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MIRAMAR BEACH, FL – Few athletic directors can hold court like Chris Del Conte.
The Longhorn athletic director knows how to connect with an audience. Del Conte always has a witty joke in his back pocket. He is engaging and informative. Del Conte is the AD you want to have a drink with. He is the life of a party. His personality helps him succeed as a fundraiser at Texas.
Del Conte attended the SEC Spring Meetings at the Hilton Sandestin this past week. He was mainly there to watch and observe since Texas does not technically enter the SEC until 2024. However, several media members wanted to pick Del Conte’s brain. Not only did Del Conte oblige, he did not disappoint.
He sat in a leather chair outside of the meeting rooms because his back was killing him. Heck, I sat in front of him because my back was killing me, too. It did not take long for a small crowd of media members to gather around Del Conte. In addition, it did not take long for Del Conte to do what he does best.
Hold court.
Q: What does it feel like being an outsider looking in on these meetings?
A: “I've been going to enough meetings. It's not really an outsider looking in as much as we've been [attending meetings] all year long."
Q: Did you give any input or try to be a fly on the wall?
A: “I think most of it now is just look, listen, and learn because we're still a year away. So really just seeing how the operation works, business works. We’re still in the Big 12 for the next year so trying to make sure we're good partners there and then just listen and watch how the commissioner [Greg Sankey] does business and how everyone interacts. If they ask a question and they want our opinion on it, it's fine. We don’t have voting rights for one more year. So just a lot of us listening.”
Q: What do you think about your new colleagues waffling on an eight-game conference schedule versus nine games?
A: “No one's waffling on it. They're just getting an understanding. You have to remember now you're going to go to a 12-game CFP. The whole goal of the conference is to get yourself prepared to play in the playoff. What gives you the best advantages? What does a 14 [team] playoff look like [instead of] a 12-team playoff? The conversation is not either-or. It's just centered around that conversation. I don't think there was an appetite one way or the other that I gathered. It was just there's a lot of unknowns. When the SEC expanded previously, they still kept it at eight games. Now you have two more, what's the value of eight? What's the value of nine? And that's where the commissioner is the best in the business and he’ll lead us in that direction. I'm just used to nine games, and it makes sense when we have a neutral site game to do that. But I wouldn't say waffling one way or another. It's just a discussion point of what does the CFP look like, how is that going to be done, and what's the best opportunity to get the most teams in the CFP.
Q: Do you think playoff options are more important than extra money from ESPN?
A: “I think it was just a dialogue. It wasn’t mandated one, two, there. The commissioner is very methodical. I'm very impressed with how he goes about his business. He just lays out every scenario and people just discuss and debate. You're going to come from a campus view early, but ultimately what I've learned from watching the league is when they walk out, it’s a unified voice, but everyone has a different input. One school may prefer one way, it's just for where we're at, and having Oklahoma at a neutral site, I’d prefer more games.”
Q: People used to use the word arrogant to describe Texas in the meeting rooms. What did you make of those complaints and the new dynamic in the SEC?
A: “You know, it's interesting. I never saw that from the first time. I never understood that comment, because I wasn't there. When TCU joined the Big 12, DeLoss [Dodds] was DeLoss. There was never a time where he pulled, quote, we're going to do it this way. I never have had an understanding of that comment, if that makes sense."
Q: What do you make of the dynamic in the new room?
A: "Oh, it's awesome. I mean, you got 16 unbelievable schools, great brands. Everyone wants the best for the league. The SEC is arguably the best conference in the country. I would say arguably it is when you start looking at national success and winning championships. I think everyone pulls their own weight. They have great discussions. Everyone's respected in the room. But I wouldn't describe (the program's history in) the Big 12 any differently one way or another. I never experienced that, from what you're describing. Does that make sense?"
Q: Do you need to play Texas A&M every year in football?
A: “I love the fact that you get to go back. College athletics is about playing traditional rivals. OU is a traditional rival for us. For a lot of fans, it’s [Texas] A&M, but a lot of Kirk’s [Bohls] age group, Arkansas. Darrell Royal and coach [Frank] Broyles retired on the same day in 1976 in DKR. We played for national championships against those teams. We lost to Arkansas for the right to play for the national championship. So, we have a lot of fans looking for that Arkansas game. We have a lot of fans who are looking for the A&M game. Those water cooler conversations are spectacular. We just want to get back in the venue and play them.”
Q: Could you schedule Texas A&M even without a nine-game conference schedule?
A: “I think that'd be pretty weird. I mean, think about it. I'm picking up what you're putting down, but I think that would be a little odd.”
Q: What do you make of Steve Sarkisian hiring Paul Chryst as an analyst?
