Texas AD Chris Del Conte endorses nine-game SEC schedule due to Red River Rivalry

Everyone at SEC Spring Meetings has an opinion on the conference’s future scheduling model. Some are in favor of remaining at eight games, while others hope to move to nine. Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte falls into the latter, citing the program’s massive midseason rivalry.

“I’ve always been a proponent of 9 league games because of our Red River game vs. Oklahoma in Dallas,” Del Conte said at via Brett McMurphy.

The Red River Shootout will have Texas as the designated home team in 2025. This means only three SEC games will take place in Austin, one of which is on Black Friday against Texas A&M. And with Texas heading on the road for its massive nonconference showdown against Ohio State, the home slate is a little light in Austin.

Del Conte knows moving to nine games would help him out in a massive way. A neutral site matchup would not imbalance the schedule, giving Texas four SEC home games and another four on the road. Of course, Oklahoma deals with the same but this is nothing new for Florida and Georgia, who routinely play in Jacksonville.

“Texas AD Chris Del Conte is in favor of a 9 game conference schedule due to the location of the Red River Shootout and past experience in the Big 12,” On3’s Inside Texas added on the matter via X. “He also plans to continue to schedule difficult out of conference games like Ohio State and Notre Dame regardless of the format.”

Looking at the future nonconference slate, Texas has two more games against Ohio State scheduled, beginning with the Aug. 30 matchup. The game will be played on Saturday, not Sunday, as Del Conte has a church service to attend in the morning.

Michigan will come to Austin in 2027 after this past season’s matchup provided entertainment. As mentioned, a Notre Dame home-and-home series is on the calendar for 2028 and 2029. Three years later, Texas will go back and forth with Arizona State in 2032 and 2033. Del Conte is not going to be afraid to schedule massive early-season games for Texas to play, even if nine SEC foes are waiting on the other side.

But at the end of the day, everything comes back to the Red River Shootout. Texas-Oklahoma is one of college football’s top rivalries, with the Cotton Bowl being an iconic venue for the game. Being able to preserve the tradition while bringing schedule balance appears to be Del Conte’s top goal.