Sunsets, schedules and natural grass: Chris Del Conte discusses state of Texas athletics

From the color of sunsets to the color of money, Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte painted a picture of a thriving Longhorns athletic program during his virtual “town hall” Monday evening.

Now in his sixth season at Texas, the 54-year-old Del Conte touched on a variety of topics while fielding questions via a Teams meeting open to the public. Finances remain strong and growth continues for an athletic program on the verge of switching conferences, Del Conte said. Texas, along with current Big 12 rival Oklahoma, will complete its final season in the Big 12 this coming school year and will join the SEC beginning with the 2024-25 school year.

More:After seeing red in 2021, Texas athletics produces a surplus during the 2022 fiscal year

Among the highlights from the town hall, Del Conte touched on multiple topics, including:

Texas vs. Texas A&M and the rest of the SEC schedule

Horns vs. Aggies: It will still be awhile, but Del Conte said he will have his first “real” meeting with SEC officials in a couple of months to formally begin the process of determining the football team’s schedule. “Everything is up for debate,” he said. “We don’t know how it will shape up, but we’ll know more by this summer. And I know that (Texas A&M) game means so much to so many people, but it’s way too premature.”

On another note, Del Conte did say Texas needs to tweak its student section since the SEC requires a minimum of 2,500 tickets in the lower bowl for visiting teams.

More Cotton for Texas-OU?: Absolutely, Del Conte said. The two schools have three years left on their current contract with ticket prices locked in at $200 for each of those seasons. His primary concern about the game is changing the traditional 11 a.m. kickoff time.

“I’d like to stay with you all as long as possible,” Del Conte said. “If I changed (the game at the Cotton Bowl), I’d be unemployed. So, we’re keeping the game at the Cotton Bowl. But ABC at 2:30. Wouldn’t that be awesome?”

Facilities upgrades, facilities questions

What's happening now?: Del Conte said new LED lighting and an upgrade to concessions at Royal-Memorial Stadium will be addressed this spring and summer. Those upgrades include 22 more concession areas, specifically more in the upper deck. He said the upgraded lighting “needs a steady diet of night games for this to work,” which he anticipates in the SEC. He also said a new baseball video board should be ready for SEC play, a new tennis video board for this spring, and a 10,000-square-foot football recruiting lounge will be completed this summer at the Moncrief Neuhaus Athletic Center.

Grass at DKR: Del Conte said replacing the field turf with natural grass at some point is inevitable, but the timing hinges on when Texas can construct a new indoor practice facility since head football coach Steve Sarkisian regularly uses Royal-Memorial Stadium for practices. The footprint of that facility expands beyond the current practice bubble on the southeast corner of Dean Keeton and Red River streets.

“I would like it (natural grass at Royal-Memorial Stadium) to happen, but we need to find a proper place for the indoor facility and where it fits on campus,” Del Conte said. “It’s a timing issue.” He did say the athletic department has already hired an architect to work on the indoor practice facility and that he’ll know more about the timing by the end of this semester.

More:After seeing red in 2021, Texas athletics produces a surplus during the 2022 fiscal year

Future upgrades: Del Conte said “he’s all in favor” of installing natural grass at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, but that it remains behind an indoor practice facility for the football program (the “economic engine” of athletics, he called it) on the department’s list of priorities. He would also like to explore an expansion of seating for the baseball team’s home field, but the university is boxed in by city streets and the university’s graduate housing.  

“Expansion down the third-base line” is a possibility, he said. Del Conte added that the university has no immediate plans to open the upper level of Moody Center even though every men’s home basketball game has sold out this season. Moody seats 10,0000 for basketball, significantly smaller than the cavernous 18,000-seat Erwin Center.

“That environment (at Moody) is second to none,” Del Conte said. “We’ve created an incredible environment. If we continue to build on this, well look at it (opening the upper level).”

More sports on the horizon?

Ladies first: Beach volleyball debuts next month, and Del Conte said any other new sports “will be women’s sports” in order to meet Title IX goals. “Sports must be proportional to the student body,” said Del Conte, who cited that Texas’ student population is more than 60% female. “Our athletic department must mirror the student body.”

The future of the Longhorn Network

No LHN on the horizon: Well, kind of. Del Conte said the Longhorn Network “will be folded into SEC Network after next school year.” He did stress that the LHN “inventory stays with us” and that the university will work to create a channel “for historical context.”

But as a network, Del Conte said all the current LHN content will be shown on the SEC Network or on the ESPN broadcast platform once Texas joins the SEC.

The future of Texas football ... uniforms

Trying something new?: Del Conte left no doubt about any such adventurousness with football uniforms, a prospect that has haunted Longhorns diehards for decades.

“As long as I work for you and at the University of Texas, there’s two colors: burnt orange and white,” he said. “If God wanted multicolored sunsets, he'd have made them purple and green. But he didn't. They're burnt orange. It’s perfect.”

Del Conte, who arrived from Texas after working at a TCU athletic program known for its creative football uniforms, quoted legendary UT football coach Darrell Royal, whose embrace of tradition has set the tone for Texas football for almost 70 years.

“We have a great logo, great colors, it’s unique,” Del Conte said. “As Darrell Royal said, these are work uniforms. We don’t need to candy this up. Us, USC, Alabama, Penn State, we don’t change. There’s something to be proud about that. TCU, Oregon, Oklahoma State, you don’t even know who they are when you turn on the channel. Embrace who we are. It’s not old, it’s not stuffy, it’s Texas. It’s the best.”