Latest news with #ChrisDelConte
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
What UT officials said about Austin Regional status after storm damages Disch-Falk Field
Update, Thursday at 9:00 p.m.: The center field wall and a new, shorter batter's eye are back in place. A severe thunderstorm that rolled through Austin on Wednesday evening caused damage to UFCU Disch-Falk Field, the home of Texas baseball. Advertisement Wind blew green panels off the batter's eye and into the outfield. The fencing that forms the structure of the batter's eye was also forced out of place, with debris scattered across the warning track and throughout deep center field. The Longhorns are scheduled to host the NCAA Tournament's Austin Regional beginning on Friday. As of Wednesday evening, a spokesperson for the Texas athletic department said the schedule for the regional remained the same. Work had already begun on the damaged wall late Wednesday night. WHAT TO KNOW: NCAA Baseball Tournament bracket: What to know about Texas' opponents at Austin Regional Advertisement "We are aware of the situation and are working toward a solution," the statement read. "As of this moment, the Austin Regional is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. on Friday.' Responding to a fan's question on social media, Texas Athletic Director Chris Del Conte said the stadium would be ready for regional play on Friday. A crew examine and begin to assess the repair process to damage done to the batter's eye at the University of Texas' UFCU Disch-Falk Field following a severe thunderstorm on Wednesday evening, May 28, 2025. The Longhorns are set to host an NCAA Tournament Regional, beginning on Friday. PREVIEW: Why Texas baseball NCAA Tournament bracket draw gives Jim Schlossnagle a decision to make Top-seeded Texas is scheduled to play fourth-seeded Houston Christian to kick off the regional at 1 p.m. No. 2 UTSA is scheduled to play No. 3 Kansas State at 6 p.m. Teams are scheduled to practice at the facility beginning at 10 a.m. on Thursday. Advertisement Reach Texas Insider David Eckert via email at deckert@ Follow the American-Statesman on Facebook and X for more. Your subscription makes work like this possible. Get access to all of our best content with this tremendous offer. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas baseball stadium damaged by storm, will host NCAA Tournament
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Chris Del Conte responds as Texas blocks prime-time move for 2025 opener at Ohio State
The Texas Longhorns will open their 2025 football season against the Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus — and it will remain a Big Noon Saturday kickoff despite efforts to move the game to Sunday night. According to multiple reports, including one from Horns247, it was the Texas athletic department that declined a proposal from Ohio State and Fox Sports to shift the highly anticipated matchup into a Sunday prime-time slot. Advertisement Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte didn't mince words when asked about the decision. 'Why would I want to move the game to Sunday night and have a short week? I've got to go to church,' Del Conte said Wednesday, citing concerns over recovery time and personal priorities. When Fox Sports initially announced it had secured the rights to the game, the kickoff time was noticeably absent, prompting speculation the network was eyeing a marquee evening slot. Ohio State's athletic department reportedly lobbied for the move in hopes of avoiding yet another noon kickoff — a time slot that many Buckeyes fans believe stifles the game-day experience and tailgating atmosphere in Columbus. But that effort hit a wall. Since a Sunday move would alter the scheduled date of the game, Texas had to sign off on the change — something it was unwilling to do. Sources indicate that Texas believed its chances of winning would be stronger with a noon start and preferred not to compromise its preparation for the following week's game against San Jose State. Advertisement Fox has faced criticism from Ohio State fans in recent seasons for placing the Buckeyes in the Big Noon Saturday window for several high-profile games, diminishing the typical energy associated with late afternoon or evening kickoffs at Ohio Stadium. Had the game remained on Saturday but simply moved into a later time slot, Texas would have had no jurisdiction. But the proposed shift to Sunday required mutual agreement, and UT made its position clear. Texas and Ohio State are set to rematch after the Cotton Bowl win that advanced Ohio State to the National Championship, and then to win it all. This will also be the first game Texas has Arch Manning at the helm of the team. The 2025 showdown is expected to be one of the premier non-conference games of the season, drawing national attention — regardless of the time slot. This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Chris Del Conte shares thoughts on Ohio State game scheduling
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Storm damage repaired at Texas' Disch-Falk Field in time for NCAA regional
