Texas A&M University Mays Business School's Center for New Ventures and Entrepreneurship released the new 2012 edition of the Aggie 100, documenting the fastest-growing businesses owned or led by A&M grads.

It comes as no surprise that many Aggies end up in the Bayou City to make their mark, but the fact that 37 out of 100 companies are based in the Houston area (with 27 of those within the city limits) is astounding. That's up from 33 area businesses on last year's list, even with more rigorous criteria (including raising the verifiable revenue requirement from $100,000 to $250,000 and a newly-instated three times maximum rule).

Houston-based oil and gas production company MudTech Services took No. 2 on the list, with a 191.80 percent increase in revenue between 2009 and 2011 under the leadership of Larry Cress.

LINN Energy, led by chairman, president and CEO Mark Ellis, took No. 5 with 143.72 percent growth within that two year period, while Rosharon-based Better Heads landed No. 6 with 140.04 percent growth.

Other enterprises on the list range from IT firms to waste collection services to private equity companies. All have seen more than 31-percent growth during the two-year period.

Houston-based Oil States International also won the inaugural Aggie 100 Summit Award, which looks as the the Aggie 100 applicant with the highest average revenue. CEO Cindy B. Taylor says that her company is approaching $4 billion in growth this year.

For consideration, each company must have been in business for five or more years as of June 30, 2012, with more than $250,000 in revenue during the base year of 2009. It must be under Aggie leadership and be run "in a manner consistent with the Aggie Code of Honor and in keeping with the values and image of Texas A&M University." Qualifying companies are then ranked by percentage growth.