Chris Del Conte to receive contract extension through 2036, pending UT regents approval

Texas vice president and athletics director Chris Del Conte will receive a contract extension through 2036 as well as a sizable raise, pending the approval of the UT System Board of Regents at their meeting this week in Austin. Del Conte, who came to Texas in 2017 from TCU, will make $2.9 million this year and see his salary increase incrementally each year until he makes $4.25 million in 2036.

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Del Conte was previously signed through 2030.

When former UT president Jay Hartzell announced his decision to leave Austin for SMU in the winter of 2024-25, there was some concern that Del Conte would follow his former boss to Dallas. At a UT athletics town hall meeting in February, Del Conte shot down those rumors.

He did the same on X as well.

Under Del Conte, the Longhorn athletic department has won four NACDA Directors’ Cups, an honor given annually to the “most successful overall athletic program in each division of collegiate sports.” Texas has won four of the last five, finishing second in 2022-23.

The Longhorns have won 16 national championships in sports like men’s swimming and diving, men’s tennis, women’s rowing, women’s tennis, men’s golf, men’s indoor track, women’s outdoor track, volleyball, and softball under Del Conte. Texas has made substantial physical improvements, namely the new Moody Center, the new South End Zone facility, and the coming Indoor Practice Facility during Del Conte’s tenure. Baseball, softball, volleyball, and rowing have all seen facility improvements. Texas also added a beach volleyball program.

The Longhorn football program under Steve Sarkisian, the first football coach Del Conte hired as athletic director, has also seen great heights thanks to Del Conte’s leadership. Texas has made it to the semifinals of the College Football Playoff in back-to-back years and won the 2023 Big 12 Championship during the program’s final season in the league.

Del Conte was instrumental in the decision to move to the Southeastern Conference and in the process of leaving the Big 12. In addition, Del Conte, along with Hartzell and UT Board of Regents chairman Kevin Eltife, were key in getting the Longhorns to the SEC one year earlier than scheduled in 2024.

In addition to bringing in the trophies, Del Conte also helps Texas bring in the dough. According to Knight-Newhouse data, Texas brought in almost $332 million in revenue in 2024 with $137 million coming from donor contributions. That total is more than the athletic revenue for Conference USA in 2024.

Del Conte has overseen great financial, facility, and on-field successes in his almost 10 years leading the Longhorns. With an extension that will see him in Austin for another decade-plus, the Longhorns have their man leading the athletic department into the future of college athletics.