UT Cans Steve Patterson As AD

Now athletic director Steve Patterson is gone, too, after less than two years. As the head coach, when I recruit players, my responsibility to them and their families is to do all I can to make sure they leave Rutgers with a degree and are prepared for a successful life off the football field.

Now that Patterson is out and former Longhorn linebacker Mike Perrin is in as the interim AD, what does all this mean for the Texas Athletic program?

Melinda Hill Perrin, the daughter of former Texas Attorney General and Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice John Hill, has been perhaps even more visible at UT-Austin. USC won the game. Even though some fans are becoming restless with the Strong regime, there’s a growing consensus that the firing of Patterson will have little effect on the job security of Strong.

O.J. Simpson of USC, is grabbed by Mike Perrin of Texas (81), but…

In a way, all of that led to the afternoon of September 7, when Perrin’s Labor Day cookout was interrupted by a telephone call.

The University of Texas accepted the resignation of athletic director Steve Patterson on Tuesday, calling the parting a mutual decision. He roared, saying he’d fire them all to ensure he got the guilty party.

“This has been a decision that had been building over recent weeks”, Fenves said. “He has complete integrity and impeccable judgment”.

Citing a source, the Statesman’s Kirk Bohls said that a lack of support from the Texas coaches was the “final straw” for Patterson at Texas.

Perrin attended the Longhorns’ 42-28 win over Rice last week and enters the job determined to reconnect with the fan base. About 10,000 fans didn’t renew season-tickets. One of UT’s most generous benefactors, San Antonio billionaire Red McCombs, said that’s a good strategy.

Fenves said that there’s no timeline for setting up a search committee to find a long-term athletic director. “In most cases, it’s not possible to make changes…” His hiring of coaches Charlie Strong and Shaka Smart, however, were widely praised. “I wish we all could be so unfortunate”, Babers said.

Plonsky holds a truly unique position in NCAA Division I athletics because Texas is the only school with two athletic directors. Its apparel contract with Nike is expiring in June 2016, and a lucrative extension will be the first order of business for the new AD. Longhorns football needs to get back on track, and a new or renovated basketball arena is on deck. He has received the university’s Presidential Citation, and he is a member of UT Austin’s Men’s Athletics Hall of Honor. But he doesn’t see it that way.

When asked if he would consider taking over permanently, Perrin said, “I’m not an English major, but “interim” is a very finite term to me”. Since November 2013, UT has changed men’s athletic directors twice, and also replaced the school president, the football coach and the men’s basketball coach.

For much of Steve Patterson’s 22-month reign atop one of the wealthiest programs in college sports, Texas’ alumni, fans and influential donors complained about how he failed to connect with those around him.

He said Perrin is highly qualified to do so again in this new role.