The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Tracking the Longhorns: Chris Del Conte press conference
12.11.2017 | Texas Athletics
Athletics Director Chris Del Conte was introduced at a press conference Monday.
PRESIDENT FENVES: Good morning. This is a great day for the University of Texas and for Longhorn Nation. We're here to announce a new leader with the University of Texas Athletics.
Before I begin, I want to give my heartfelt thanks and gratitude to Mike Perrin. A little over two years ago, Mike stepped up to serve this university, to serve Texas Athletics. There was a lot of turbulence and a lot of problems within the athletics department, with our fans, our loyal fans, and Longhorn Nation.
Over the past two years, Mike Perrin has provided integrity, stability, calmness, helped address a number of problems that were important to solve, and has brought Texas Athletics to a new stage.
I'd like to begin this press conference with a big round of applause for Mike Perrin.
PRESIDENT FENVES: I'd also like to recognize and thank Chris Plonsky, leading women's athletic here in the department. Long time member of the department, integral part of the team here and of the leadership. Chris Plonsky has been a tremendous partner throughout the entire endeavor the past two and a half years that I've been president of the university.
I am so excited to introduce the new Vice President and Director of Athletics for the University of Texas, Mr. Chris Del Conte.
It is such a wonderful day for the University of Texas. I observed Chris in the Big 12, being a member of the Big 12 board for the past two years. What he has done at TCU, to take that program to new heights, to heights that were unimagined when he began at TCU in 2009.
Chris has the vision for how important athletics is for a great university, the importance of the student-athlete experience on the field or on the court, in the classroom. He is an AD for the coaches, recognizes the coaches are the key people that are motivating young men and women here at the University of Texas.
He understands athletics as a business, how we all have to need to work together to serve our student-athletes and serve our university, but also be financially viable in a changing media environment.
With the platform and long history of Texas Athletics, the platform that Mike Perrin has stabilized over the past two years, I am so optimistic for Texas Athletics and our great university to have Chris Del Conte leading athletics here.
Please welcome Chris Del Conte.
CHRIS DEL CONTE: Hi, everybody. I am so honored to be here today, so honored. Before I get to my remarks, which I probably will never read, President Fenves, thank you for this incredible opportunity, the leadership and the team you built.
When I met with you on Monday, it was inspiring. You convinced me that what starts here changes the world. With the team you're building, what you're trying to do, I am just honored that you allowed me to be a part of your team.
Mr. Perrin, a lot has been said. When times needed you most, you were a letterman. You knew what Texas needed. It was a rocky road. You settled the road down, put us in a place where the university is first and foremost. You've been spectacular.
CP, you've always been here. I love our relationship. I love what you've done for the University of Texas. I can't wait to get started to work with you on a daily basis.
Before I introduce my wife, I'd like -- it's a pretty crazy time for me today. Today is interesting. I have an individual I brought down, Mr. Jim Livengood, used to work for him at the University of Arizona. Building a children's home in Taos, New Mexico. It's my opportunity to do something special. Gave me an opportunity to do something I never thought possible, get a scholarship, get a scholarship.
One individual, there was a house parent at the ranch where I grew up, became a doctor at the Washington State University. Got me a job in the maintenance department. I worked for three years. I left Washington State with $53,000 in student loans. Sally Mae. I love the loan lady. Took me 18 years to pay her off. When I married my wife, she finally paid it off for me. I love you, honey.
Mr. Livengood gave me an opportunity, and I love you.
Deloss (Dodds), much has been made about the relationship. You're a beacon in our industry, someone I looked up to my whole life. When I came down, I had that fateful conversation about Texas Christian University, I do not remember much of that conversation. You have been a leader of many. I truly, truly love you. You're an amazing individual.
I can't thank you for what you've done for the University of Texas, the athletic industry, for me personally. I thank you so much for being here today.
My wife, the wind beneath my wings. Love you. Thank you.
By the way, I'm an amazing crier. I cry when we win, I cry when we lose. It's okay to show emotion because it means you're real. Means you're real.
My two kids. I met President Fenves on Monday. Wednesday night I came home and said, Girls, many opportunities have come and passed. Ladies, I'd like to do this.
They said, Dad, you promised me that we would wait till I graduate.
