Texas AD Chris Del Conte dismisses SMU rumors, says he’s staying put with Longhorns

Longhorn fans, not to fear Chris Del Conte says he is not going anywhere. Despite rumors flying that the elite Athletics Director could depart to Southern Methodist University, Del Conte says those rumors are “1000% false.” Chris Del Conte joined the Longhorns in 2017 after holding the same roles at Rice and TCU, respectively.
In January, University of Texas president Jay Hartzell announced in an email to community members that he would step down from his position at the end of the academic year to take on the role of president of SMU. Last week, SMU AD Rick Hart announced he would step down later this year. After 13 years of service, Hart has decided to embark on a new challenge after the university reached it’s long-sought goal of transitioning into a power conference. It joined the Atlantic Coast Conference last year.
Naturally, there has been speculation that Hartzell and the big money boosters at SMU might target Del Conte to take over the Mustangs resurgent athletic department. But Del Conte dismissed the rumors on Sunday in a tweet, where one user asked him “@_delconteI sure hope the rumors of you being enticed to go to SMU aren’t true!  The Luka trade was already too much to handle!!!  :)” Del Conte replied with a gif that featured Ted Lasso with the caption “1000% false.”
If SMU is seeking a Texas associate athletics director, similar to how New Mexico State successfully recruited Texas Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director for Operations Fernando Lovo, naming him their 14th Vice President and Director of Athletics, they could consider targeting Texas Sarah Baumgartner, the Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director, Sports Administration at Texas.
Another potential candidate could be Drew Martin, the Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director, External Affairs. Martin previously worked under Del Conte at TCU, while Baumgartner served as the deputy director of athletics at Rutgers University from 2017 to 2021 before joining Texas. It’s unclear if there is any interest between any of the parties at SMU at this time, although both individuals could shine as top candidates from the Texas Longhorns athletics program.