For someone with very limited knowledge of college athletics, Greg Fenves had a bigger impact on Texas sports than most expected. His successor as Texas president may have just as big a role, not only at the school, but within the Big 12.
Texas confirmed Tuesday that Fenves is leaving June 30 after five years as school president to become president at Atlanta's Emory University, an NCAA Division III school with a very lofty academic rep. Question: Is there a transfer portal for university presidents?
By his own admission, Fenves had limited athletics knowledge but was thrust into a hands-on role after inheriting Steve Patterson, the AD from hell. For someone who went to exactly one football game in 20 years working at Cal during the era of Aaron Rogers and Marshawn Lynch, Fenves did a solid job of providing stability for the Longhorns.
He fired Patterson, which started the healing process. He brought in new AD Chris Del Conte from TCU, a natural salesman who has jump-started fundraising and morale and capital projects. Prodded by boosters, Fenves and acting AD Mike Perrin led the Bevo stampede to hire football coach Tom Herman after the 2016 season. The jury is still out on if Herman was the right hire.
Plus, there was the just plain weird, like the time Fenves led a Texas delegation to Tulsa to try to land offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert in a driveway negotiation.
Fenves' successor comes into a time of huge uncertainty because of COVID-19 and its impact on athletics, the whole university and the economy. Del Conte seems to have a firm handle on the athletic department, which is a plus.
From a big-picture standpoint, the Big 12's TV contracts are up in 2024-25, which brings an air of uncertainty to a conference that has finally started to enjoy stability.
There's no sign of Texas bolting elsewhere at the moment since the Longhorn Network contract would make a move to another conference difficult.
But any time Texas or Oklahoma has a new face at the top, all the other schools in the conference pay attention for possible changes.