I looked at them, I said, You're right. I apologize.
Think about it. This morning I received a text from one of my girls. It's funny, I will read it to you. "Life is all about taking risks. If you never take a risk, you'll never achieve your dream."
Profound from a 16-year-old who is going to have to move high schools, profound.
My other daughter wrote, Dad, listen to Miley Cyrus, The Climb, I'm all in.
Are you kidding me? I get one profound statement, eating my Cheerios, the other one says listen to Miley Cyrus, Climb, it will not disappoint. Okay, I got that.
To TCU, boy, the chancellor, the coaches, the student-athletes. We've done some amazing things at Texas Christian University that I never thought possible. We got in the Big 12 because one individual said TCU is worthy. That fateful night, my relationship was set with the University of Texas. That's been the greatest thing that's happened at TCU. Been the greatest thing at TCU, getting us into the Big 12.
Someone asked, Why Texas and why now?
Why did Darrell Royal leave Washington to come here? Think about that. Coach Conradt, stopover at UT Arlington. I know he had a slight stopover at Baylor, too. We'll talk about that later. Why did they come here? Shaka Smart.
The great Mack Brown. Coach Brown is here today. It had been a long time since they won a national championship at the University of Texas. When you came here, you showed it was possible. Thank you so much. You've taught this institution that championships in football are possible. Your leadership and your counsel is going to be sorely needed by me. Thank you so much for being here today. Thank you, Mack Brown.
Karen Aston left UNT. Shaka left. Why? This is the University of Texas. The standard of collegiate athletics starts here. CP helped them every single step of the way. Mike made sure we got right back to it. That's why you come here. That's why you come here. Because when you're at the University of Texas, your opportunity to win a championship is no greater than here. That's why I'm here.
My philosophy is simple: my job is to support coaches and student-athletes in their endeavors to win championships, period. That is it. I have a reverse pyramid. I am a servant leader. My father taught me three things. My father passed away, but he was a servant leader. Started a children's home. I was very fortunate to work up in that environment. Be humble, be honest and serve others.
The Longhorn Nation, I can promise you, I will serve you to the best of my abilities. I will always be honest to you and answer any question you have, I will humbly serve you. I can't thank you enough for giving me this opportunity.
Go Horns.
President Fenves
On the timing of the hire: This was a good time to do a change. The regular football season has ended. I wanted to be ahead of any other potential searches. Chris Del Conte is a hot commodity. I wanted to get him here to Texas before he had too many other alluring offers.
On when the first meeting occurred: We met a week ago today, in New York City, around the dinner. That's where we finalized the deal.
On his impressions of Del Conte before meeting: Well, I met Chris very early on when I joined the Big 12 board. As you guys know, I didn't know a whole lot about athletics before I became president two and a half years ago. I'm still learning, right, Brian?
I had met Chris very early on. Chris' story about his parents and his upbringing is truly inspirational. Once you get to know Chris and understand who he is, you can see how his unique upbringing, the values that his parents instilled in him, guides him in everything he does around athletics.
Chris Del Conte
On his vision: I think the vision for the University of Texas has been set long ago. It's to win championships, to do it the right way, to be a beacon to follow. The standard of intercollegiate athletics has been set here. That's the vision, simple.
As Mr. Perrin told me this morning, our last conversation, letterman built this program, blood, sweat and tears. I'm the custodian of their efforts, of coaches' efforts. When you look at Shaka Smart, why did he leave VCU? Had many other opportunities. He came here for one reason: he knows he can win a national championship here. That's why he's here.
My job is to give him and help him in any way I can to achieve that goal.
On his emotions today: What was crazy about this, I got lost in my comments, I was so emotional. I apologize for that. Today I get a phone call from Gary Patterson. "I love you, but I hate you today, my man."
I said, I love that. That's what it's all about.
This afternoon, as I alluded to, I didn't get a chance to talk about it, this afternoon when I left Washington State, when I was at the ranch, the house friend became a doctor at Washington State. He is now being named -- he asked me to take care of his son. Think about this. He asked me to take care of his son. A house parent who was at the ranch, goes to Washington State, becomes a team doctor. He gets me a job for Mr. Livengood. They gave me an opportunity. When he was dying, he said, Can you please take care of my son.
