Issue date: 6/4/09 Section: Opinion

Media Credit: File Photo Eric Beckham celebrates after winning the student body president election April 10. [Click to enlarge]

In April, senior Eric Beckham was voted the next student body president of Texas A&M. Since Beckham is known as the student face of A&M and because of his work with the administration of the seventh largest university in the nation, it is easy to forget he has a life unto himself.

It turns out that underneath the business exterior is a sports fan just as a big as any other Aggie.

"I am a big fan of college sports," Beckham said. "College football, college baseball and basketball, especially A&M. Also pro baseball but not so much NFL and NBA."

The biggest sport in Beckham's life is baseball, which he played all his life. A four-year player in high school, he played both catcher and right field. He considered trying to take baseball to the next level but decided to give academics and being a student a try.

"I would say it turned out to be a pretty good decision," Beckham said.

Just because he didn't pursue baseball as a career doesn't mean it didn't affect him.

"Baseball helped me to learn not to take everything so seriously," Beckham said. "A lot of people think my personality is about work and sometimes it feels that way. Baseball acts as a means of escape."

In addition to baseball, Beckham tries to play golf whenever possible. While his responsibilities keep him from golfing as much as he would like, the game falls into his sporting dream job.

"I would be a pro golfer," Beckham said. "I would be the owner and general manager of the Houston Astros Monday through Friday and then a pro golfer on the weekend."

Beckham also had a lot to say about golf in relation to A&M's first national championship in over 20 years.

"I love it and I think it's great for the program and the school," Beckham said. "It breaks the ice and now other programs can move forward and know it can be done. It gives us all some light after years of waiting."

While Beckham's role in decision making at the University is usually administrative, the fan in him understands and appreciates the rich culture of sports at Texas A&M.

"I think the athletics department's motto, Building Champions, fits the mindset of A&M as a whole," Beckham said. "All of our students are champions and I'm glad that we have such successful sports teams, which acts as a recruiting tool to bring even more students to our world-class University."

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