Is Texas becoming new Alabama? The Athletic says Longhorns becoming CFB's premier program
Texas' first year in the SEC was kind of a watershed moment for Texas coach Steve Sarkisian and the program he's building in Austin. Only Georgia prevented Texas from running through the league last year. A conference that was supposed to humble the Longhorns made them stronger.
Now, armed with one of the best quarterback recruits of all time, Sark looks to complete the mission at UT and win the national championship ... either this year or next. But with a title or not, it appears to Ralph D. Russo of The Athletic that Texas is the new CFB super power.
"Texas is becoming the new Alabama. No, that doesn't mean the Longhorns are going to rattle off a half-dozen titles in the next decade. But this is the season Texas puts its staying power on display. There is always another draft pick. There is always another All-American. The talent conveyor belt is fully operational — and well-funded. The days of stumbling as a 12-point favorite at home appear to be over.
Much like Kirby Smart did when he left Saban and Alabama to take over at Georgia, Sarkisian implemented the Bama blueprint at a school with more resources and easier access to talent than Saban's old school, building a program to rival the Tide." - Ralph D. Russo of The Athletic
After serving as Saban's offensive coordinator, Sark has brought the Saban way to Texas. No one could evolve with the changing climate in college football better than Saban for over a decade.
Much of Texas' success can be attributed to how Texas implements NIL. It's just just having money. Texas leads the nation in managing NIL. The Texas One Fund has at least 20 sponsorship partners, including Texas-based Benchmark Bank.
'The area to differentiate any university is, how many outside — call it true NIL or whatever you want to call it — how many of those opportunities are out there for student-athletes? And having the best model not only is good for your university and you can recruit better and win, but it's also good for kids to get opportunities. So our plan is to continue on that whole for-profit space, to get as many opportunities as we can for our student-athletes in the for-profit brand space.' - Patrick 'Wheels' Smith, president of Texas One Fund
The Saban way also turns players that might think they've "made it" by getting a scholarship and NIL funds to play at a program like Texas into players obsessed with winning that hate losing.
'Excellence is exhausting, but it's worth it. (The players) see the success of their peers, and they're like, I want that, you know? The Outland trophies, the Thorpe awards, the All-Americans, the first-round picks, the draft picks, the College Football Playoffs. The on-the-cusp-of-a-national-championship. I want that. So how do I get there? It's pretty simple. The only thing I just keep looking for is, is there a complacency? Because complacency is, that'll get you. And we're fortunate. We've got no room to be complacent, because we haven't won the thing yet, you know?' - Texas coach Steve Sarkisian
To put the crown jewel on his achievement in Austin, Sark needs to win a title. Based on its first preseason No. 1 ranking in program history, it could happen this year.
Follow us on X/Twitter at @LonghornsWire.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Axios
20 minutes ago
- Axios
Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon leading group to buy Portland Trail Blazers
Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon and a group of investors have reached a tentative agreement to buy the NBA team the Portland Trail Blazers. Why it matters: The deal — reportedly valued at more than $4 billion, according to ESPN — raises questions about the feasibility of Dundon's plans to submit a bid to bring a Major League Baseball team to Raleigh, given the large transaction price. Driving the news: The Carolina Hurricanes confirmed that Dundon was in the process of buying the Trail Blazers on Wednesday. Reports indicate that the potential ownership group includes some Portland-area investors, and the goal is to keep the team in Oregon. Former owner of the Trail Blazers and Seattle Seahawks Paul Allen, the Microsoft cofounder who died in 2018, had in his will a stipulation that his teams be sold, according to Sportico, which first reported the Trail Blazers sale to Dundon. What they're saying: Dundon is "excited about the opportunity" to acquire the Trail Blazers, a spokesperson for the Hurricanes told Axios. "This will not impact the Carolina Hurricanes, and Tom still wants to bring Major League Baseball to North Carolina," the spokesperson added. Zoom in: Dundon has invested significantly in the Hurricanes since buying the team for $420 million in 2018, and his connections are shaping development across the region. He overhauled the Canes' front office and helped lead the team to seven-straight playoff appearances. Dundon and Dallas-based Pacific Elm Properties are investing $1 billion into turning Lenovo Center's parking lots into an entertainment and mixed-use destination. To land those investments from Dundon, however, Raleigh and Wake County committed hundreds of millions of dollars toward renovating Lenovo Center. Pacific Elm — which is part of Dundon Capital Partners, an investment firm Dundon founded — is now proposing an outdoor recreation center at Lake Crabtree Park, hinting at bringing an expansion of the U.S. Whitewater Center to Raleigh.