I said, Yes, sir.
Today at 2:30 he's being named the AD of TCU. It's pretty awesome.
Now, I love him, but I can't wait till Saturday, hello. Gary told me the same thing this morning. I love those coaches. I love them. Gary Patterson, every time we would talk, How is Kelly? It's about relationships. It is. Mack Brown and Sally are very close to the Pattersons. On Saturday on the playing field, it's all about the Horns.
But yesterday was difficult. We move on today.
On taking over Texas Athletics and his fundraising philosophy: Well, I think I just got hired today. We're supposed to ask softball questions in your press conference. You two yard birds are supposed to start with softball questions. We just love you, then tomorrow you can take me to the woodshed (laughter).
I think we'll get to that. We'll get to that. I do think anything that is done is done to the vision of our president and our coaches and our student-athletes. My job is to carry that out.
Every Longhorn is going to participate in that. There's so many goals for this institution. We'll get those settled. We'll look at them. Dust off the old plans, see where they're at, and we'll get to work immediately asking people to support this vision. We're also asking people to support the vision of our coaches and student-athletes.
If we want to win championships, one thing I loved about TCU, there's 58,000 living alumni. They're all going in the same direction. It's a tsunami that can't be stopped. When know when the place is rowing the boat in the same direction, there's nothing that can stop it.
Mike calmed those waters and put us in a position today that it is a tsunami coming with a reckoning. My job is just to guide that.
On his relationship with Tom Herman: Well, I've known Tom Herman since my days at Rice, when we hired David Bailiff to become the head football coach at Rice. He brought a staff with him from Texas State. I had a chance to meet Tom. I've known Tom since 2007. Tremendous young man. Has great drive. Spent his formative years on the 40 Acres. He has a great reverence for Mack Brown. Mack Brown is the one that got him into this business, took a chance on him.
Tom is a student of the game, student of the game, student of organizations and culture. You see that in the recruiting class he has right now. It's phenomenal. He's going to do a great job for us.
My job is I just can't wait to get here, roll up my sleeves, work with him on a daily basis.
At the end of the day, this organization is about coaches and student-athletes. Support them. Those are the heroes. That will be my job. Tom is fantastic. So is every other coach here. We have phenomenal coaches. You look at their records, what they're doing now, second to none.
On the state of Texas Athletics as he viewed it from afar: I don't think anything was ever broken. Every organization goes through patches, right? This happens to be under the biggest microscope, that any time there's a bump in the road. When you lose leadership after 33 years, football coaches, basketball coaches, baseball coaches, that have been phenomenal, you are going to have a little bit of an adjustment period, right? But every organization around the country, I'm not going to name any other school, you do your homework, they all go through that.
Mike came in and said, Guess what, this is always about the University of Texas. This place can ride any rocky road. A lot of it is because people. There's a lot of people that were here for such a long time. They retired in the time they did. It just takes a little while, right?
From afar, this has always been the University of Texas. It's always been the beacon. This has always been the institution around the country that people look to for leadership and, realize when you come here, you can win a national championship. We will roll up our sleeves and do our very best to accomplish that.
On renewing the Texas A&M rivalry: I think we'll look at that. Again, I don't have any comment on that today. I don't know. I'll say this. When I listened to Coach Brown talk one time, What is college athletics about? It's about rivalries. Had that quote. Rivalries in college athletics are so important. The water cooler conversations on Mondays are awesome. I love the Red River shootout, all that goes on with that OU-Texas game. It is fantastic. Those things are what galvanize. When we stayed in the Big 12, it's because football and regional rivalries are so important to the community. I know that. I know that. It's important to everybody.
That particular question, we'll address that. Remember, football, we're so far out. I have TCU football scheduled till 2030. Can you imagine? Who scheduled that game? Del Conte wrote a contract in 2017 (laughter).
We have a great non-conference schedule, USC, Maryland, it's awesome. We'll look at that down the road.
On his meeting with President Fenves: I have no idea, you know. Funny story. I'm just walking in New York City, CFP, after the meetings, the National Football Foundation meetings, I get a phone call. Bob's Chop and Steakhouse, 6:30. Who is this? Press redial. Hello, sir, I'll be right there. I got it (laughter).
