Texas A&M University hired Bear Bryant as head football coach in 1954, replacing former coach Raymond George. Bryant arrived in College Station on February 8, 1954, and began moulding the team. He felt that many of the players on the team were weak and not properly trained or coached, and needed a camp away from the distractions on campus. He therefore arranged for a camp to be held in the small Hill Country town of Junction, where Texas A&M had a 411-acre (1.7-km2) adjunct campus (now the Texas Tech University Center at Junction).