By DANNY ROBBINS
Associated Press Writer

DALLAS(AP) -- Texas A&M University's tentlike athletic complex
wasn't built to withstand the maximum winds prescribed by the
building code, according to an engineering firm hired by the
university to evaluate the $35.6 million structure.

The analysis by Haynes Whaley Associates of Houston suggests
that the McFerrin Athletic Center was built using a flawed
design similar to that linked to the Dallas Cowboys' practice
facility, which collapsed in May, injuring a dozen people.

Both of the steel and fabric structures were designed by Summit
Structures LLC of Allentown, Pa.

Documents obtained by The Associated Press under the Texas
Public Information Act show that Haynes Whaley executive vice
president Mark Thompson informed Texas A&M in September that his
firm didn't believe the McFerrin Center could withstand the 90
mph winds, as specified by national standards.

Summit has added a series of cables to the facility's steel
frame in response to Haynes Whaley's concerns, the documents
show. The company could make more repairs if ongoing wind tunnel
testing shows they are warranted, according to the documents.

Completed last year, the McFerrin Center includes two
side-by-side buildings - one an indoor football practice
facility, the other a running track - that cover 191,000 square
feet.

In his initial correspondence with Texas A&M, Thompson wrote
that the company believed the load-bearing capability of the
facility was so compromised that it should be closed "out of an
abundance of caution."

However, the university didn't follow the recommendation. Texas
A&M spokesman Jason Cook said the university decided not to
close the facility after "continued dialogue" with Haynes Whaley
and because it had handled high winds during Hurricane Ike last
year.

As an added precaution, Cook said, the school has been
monitoring severe weather, emptying the facility when
appropriate.

"A greater understanding of the structures was realized as the
review process progressed," he wrote in an e-mail to AP.

Because of the completed repairs, the football building is now
certified to code and the track building can handle winds up to
75 mph, according to Cook.

Thompson referred all comment on his firm's work to Texas A&M.
In a statement, Summit president and chief executive officer
Nathan Stobbe said the company continues to work closely with
Texas A&M to ensure that the facility is safe.

Summit has been enmeshed in controversy since the Cowboys'
facility collapsed in a wind storm last May 2 while the team was
conducting rookie drills. Rich Behm, a member of the team's
scouting department, was paralyzed from the waist down, and
special teams coach Joe DeCamillas suffered a broken vertebrae.

The Cowboys' facility was at least the fifth built by Summit
known to have collapsed since 2002. A report by the National
Institute of Standards and Technology last month stated that the
facility fell in winds of 55 mph to 65 mph and that several
design flaws were to blame.

One issue relating to the Texas A&M facility is whether the
track building, 104 feet at its highest point, would be
particularly susceptible to high winds. Based on its height,
Haynes Whaley contends, the wind loading for the building has
been incorrectly determined.

"For this height of building, the building code would require a
wind loading pattern that includes a downward wind component,"
Thompson wrote.

Summit has contracted with a wind tunnel lab to test whether
this theory is correct and will make additional repairs if it's
found to be valid, according to the documents.

Haynes Whaley was hired by the university in August at the
direction of interim president R. Bowen Loftin. The university
had previously said it was comfortable with an inspection
conducted by Summit in late May that gave the building a clean
bill of health.

Cook said Summit's repairs are acceptable to the university
because of Haynes Whaley's involvement.

"Yes, Summit did the work, but they weren't evaluating it
themselves," he said.