Texas AD Clarifies Scheduling, NIL Concerns Amid SEC Meetings

DESTIN, Fla. — Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte addressed recent controversies regarding the football team’s season opener and the amount of money allocated for player NIL deals at the SEC spring meetings on Wednesday.

Del Conte confirmed he was approached about moving the highly anticipated Week 1 game against Ohio State from Saturday, August 30, to Sunday night. However, he decided against the change, citing a commitment to keep the game on Saturday. “Why would I want to move the game to Sunday night and have a short week for our boys who were just told we’re kicking off at high noon?” he said. “It was just, ‘Hey do you want to move the day?’ And I go, ‘We’re not moving. We’re contractually obligated to this day.’”

The athletic director found humor in the situation, adding, “I gotta go to church. I mean, hot dang.”

In addition to the scheduling concerns, Del Conte contested a recent report claiming the Texas football program spent $40 million on its roster. “That’s bananas,” he said. He explained that Texas state laws currently prevent him from knowing the exact amount of NIL funds received by players, but new NCAA rules could change that. An upcoming settlement is expected to introduce a revenue-sharing model, which would allow schools to pay roughly $20 million directly to athletes across all sports.

Del Conte shared how Texas plans to distribute this revenue: 75% to football, 15% to men’s basketball, and 5% each to women’s basketball and other sports. “If you put it in an ecosystem of two years, that could possibly be it,” he said of the $40 million figure, but he emphasized that it is not an accurate estimate at present.

Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian also weighed in on the $40 million claim, joking to Sirius XM, “I wish I had $40 million on our roster. We’d probably be a little better team than we are.”