Storm damage repaired at Texas' Disch-Falk Field in time for NCAA regional All hands on deck! Can't thank the team from Turner construction and our facilities team for the Yeomans work🫡👏🏼👏🏼🤘🏽 — Chris Del Conte (@_delconte) May 29, 2025 Severe weather that swept through Central Texas this week left visible major damage at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. The storm destroyed the entire centerfield section of the outfield wall. There were even some questions whether the stadium would be ready for the start of the Austin NCAA Regional on Friday. Crews only had 41.5 hours to make the fixes, requiring an almost total rebuild of the wall. Turns out it didn't take near that about. In less than 24 hours, crews have rebuilt the wall and Texas Athletic Director Chris Del Conte says it's good to go. Texas, the No. 2 national seed, will open the regional Friday afternoon at 1 p.m. CT against Houston Christian. UTSA and Kansas State will meet in the nightcap. Disch-Falk Field, the longtime home of the Texas Longhorns, underwent a $27 million renovation in 2009 and remains one of college baseball's premier facilities. The same storm that damaged Disch-Falk caused widespread damage, including downed trees, damaged roofs, and overturned planes at area airports. While no major injuries were reported, cleanup crews have been working to clear debris and restore normalcy in affected neighborhoods. Just in case something happens, the Dell Diamond in Round Rock is the backup plan. The stadium 30 minutes from the UT Campus is the home of the Triple-A Round Rock Express, a Texas Rangers affiliate. Follow us on X (formerly Twitter) at @LonghornsWire.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Texas AD Chris Del Conte explains why he wouldn't move Ohio State game to Sunday
Fox Sports confirmed to Front Office Sports on Tuesday that it had offered to move Ohio State's season-opening game against Texas to Sunday night. ESPN usually has Sunday and Monday games for Labor Day weekend, and it appears Fox wanted a high-profile game to compete--and, obviously, Buckeye fans would love to not be playing at noon again. Of course, we reported on rumors of that last week, but it's good to have confirmation. Now that it's been confirmed and widely reported, no one is scared of offering their thoughts. So, at the SEC meetings in Florida this week, Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte explained his reasoning. 'Why would I want to move the game to Sunday night and have a short week?' Is this reasoning believable? It would mean going from six full prep days for the next game to basically five. But Texas' next opponent is San Jose State. The Spartans are a middle-of-the-road Mountain West team and did go bowling in 2024. Still, they're not really a threat to Texas. (I also assume the church line was mostly in jest, but there's no video of it to be sure.) Advertisement I get it. Football programs like their schedules and consistency. Short weeks are never fun. And it's not like this game will get any more attention on a Sunday night as opposed to a Saturday morning. Neither program needs it more. It's just another example of an SEC school giving up an opportunity to be of service to the fans. This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Texas AD explains not moving Ohio State game to Sunday
New York Times
3 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Fox exec: Texas ‘exercised their contractual right' in vetoing Ohio State opener's move to Sunday
Fox Sports and defending College Football Playoff champion Ohio State had an agreement to move the Buckeyes' season-opening game against Texas to Sunday in prime time, but Longhorns' brass vetoed the move, keeping the game at noon on the season's first Saturday. 'There was a deal in place between Fox and Ohio State to move the game to Sunday night,' Mike Mulvihill, Fox Sports' president of insights and analytics, told The Athletic. 'We felt like Week 1 prior to NFL kickoff gave us an opportunity to look at sort of an alternate scenario, and then Texas exercised their contractual right to keep the game on Saturday, which is completely their right. I can understand why they would take that position, but we did work with the school to try to come up with a different scenario and get the game to Sunday.' Advertisement The attempted change sought to assuage Ohio State fans' ire about kickoff times after the Buckeyes finished the 2024 regular season with six consecutive noon starts last year, including five as part of Fox's branded Big Noon Saturday broadcast. Had Texas approved of the move, it would have kept the Big Ten's ratings Goliath on Fox. The rematch between CFP semifinalists will generate huge ratings no matter when it is televised. Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte told reporters at SEC meetings this week he was the one who shot down the opportunity. 'Why would I want to move the game to Sunday night and have a short week?' said Del Conte, which was reported by ESPN. 'I've got to go to church.' Texas plays San Jose State back home in Austin in Week 2, kicking off at noon ET (11 a.m. local time), while Ohio State hosts FCS program Grambling later that afternoon at 3:30 p.m. ET. Fox shares Big Ten media rights with CBS and NBC but has the first three selections in the league's annual draft. Ohio State appeared in eight of the 21 highest-rated games last season en route to a national championship and is the Big Ten's flagship program annually for viewership. It makes the Buckeyes a target for the top selection each week, whether that's on Fox, CBS or NBC. 'I definitely recognize and appreciate that it was frustrating for their fans last year to finish the season with six straight games at the same kickoff time,' Mulvihill said. 'It's something that's just a byproduct of doing these game allocations via a draft. It's not something that you would draw up if you had full control of the schedule and you just did it on a whiteboard. But when you've got three entities cycling through draft picks, there are things that can happen that maybe aren't the way that you would draw it up. They're not ideal. So I definitely understand the frustration that they had at the end of last season.' Advertisement Fox owns 61 percent of Big Ten Network, a joint venture the organizations founded in 2007. The Big Ten's rights fees with its media partners approach $1 billion per year, with Fox paying the largest percentage. 'The model we've got in place allows the conference to have the highest media rights fees in the country, and a lot of that media rights revenue is being passed on to player talent and coaching talent,' Mulvihill said. 'I think there's a direct link between the media rights deals that the Big Ten has struck and the fact that the conference has won the last two national championships.'