I walk in, back corner, Take a right. We go in the back corner, we sit down, we had a conversation. I was floored. I think it's a testament to the student-athletes of TCU and the coaches and what they've done, the donors that believed in the mission, the vision that we set forth. When you have leadership at the top that believes in collegiate athletics, what it stands for, you cannot help but be successful.
When he said, I want to talk to you about this position, I was floored, I was honored. Look back to where I came from. I was like, holy cow. I came back and read my daughter's quote. I was just like, You know what, there's every chance in life. We have one rodeo. My thought was, If I'm ever going to do it why not now? Why not at the University of Texas? It is like riding a bull, eight seconds, hang on, let's see what we can do. Awesome.
On looking for advice from various people: Jody Conradt's counsel is going to be critical. Mack Brown's counsel is going to be critical. These are people that were here. Anybody that ever wore that burnt orange uniform is going to be critical.
I am the custodian of their program. I take every advice in. I listen to them. Do the very best job to serve them, but always be honest in your remarks, and be humble doing it.
It's about them, and I'm just here for them. All their voices are going to be critical. Deloss has been here 33 years. A lot of my counsel, I call Mr. Livengood, my mentor. We talk a lot about things. When it comes to all things Texas, everyone has a voice.
On being prepared to be in this position: No, but I sat in the box and said a prayer. I said, God, help me.
I am ready for this. I prepared for this. I got a family behind me that loves me. You're never prepared for anything in life, right? You don't know. You could ask Shaka when he left VCU, was he prepared for this job? He prepared every step of the way at VCU to build a great program. When you get here, you do the very best job you can.
I am prepared for this job. There will be things that happen along the way that we'll have to make adjustments. But it is still a 10-foot rim, it's still 100 yards. You have 523 student-athletes trying to win championships. As long as you put them first and coaches first, everything else is immaterial, right?
I will say this. It's not about politics with me. It's not. I'm not a political fellow. I'm a fellow that what you see is what you get. I will always be straight with you.
On changes in the athletic department: There is no changes. Chris Plonsky is a star. I absolutely adore her. We're going to have the relationship of working together. Title IX is the greatest thing that ever happened in college athletics. What an awesome opportunity that is. She's been a phenomenal steward of the University of Texas. Chris Plonsky is a steward of the University of Texas. She is great.
We will have a working relationship together. Who do you serve? You serve coaches and student-athletes, period. That should be the responsibility of all of us, right? That is taught by Deloss. There's no one or the other, it's the University of Texas first and foremost.
When you get to know me, spend time with me, you'll realize I have two daughters, a wife, three cats. They're all women. At the end of the day, it's about the university, what's right for the university.
On his priorities: I think the most important thing for me is to meet our entire staff first and foremost, all of our student-athletes, right? I want to get to meet them, know them, talk to them. We're going to do an extensive deep dive over the next two months, analyze strengths and weaknesses. The next four days is talking to our constituents, listening to them. For the next several months, it will be looking and learning.
I don't have all the answers, I have an opinion. An opinion that's shared by 500,000 living alumni, 60,000 students, 500 athletes. We will all have that conversation and share those, look to what's right.
There's not an answer tomorrow. I won't have everything.
On what to do with all his TCU gear: They have a new AD, I'm going to donate all my ties to him. I'm pretty fired up with that smoking hot tie. Awesome. I do have a partnership in a clothing store. Burnt orange is coming.
On the challenges ahead: I think that's why you come to the University of Texas, for that challenge. The standard has been set, championships, doing it the right way, providing an opportunity for young people to get a great education. When you're so bold to say as an institution, What starts here changes the world. They say that humbly, they mean it, it's not arrogance. It's why you come here, because you have the opportunity to do that, to be a part of that. If you're not ready for those expectations and challenge, you should not be at this podium.
TCU has spent its entire life as the hunter. They hired coaches that were trying to get out of the wilderness to be the hunter. Who were they chasing? The University of Texas. Who were they chasing? Anyone on that ball field. And they've caught them a lot of them. They've done a great job. That was great to be a part of that.
Those expectations were not there at the beginning. They grew into those expectations. This expectation has always been here. That's a challenge of being the Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics at the University of Texas, is embracing that challenge, helping our coaches and student-athletes achieve their dreams.