When University of Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian recently suggested that his second-string players could run the table against Texas Tech's schedule, it raised eyebrows across the Lone Star State — and not just among Red Raider fans. For engaged Austinites, this kind of public posturing from a highly paid public university coach is worth a closer look.
Sarkisian earns one of the largest coaching salaries in college football, funded in part by student fees and public university resources. When university leaders use their platforms to demean rival institutions — many of which serve working-class Texas families and communities outside the Austin bubble — it sends a troubling message about institutional values and priorities.
Texas Tech, based in Lubbock, serves a region of Texas that often feels overlooked by the state's power centers. Dismissing that program and its players isn't just bad sportsmanship — it reflects a broader pattern of Austin-centric arrogance that civic-minded residents should push back against.
What stakeholders are saying: UT boosters and fans may cheer the confidence, but current and former Tech players, West Texas communities, and advocates for equitable higher education funding see this as tone-deaf leadership. Meanwhile, students at both universities are watching how adults in charge model competitive respect — or the lack of it.
What you can do: Contact the UT Athletic Department and the University of Texas Board of Regents to express that Austin values sportsmanship and institutional respect. Attend or tune into UT Board of Regents meetings where athletic department conduct is reviewed. Support student journalists at both universities covering the culture of college athletics honestly. And remind your neighbors that civic pride shouldn't come at the cost of lifting ourselves up by putting others down.
Austin can cheer for its teams loudly and proudly — but our city's values demand that we also hold our institutions accountable for the culture they model both on and off the field.