USA Today
20 minutes ago
- USA Today
Michael Porter Jr. thinks NBA's sports betting culture will get worse
A post shared by Front Office Sports (@frontofficesports) Not many people have seen the impacts of sports betting on professional sports as intimately as Michael Porter Jr., whose brother, Jontay, became the first player banned from the NBA for betting on league games. So, it's not surprising Porter would have a lot to say on the topic. What is surprising is just how in depth he went into ways a player might try to get around the rules, in a recent appearance on One Night with Steiny. "If you could get all your homies rich by telling them, 'Yo, bet $10,000 on my under. This one game I'm gonna act like I got an injury, and I'ma sit out. I'ma come out after three minutes.' And they all get a little bag because you did it one game. That is so not OK, but some people probably think like that." Well, now we know at least one person who thought it through. Maybe keep that to yourself if you're the brother of a guy facing prison time for that exact thing? On a more serious note, Porter isn't completely wrong. The scenario he laid out is likely a proposition (no pun intended) that's been already been brought to a few athletes by friends and associates. But even as the tracking technology used by integrity firms to catch bad actors continues to prove effective, Porter thinks the culture of sports betting is only going to get worse. "The whole sports gambling entity? Bro, it's bad and it's only going to get worse," Porter said. "We really do get death threats. The crazy part is you can't win anymore. If I do too good, I'm messing up the people that bet on the under. And if they bet on my over... you're messing up some people's money." That's the unfortunate part of it all. While the monitoring should be a big enough deterrent to prevent larger scandals in the future, that doesn't prevent bettors from harassing athletes and keeping them hyper-aware of everything that's at stake. Even if it's not their own money. Are the Trail Blazers staying in Portland? With the Portland Trail Blazers' sale to Tom Dundon, fans are wondering whether the team will end up as the next to abandon the Pacific Northwest. The reasons why are easy to understand, as Bryan Kalbrosky laid out here: "The news, which was originally reported by Sportico, led many folks to wonder the same question: Will the Trail Blazers remain in Portland considering that the Dallas-based Dundon is not otherwise affiliated with the Pacific Northwest. His other major sports asset, the Canes, is based in North Carolina." Thankfully, there appears to be good news on that front. Shootaround This was Layup Lines, For the Win's basketball newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
USA Today
20 minutes ago
- USA Today
Who is new Portland Trail Blazers owner Tom Dundon?
The new owner of the Portland Trail Blazers is already familiar with the colors black and red. Tom Dundon, the owner of the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes, reached an agreement Wednesday, Aug. 13 to purchase the Trail Blazers from the estate of Paul Allen. The sale price was not available as of early Wednesday afternoon. CNBC, which provides valuations of NBA franchises, listed the franchise at $3.65 billion in its most recent list. Since Allen's death in 2018, his sister, Jody Allen, became the executor and trustee of the estate and therefore the chairperson of the Trail Blazers and NFL's Seattle Seahawks. Paul Allen's estate had dictated that the majority of his wealth be donated to philanthropy. In May 2025, the estate formally put the Blazers up for sale. Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft alongside Bill Gates, had owned the Trail Blazers since 1988. Here's everything you need to know about new Trail Blazers owner Tom Dundon. Who is Tom Dundon? Dundon, 53, is a billionaire businessman who is the co-founder and chairman of Dallas-based private investment firm Dundon Capital Partners. He's also the co-founder and chairman of Southpaw Capital Partners. Born in New York and raised in Dallas, Dundon graduated from Southern Methodist in 1993 with a bachelor's degree in economics. His investments have spanned sports and entertainment, to real estate, healthcare, hospitality, tech and automotive and financial services. His first big break in the business landscape came in 1997, when he and a collection of partners formed a car financing corporation that became Santander Consumer USA. Dundon eventually rose to become the company's chairman and CEO. In 2015, Dundon stepped aside from that role and formed Dundon Capital Partners. He's also the majority owner of a Dallas-based real estate company called Pacific Elm Properties and is an investor in Topgolf Callaway Brands and Pickleball Inc. Dundon is also active in several Dallas-area charities and launched the Dundon Family Charitable Fund, which focuses on academic and athletic initiatives at several universities. When did Tom Dundon buy the Carolina Hurricanes? In 2017, Dundon's name surfaced in sales discussions to purchase the Hurricanes from previous longtime owner Peter Karmanos Jr. In January 2018, Dundon completed the sale and became the majority owner of the team. At the time, per Forbes, Dundon purchased 61% of the franchise's shares for $420 million. That included operating rights to the Lenovo Center (previously PNC Arena), the arena in Raleigh, North Carolina where the Hurricanes play. Then, in June 2021, Dundon purchased the remaining shares to become the sole owner and proprietor of the Hurricanes. The Hurricanes ended a nine-season playoff drought in his first full season of ownership and have made the postseason in all seven seasons. They have reached the Eastern Conference finals three times, including last season.
