Coach Tom Herman says UT is ‘in good hands’ with new AD Chris Del Conte.
Herman remains a fan from time together at Rice
AUSTIN — One of the more common knocks against Charlie Strong during his three-year odyssey as Texas’ head coach — aside from the 16-21 record — was his contentment with the program’s facilities.
“We have everything we need,” Strong once said.
Meanwhile, schools like Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Clemson were gleefully dedicating stupendous sums of money to stadium upgrades, locker room renovations and swanky practice facilities and offices.
The merits of investing so much money in college athletics can, and should, be scrutinized and debated. But the truth was, Texas, despite its standing as the nation’s wealthiest athletic department, had fallen behind.
Tom Herman is more of an entrepreneurial spirit than Strong. He arrived in Austin with demands for university president Greg Fenves and former athletic director Mike Perrin. Foremost among those initial requests: a $10 million facelift of the Moncrief-Neuahus Athletic Center, where the Longhorns’ locker room and weight room are housed.
“My job is to tell president Fenves and Mike Perrin what we need to compete at a championship level,” Herman said in January. “Administrations win championships. I’ve been told yes for everything I’ve asked for, from the renovations to this building that we’re in, from anywhere to graphics to locker rooms to the weight room to the support staff.”
Herman has other projects waiting in the pipeline, only now he’ll be trying to mind-meld with new vice president and director of athletics Chris Del Conte while working to secure funding and approval for those plans.
‘In good hands’
The two have worked together once before, though certainly not as closely as they will at Texas. Del Conte served as Rice’s athletic director at the same time Herman was the Owls’ offensive coordinator.
“I knew when a new athletics director took over that Greg Fenves would make a terrific hire, and he certainly did,” Herman said. “I’m absolutely thrilled that Chris Del Conte will be leading our athletics department. I’ve known him for several years, worked with him during my time at Rice and have continued to admire his work from afar for a long time. He’s a smart and creative leader who has a great passion for student-athletes and college sports. On top of that, he’s an engaging, energetic and fun person to be around and work with. We’re definitely in good hands.”
Del Conte should have no issue finding backing for whatever Herman desires. During his eightyear tenure as TCU’s AD, Del Conte earned a reputation as Mr. Congeniality, able to seamlessly blend in with various groups that just so happened to have the cash needed to fund some major construction projects that ultimately cost over $300 million.
Right now, building a new basketball arena should be Del Conte’s chief concern. But football projects, like an expansion of Royal-Memorial Stadium’s south end zone, will consume a great portion of his time as well.
“There’s so many goals for this institution,” Del Conte said. “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. We know when the place is rowing the boat in the same direction, there’s nothing that can stop it.”
Vast support system
Texas boasts an alumni base of more than 482,000, and for the most powerful among them, football is almighty. It’s now up to Del Conte to convince them — and president Fenves — that restoring to program to its former glory is worth their time and, more importantly, money.
“The school had kind of gotten off track,” billionaire UT booster Red McCombs said. “They had some people that couldn’t carry the water. We’ve got to reload, and I think (Del Conte) is the guy to do it.”