A&M-Texarkana Dedicates Bramlett Field at Spring Lake Park

Dozens of friends, family, coworkers and city leaders gathered with the TAMUT Eagles Softball team and university officials on March 21, 2018, to formally dedicate James Bramlett Field and unveil the new scoreboard that displays the name of the former Texarkana, Texas Mayor.

According to a press release, as TAMUT Athletic Director Michael Galvan walked Bramlett onto the playing field, the former mayor was visibly moved, having to pause momentarily before continuing towards the applause.  There Bramlett was joined by his wife of 40 years, Kathy, and their son J.W. Bramlett.

Several local community leaders spoke to the group of supporters about the tremendous role Bramlett has played in the growth and expansion of Texas A&M University Texarkana. Texarkana Texas Mayor Bob Bruggeman, Texas A&M University-Texarkana President Dr. Emily Cutrer and Eagle Athletic Director Michael Galvan all praised Bramlett’s tireless work on behalf of the university and community at large.

“No one has been more instrumental in the growth of Texas A&M-Texarkana than James Bramlett,” said Dr. Cutrer. “From the work he did to secure the land where the University is located, to helping us grow and secure venues as we expanded and added intercollegiate athletics,” Cutrer continued, “we would literally not be where we are today without James Bramlett.”

Bramlett, a Distinguished Alumnus from Texas A&M-Texarkana, was born and raised here. His family has been in Texarkana since 1884, and he feels a very strong and proud connection to his hometown. And his connection with the field that now bears his name goes back for most of his life as well.

“I played Little League baseball on this field. As a 10-year-old playing second base, there was no way I could have ever have imagined being out here for something like this 50 years later,” Bramlett commented. The former mayor described the event as humbling and a little bit overwhelming with so many of his co-workers from over the years on hand to express their appreciation.  He is exceptionally proud of the growth and expansion of A&M-Texarkana and the Eagle Athletic department and calls it a “dream come true.”  “We fought long and hard for this,” he added. “People think that all of this has just happened recently, but we’ve been working on this since 1998-1999. It takes a great team to make something like this happen.  It took a lot of hard work to get here, but we’ve just hit the tip of the iceberg for Texas A&M-Texarkana. There is more to come.”