For those that missed it - here is the link to the press conference - PRESS CONFERENCE video
NOTES from PRESS CONFERENCE (update 6/26)
NOTES from PRESS CONFERENCE (update 6/26)
- Eltife > Chairman of Regents
- Exciting day on the 40 acres. Best AD in the country. Now its official as he was awarded that honor a few weeks ago.
- Leaving Big 12, we leave having won 15 conf champs, the most in conf history. Won the director’s cup.
- We all want to win here. Want to uphold the rich traditions of this institution
- Record speaks for itself. Character and integrity and manner in which he runs a first class program.
- Hartzell – President of University
- Great day for Texas athletics and Texas baseball
- Recognize CDC. United Texas is a reckoning. We are united
- Eltife sets the tone. Drive for excellence and impact. Most powerful AD (CDC) in the country. Schloss fits into that set
- Athletics is important part of Texas and baseball is very important
- 2nd to none in history and takes special person
- Start of a new great run for baseball
- Chris Del Conte - Athletic Director
- Awesome day today at Texas
- United Texas is a reckoning. United from top to bottom
- Decision isn’t made in a vacuum. Shared thought/mind.
- Want to talk about Coach Pierce for a moment
- Great to the institution
- Mutual parting of ways
- Want to wish David and Susan all the best
- Talked to Eltife. Understood gravitas. Program cannot be trust to timid or weak.
- Gravitas of baseball program at Texas.
- Who can lead program to what we want.
- Jim is a dear friend. Known each other since 2007
- Front row to lead program to ashes to 5 times in Omaha
- Past 3 years at A&M.
- We have the guy. He is the guy to lead the program
- He is on a run, but lets see if he will come
- Awesome day today at Texas
- Jim Schlossnagle
- Good morning awesome day. Super thankful and humbled to be coach at Texas
- I'll be brief. Job you do not one you talk about, lot of work to do
- A lot of people to thank. Coach pierce, Coach Garrido, Coach Gus
- Pierce is a friend of mine
- Coach Garrido – always talked about this job
- Did not know Coach Gus, but look up to what he accomplished
- Thank you to Hartzell and Eltife and my man CDC for their confidence in me and staff
- Want to thank A&M. this wasn’t a move from one school to another. Great rivalry. Couldn’t be more thankful and humbled by the support that we got from staff, admin and players.
- Always comment positively about Texas A&M
- I am confident that we left in better shape than we found it.
- Three members of staff here – associate head coach Nolan Cain, hitting coach Michael Earley and pitching coach Max Weiner. Had to be a team effort
- When CDC and I discussed it, it had to be a team effort. I’ve been on some awesome staffs, but never been around a group of guys more tied together. Synergy and work ethic.
- Why this move and why now?
- Don’t take it lightly
- Some part, very easy due to relationship with CDC
- Some part very hard.
- Many decisions you don’t get to choose timing.
- You don’t get to meet with team as you would like. For that, I am sorry.
- College athletics. Uncertain time of college athletics as its ever been and no one knows what the future is. Alignment is MOST important.
- I yearn for a great leader. Study leadership and CDC is best leader I've known.
- Super hard and emotional due to my love for players at A&M, I could not pass up this opportunity.
- Asked a question after the game and I didn't handle it the best. Our staff gave everything we possibly could to win that last ball game.
- Publicly apologize to Richard Zane, a young reporter that asked a question that was obvious. I wish I could have answered it better.
- In the moment, all I could think about was our players and was not in the mood to talk about myself or the future
- Moving forward – big culture guy. How you do anything is how you do everything
- 1. Toughness. Embrace success and see failure as opportunity
- 2. Energy.
- 3. Excellence – best best version of yourself
- 4. Accountability – challenge players to say what they do
- Have to be selfless – humility. Can’t learn what you think you already know
- That is how we will live and what we will be
- Former players at Texas. This is your program. It belongs to you. Many I've known during my time at TCU and A&M.
- Kody Clemens killing me
- Only missed baseball game two times (two kids Jackson and Katie)
- Sons graduation. TCU at Texas. Up a run in 9th. Kody hits a walk off. Tough day
- Current and future players. My job is to steward this program.
- Augie said this is not your program.
- I've never felt TCU, UNLV or A&M was my program. My program is Elon.
- My job is to oversee and grow this program to championship level on daily basis.
- Recruiting
- Players make decision on academics, team success, development
- Want to win in Omaha
- Texas is and always has been elite in all three areas and will continue to be.
- Have to prepare to compete in major leagues of baseball.
- If you haven’t been in SEC, it is fun and competitive as you can be.
- Now be 16 programs that are committed at highest level and we will be ready for that
- Fans – we NEED you.
- Not a job, this is a lifestyle. I don’t golf or hunt. I don’t have many jobbies. Job is to be around players and help them get better. Need it to be elite atmosphere every single night.
- Hook Em
- Questions:
- Danny Davis (AAS) – how do you assess program – where is it at?
