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Country Singer Orders Aggie Ring 12 Years Later

Caitlin "Cait" Shields '11 December 14, 2017 3:36 PM updated: May 16, 2018 4:23 PM

Rich O'Toole looks at an Aggie Ring at the Clayton W. Williams, Jr. Alumni Center.

After a half dozen albums and 13 tours that took him around the world and back, country music singer and songwriter Rich O’Toole ’05 made his way back to Aggieland this week to finally order his Aggie Ring.

“I’ve been dying to order one forever,” O’Toole said Wednesday while trying on sample Rings at the Clayton W. Williams Jr. Alumni Center. “My parents gave me the option to buy a guitar—because I’m a songwriter and we were touring at the time—or the Ring, and I was like, ‘Man, the Ring’s cool, but I really need a guitar.’

“I had a really crappy guitar at the time, so I chose a Martin guitar to tour with in 2006, and I just never had the money until later in life when music really took off to come back and order it. Now that music’s doing well, here I am.”

Beginning with concerts at local staples like the Dixie Chicken and The Tap, O’Toole soon began racking up his 19 Top 10s and three No. 1s on the Texas Music Chart.

Watch O'Toole sing "How Bout Them Aggies" here.

O’Toole, who received a bachelor's degree in speech communication in 2006, said the Aggie Network has helped him along the way during his music career.

“(Being an Aggie) is kind of like being in a club that really helps its own,” he said. “Tell someone you’re an Aggie, they’ll stop on the side of the road or come to a show. Letting people know (I) went to school at Texas A&M really helped me ultimately get a fan base pretty quick and that was extremely important to me.”

O’Toole said he’s planning on holding a concert in April in College Station to celebrate his new hardware, which he will receive in February.

“I want people to know (I’m an Aggie) and I look forward to wearing (my Ring) out on tour and educating people about the Ring,” he said.



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