1-on-1 with Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte

AUSTIN, Texas — Chris Del Conte was hired as the Texas athletic director back in 2017 with the goal of getting UT sports back on the national stage across the board. Seems pretty easy to say that he has achieved that mission with a volleyball team that just won back-to-back national titles, a football team in the playoff and just about every other sport consistently ranked in the top 25.

“Potential is a great word, but it’s also a bad word,” Del Conte said. “We’re living up to our potential. We understand what it means to be a Longhorn, and it’s not for everybody. If you understand to harness that energy, great things can happen.”

As much success as almost every sport has had the past few years, things are different when UT football is rolling, and right now UT football is rolling.

“We all know what football brings to the table. They’re the engine that drives all of our emotion,” Del Conte said. “When you have all of us pulling in the right direction — alumni, president, governor, board of trustees, chairman — and when that happens, it’s special.”

In 2020, Del Conte made a big move to fire Tom Herman after a 7-3 season. He immediately went out and hired Steve Sarkisian as the next Texas head football coach, a move that wasn’t guaranteed to work but is paying off for the program now.

“Sport is built on the story of the Bible, David versus. Goliath. Everyone loves a David; Texas can never be a David,” Del Conte said. “We need to find coaches that can operate in that realm and we knew Steve did and could and the fruits of his labor are here.”

One of the biggest decisions Del Conte has made during his time at Texas was the choice to move UT to the SEC. That move is just a few months away from happening.

“I looked at the brand of Texas and who we represent, in the state we represent, and you want to be in the very best conference,” said Del Conte. “We wanted to make sure we maintain our true rivals and put our institution against the greatest brands playing every weekend and it was a regional fit. It’s going to be exciting.”

While CDC has accomplished a lot already in his time on the Forty Acres, college sports are changing rapidly and there is a lot he is monitoring for the future.

“We understand what NIL looks like and I get it, but what’s getting lost to me is that only 2% of our kids go pro and yet they’re going to get a free education. Should we at least recognize that it’s not being recognized?” said Del Conte. “My job is to make sure I put the University of Texas, our 600 student-athletes and our coaches in the best position possible to win championships and graduate. If the land shift changes, we will be prepared for that.”