- Got to see the current roster at Regional really good players. Good young players. Guys that have decision to make. Get lunch and get in contact with those guys. Make sure they feel good about staff and let them know we want them here and we can build around them. Many SEC coaches gave me some advice before I joined A&M and SEC. there is a top 2% player that is better than everyone else (Skenes, Montgomery, Grahovac, LaViolette). Mostly don’t have better players. Need to have as good of players. Everyone is big strong, older and physical. Gotta stay healthy. Gotta play fundamental. A lot of work, but enough time, but incoming, portal, high school and current – make connection
- Question from Room - When did CDC first approach? How hard was it to keep it from players
- I am transaparent guy. Its miserable. Some players I don’t get to call due to NCAA rules. Rules don’t allow text them happy birthday. Tried to preview what could happen when we landed and got back to give them a heads up.
- CDC and I have been lifelong friends and talk all the time. Texas had a coach. Once they made that decision, then we had some serious conversations, touched base with staff and then he came to visit me and we made a decision
- Chip Brown – talk about importance of alignment and culture. Also convo with Augie, what that meant
- Augie – played in Ft Worth. Always wanted to be close to him. Pulled me aside and told me to come see him. Flew to OC airport, Augie picked me up, had a great dinner and drink. Had long conversation about his future and what it was like at Texas. I’ll never say that I’ve had a dream job. As asst coach, I wanted to be at TCU. From Maryland, never believed I’d be a coach at Texas or Aggy
- Alignment – so important. Need a guy like CDC at the forefront but he listens to coaches, servicing them and athletes. Give coaches opp to be successful. I felt very very good about the narrowness, short, straight direct lines between president, chairman and CDC.
- Olin Buchana – texags – Monday, last job, then said mind hadn’t changed
- I didn’t intentionally mislead them. Fair question to ask. In that moment, that is how I felt. At 50 years old. I love TCU, my kids grew up there. Had to be unique to leave there at 50. I love Garrido. I don’t want to coach till I am 75. I made that choice because it aligned professionally and personally. I dove in and worked to give a&m everything I had. That investment never waivered and lasted until the last pitch of the championship. If I had left Aggy for another school elsewhere, the texts probably wouldn’t have happened.
- I get it. Cant ask for fanbase to support and be passionate. Our crowds were awesome every game. Cant ask for that and expect them to be ok with you leaving to a rival school. I get it.
- I have a career too. I have a personal life as well. I have goals and I felt like no negative at aggy, just the positives of alignment and my relationship with CDC. I know I can trust him. Hard decision, I could not walk away from it
- Cedric Golden (AAS) – Role of NIL in sports
- NIL is a part of us. Beyond what that looks like, that is why CDC is here to figure that stuff out.
- Texas A&M was fully committed. I know Texas will be fully committed.
- I don’t know about other sports. Three choices – kids still make it based on those in baseball. NIL gets you in the game and then it boils down to the three things.
- If a player only wants to talk NIL, we will not recruit them. Recruit to win at the highest level. Create a team. Standards and core values.
- Tyler Feldman – memory to share about CDC
- First memory – 2007, playing in a regional at Rice. Frogs were pretty good. MLB pitchers. Had to use them both in the first game to beat Baylor. Rice had a good team. It rained and rained and rained. 4 foot of water in dugout. Standing in OF with AD Danny Morrison and NCAA rep. Here comes a guy in flip flops and tommy Bahama and said we are playing this game. Graham had his thumb on CDC and we played. First interaction. Next time – coach rep for search for AD. When he walked in the room, hope you don’t hold it against me.
- Texas v. Aggy rivalry – anticipation
- Be an experience for sure
- Already awesome. Midweek games play this year. Regional phenomenal. Cant imagine what the sec series is going to be. First series is here at Texas. Next one is at aggy. Section 203 will have a lot planned.
- Didn’t do this to spite anyone.
- When you go to sec environment, its already crazy, it will be even crazier. Be prepared mentally. My job is to help platers handle that.
- Bob Ballou (CBS) – distraction to team Monday?
- Cant control that. Due to sensitive nature, I don’t think Elko got to sit down with duke team before he left. I wish I could have sat down with the team
- Monday was not a distraction at all.
- Judge me by my actions. I will sit down with them and develop a relationship with them. Wont take a day.
- Aggy- will say it wasn’t done the right way. Cant think of how else it could have been done.
- Question from Room - Timeline – discussions during season or post season
- Chris and I talk all the time. There was no barebones discussion of this.
- When I was at TCU, these rumors have always been around.
- I had a buyout specifically for Texas, that is because of Chris
- Joe Cook – how important is staff coming to Austin
- Other than working for CDC, it was the most important part
- United front.
- Hope to bring a few more guys
- Did not want to go through that process. We need players. Keep returning guys, look at Draft and rebuild the roster. SEC is looming. I needed my guys with me
- Cory Mose – What makes this the best time in your career?
- Right time – simply, job was open. CDC is here. He has a length of contract that we hope to hold him to for a very long time. Simply that
- No negative at Aggy. Different structure there with a lot of different entities.
- Where I was personally with Chris, massive factor
- Want to coach for more years, but not forever. Simply could not walk away from this.
- Danny Davis (AAS) – how do you assess program – where is it at?
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