fired, and replaced by Gary Darnell. Due to the much-needed improvements on defense, the Aggies finished the 2006 regular season with a 9–3 record and a 5–3 mark in Big 12 play, including a 12–7 victory over the Texas Longhorns in Austin, the first over the Longhorns in 6 years. In the 2007 season, the Aggies finished in a three-way tie for third place with Texas Tech and Oklahoma State in the Big 12 South, leading only Baylor, which finished last. Although the team pulled out a 38–30 victory over the Longhorns on the day after Thanksgiving, Franchione was forced to resign due to fallout from a secret email newsletter that violated NCAA and conference rules. Former Green Bay Packers coach Mike Sherman was announced as his replacement three days later. Unfortunately, Sherman's first year at A&M resulted in one of the worst records in years, finishing at 4–8. The 2009 season showed some improvement with a 5–2 home record and a 6–7 overall record. More coaching changes were made after the 2009 season and the hiring of Tim DeRuyter lead the media coverage. In 2008, DeRuyter was the defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Airforce where his defense finished 11th in the NCAA in total defense, and 5th in pass defense. The Aggie Football team was featured in the ESPN movie, The Junction Boys. The film dramatized Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant's grueling football practice sessions in 1954 in Junction, Texas. Basketball Texas A&M basketball had been dormant for much of its recent history until the mid-2000s. The Aggies have won 11 conference championships, two conference tournament titles, and have 10 NCAA tournament appearances. Under former head coach Billy Gillispie, the Aggies finished fourth in conference in 2006 only two years removed from having zero wins in conference play. Gillispie then led the Aggies to their first NCAA tournament berth since 1987, playing as a 12 seed, and to A&M's first NCAA tournament win since 1980 over fifth seed Syracuse. The Aggies were one point short of advancing to the Sweet Sixteen over fourth seed LSU, with a final score of 57–58. In the 2007 season, A&M spent most of the season ranked in the top 10 of the polls and became the first Big 12 south team to win against the University of Kansas in Lawrence since the Big 12 was formed. The Aggies finished with a 27–7 record