A: “No different than him hiring Gary [Patterson] last year and he hired a great guy. He hired a great special teams guy from the NFL. Anytime you can bring people like that into the room and just give you a different way to look at it. What I love about it is you're egoless. You don't have to have a big ego, you can say look, I don't have all the answers. Paul Chryst, let me know what did you do in this situation and if that would work. Gary, tell me what you did. I think that's great. Coach [Nick Saba] Saban had that for years Alabama. I love that Steve does it. It's just a different way. What do you think of this? Having some done it at the highest level speaks volumes of Steve's leadership.”
Q: What’s your expectation of Sarkisian in year three?
A: “Well, you know, last year, Anwar, we were a pretty young team. You think about a team like the starting quarterback for Georgia [Stetson Bennett) was older than Lamar Jackson, who won a Heisman and an NFL MVP. For us, I think 19.2 is an average age. You’re year three in the system. We’re older. Ewers played five games as a junior in high school, didn't play his senior year, and then started. I think we should see significant … just age, you should be better. Plus, we got some monster dudes up front now. I mean, having a chance to recruit to the Southeastern Conference. Have a chance to get bigger, stronger, and faster. I'm excited for it. I think the COVID years … I think we're done with the COVID two extra redshirt years.”
Q: What’s your appetite for 2024?
A: “No, because we know we have one year left. But what it does is it just gives us an understanding of how the SEC operates. You can't get too far excited about what 2024 looks like. Kirk and Anwar write about it every day. So does Chip. If we did that, we'd get smoked. Focus on the present and the now. But it does give us a chance to see what the SEC looks like.”
Funniest Things You Will See This Week
Sometimes karma is slow but still delivers
Ime Udoka sent this to all his friends
To be fair, nobody wants a finger in their food
Meanwhile, in Tampa …
Sports On A Dime
1. Get well soon, Mrs. Sarkisian
2. Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian has acquired Quinn Ewers, Maalik Murphy, Arch Manning, plus currently has verbal commitments from Trey Owens (2024) and KJ Lacey (2025). Sarkisian is not going anywhere anytime soon and is trending toward receiving an extension after this season. If Sarkisian’s team advances to the Big 12 Championship Game, I would not be surprised if he received a long-term extension.
3. A former Longhorn player informed me about this camp. This looks like a fun event for youth football players who are Longhorn fans. If your kid cannot attend, feel free to share this information with someone who might be interested.
4. One topic that was addressed this past week during spring meetings was the new clock rule changes. According to the NCAA, “Under the new rules, the game clock will continue to run when a first down is gained. The game clock will be stopped when a first down is gained during the last two minutes of either half. Previously, the game clock stopped when a first down was gained, and the clock restarted when the offense was awarded a first down.”
- Georgia football coach Kirby Smart on the new NCAA rules changes: “I think another one that I think a lot to do about not much. They did a lot of studies, at least in our league, and don't think it'll change it two to three plays per game. I do think the game is getting long and this is an attempt to try to make it a little more efficient for the fan and the viewer, which is a big part of what we do.”
- Missouri football coach Eliah Drinkwitz on the clock changes: “I think it's a nothing burger. The clock is still going to stop inside of two minutes. So, rolling the clock on the last play of the game, we're talking maybe seven less plays a game? I don't think it's going to have the impact that even the people who are encouraging it think it will have.
5. Smart on how future College Football Championship Games being moved back to January 20, 2024, and January 19, 2025, affects recruiting: “Not a major concern for me because I think they're going change the [recruiting] dates around that. There's some answers we still have to get in terms of okay, what's going on with the portal while these playoffs are going because kids need to be able to go and pick their schools. What about when school starts? A guy is playing on this team, but he's leaving and they started school over there. There's problems inherent with that, and now you're extending that one week. They've got to figure that out. Going to campuses around Christmas? There's a lot of things that got to happen in regards to that, but I'm not as concerned about recruiting because they'll make that fit. The best thing you can do in recruiting is win. These guys got mad at me in Birmingham and (Mark) Stoops told me there's no crying from the yacht because I was complaining about having to play and not being able to go do these recruits. If you're playing then you're getting free advertisement, and that's probably a good thing.”
6. Smart’s response when asked for his thoughts on people saying Georgia has passed Alabama: “First of all, I don't hear that a lot. Second of all, I don't measure our program based on their program. We measure our program based on the best we can do and we try to do the best job we can each and every year. Our success is based on how we work out, how we perform, how we run, how we turn over the ball, and how we convert third downs. It's really that simple. It's not based on another program. I have the utmost respect for Nick and Alabama and everything they've done, but that doesn't have anything to do with us. The focus for us has got to be on us.”
7. The petty side of me likes Lane Kiffin
8. Josh Turner, meet DeMarvion Overshown
9. Here is an early scouting report on BYU tackle Kingsley Suamataia
10. My lucky streak is over. I finally witnessed an Austin FC loss in person. Clearly, there is no hope for this season.
