final poll and also considering who their losses came to this season. The Aggies wound up with nine losses on the season but all nine of their losses came to teams who finished ranked in the final Top 25. The following is their list of teams they lost to and their final ranking (as well as where they finished in the tournament): #2 Stanford (national runner-up), #4 Texas (Final Four, lost to national runner-up Stanford), #6 Cal (Elite Eight, lost to eventual national champion Penn State), #7 Hawai'i (Elite Eight, lost to Stanford), #9 Oregon (Sweet 16), #11 Illinois (Sweet 16, lost to Cal), #16 Utah (Sweet 16) and #25 Santa Clara (Round of 32). The team the Aggies defeated, San Diego, finished 19th in the final poll and were ranked behind the Aggies in the poll heading into the NCAA Tournament. The Aggies also defeated tournament participant North Carolina who lost in the Round of 32 to #9 Oregon and of course swept #7 Hawai'i at Hawai'i during the regular season.

Again, if you haven't visited the site in the past couple days, first of all shame on you and second, be sure to check out our interview with new Aggie football head coach DeWayne Walker. Also, if you missed Wednesday's press conference, you can check it out at the Las Cruces Sun-News website.

Finally, the men's and women's teams are back in action beginning tomorrow. The men will kick off the 2008/2009 WAC schedule with a pair of games in California. The Aggies will be taking on Fresno State in the Save Mart Center on Saturday evening. Fresno State sports a fabulous 6'7" freshman forward named Paul George. If you're not familiar with George you should be. He's the Bulldogs' leading scorer averaging 15.4 points per game, he's the Bulldogs' leading rebounder AND he's the Bulldogs' leading three point shooter hitting 30 of his 60 attempts (for you non-math accountants at home that's 50%). Compare that to the Aggies' top two three point shooters, Jonathan Gibson and Jahmar Young, Gibson has hit 31 of 71 threes (.439%) and JY has hit 29-66 (.437%). It will definitely be interesting to see how the Aggies defend George. Oh and in case that weren't enough, he can do this.

And the women will close out their non-conference schedule with a trip to Allen Fieldhouse to take on Kansas. The Jayhawks, while not quite as famous as their male counterparts (in fact, they're not even known as the best women's team in the state, that distinction goes to Kansas State) but they're off to a fast start at 9-2 in a loaded Big XII (while they haven't started conference play yet, none of the Big XII teams has a losing record). The Aggies will need to play their absolute best if they want to get out of Lawrence with a win. The Aggies have struggled mightily on offense the past few games and heading into conference play next week they'll need to get the offensive ship righted as they try to make a run for a conference title.

On to today's links...

Aggie Football
Felix Chavez of the Las Cruces Sun-News names new head coach DeWayne Walker as a mover and shaker in 2009.

Felix Chavez also writes that new offensive coordinator Timm Rosenbach is eager to face the challenge at NMSU.

Teddy Feinberg of the Las Cruces Sun-News blogs his first impressions of DeWayne Walker.

Aggie Men's Basketball
Our weekly WAC check-in is available at Rush The Court.

Brian McInnis of the Honolulu Star Bulletin previews the Warriors and looks at each of the WAC teams.

Aggie Women's Soccer
Teddy Feinberg of the Las Cruces Sun-News names Aggie women's soccer coach Michael Needham as a 2009 mover and shaker.

If you've found an article that you think other Aggie fans would like to read, send it to us! Select "The Daily Aggie" from the 'Category' drop-down.