In late October, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark set the stage for his departure from college sports in a decision formalized by the conference’s board.
Although Yormark will remain in his role through January, the Big 12 is already looking for Yormark’s replacement, with rumors of interest in Texas Longhorns athletics director Chris Del Conte, who left the TCU Horned Frogs for the Forty Acres in late 2017.
On Wednesday, however, Del Conte told On Texas Football that he doesn’t have any interest
in the job.
“Absolutely none,” Del Conte said. “Print that.”
Since Texas and Oklahoma left for the SEC, the Big 12 remains a power conference, with all the benefits that conveys, but there’s a wide gap between that league and conferences like the Big Ten and SEC, which have taken on leadership roles in crafting the new era of college athletics.
Meanwhile, the Big 12 is left hawking Monster Energy drinks and playing on dangerous glass basketball courts. For reasons.
Then there’s the Cody Campbell problem.
The mega booster is now the chairman of the Texas Tech Board of Regents and styles himself as a change maker across the landscape of college athletics.
Mostly he writes checks and runs his mouth on social media, so assuming the role of Campbell’s babysitter is surely less appealing for Del Conte than continuing to oversee an athletic department that has grown tremendously during his tenure, most clearly evidenced by Texas winning the Directors’ Cup in five of the last six years as the nation’s winningest athletic department.
