ESPN College Football

AUSTIN, Texas -- In the half hour that DeLoss Dodds and Texas president Bill Powers spent talking about the Longhorns athletic director’s achievements and impending departure, one substantial chunk of his legacy was hardly mentioned.

They talked about the championships, the student-athletes, the staffers, the ambitions and plenty about the future during today’s press conference.

What they did not talk much about was all the money.

Sure, it’s understandable. Dodds and Powers didn’t need to spend any time bragging, not when this day was meant to celebrate all that Dodds has meant to the Texas athletic department.

You can’t say, though, that a price can’t be put on his legacy. The man built a financial empire at Texas, one that will support athletics at Texas long after he’s gone.

Dodds has been on the job 32 years. When he took over in the fall of 1981, he said Texas’ athletics budget was $4 million. Today, he says, it’s closer to $170 million.

The 76-year-old will help advise Texas during the nationwide search for his successor. It’s a safe bet that he’ll be looking for someone with the kind of business savvy he’s brought to the position when eyeing the candidates to inherit his throne.

“There are a lot of people that can do the job,” Dodds said. “President Powers will find the right person to do the job. I'll be on that person's team.”

Dodds spurred more than $400 million in facility upgrades and has made Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium the nation’s sixth-largest at a capacity of more than 100,000. He took over at a time when each UT program fundraised itself and created The Longhorn Foundation, which has 13,000 donors and has raised more than $400 million for athletic programs.

The brand he’s helped build keeps growing. Dodds struck the $300 million deal to create the Longhorn Network. For eight straight years, Texas has been the nation’s No. 1 college merchandising brand according to the Collegiate Licensing Company.

That’s just scratching the surface of what he’s built in three decades. Dodds was honored to learn that his friend Donnie Duncan was in attendance on Tuesday. The ex-Oklahoma athletic director regaled reporters with stories of all the work and meetings he and Dodds put in to create the Big 12 Conference.

“There is not another DeLoss Dodds out there who will fit Texas the way DeLoss does, but he’s been here 32 years,” Duncan said. “You can’t expect that. But someone will bring certain strengths. Someone will hit the right chord and someone will come here and do a great job.”

Few will be able to match his wit when it comes to negotiations, Duncan said. Dodds would sit quietly and fill legal pads with notes at times, but when it came time for business he was an astute fighter for the University of Texas. He wasn’t afraid to speak unpleasant truths and get exactly what he desired.

“The amazing thing to me is I would sit there and listen to him negotiate some of these contracts,” said David McWilliams, Texas’ former football coach. “And I would think, ‘Oh, he’s smarter than they are. They’re going to get their britches took off by him.’ He always had his information.”

But this wasn’t about selfish victories. Dodds and those who worked with him say his end goal in all matters was putting money back into the Longhorns programs and benefitting his student-athletes.

“When he speaks, everybody listens,” former Texas women’s basketball coach and women’s AD Jody Conradt said. “I think that’s definitely true of DeLoss. It’s his calmness, his ability to think through issues and, when he speaks, you know you’re going to get wise counsel. He brought that same quality to intercollegiate athletics.”

There’s no replacing a power broker like Dodds, but the fact he’ll have a strong say in his successor suggests the next Texas athletic director will be someone who commands his respect.

And that’s a powerful thing. Powers lauded the fact that Dodds has built trust with so many commissioners, athletic directors and coaches. He dedicated more than 30 years to building that cachet.

Good luck finding an athletic director who can match it. That’s the task Texas now faces, and its leaders are confident that even though there’s no replacing Dodds, the next AD is stepping into a remarkably fortunate situation.

“What you do is build on the foundation that they've made. You extend things. You don't replace them,” Powers said. “The good news for the person coming in is they are inheriting a wonderful edifice that DeLoss has built over the last three decades. That actually will be a blessing for the new person coming in.

“I have no doubt that this will be a very highly sought-after job, and that we will get a great men's athletic director.”

Thanks for all your questions in today's chat. Here's where you can find the full transcript. If you didn't get your question posted, send it to the mailbag and you could see it on the Big 12 blog on Friday:

Michael (Flower Mound, TX): Could Baylor really be the best in the Big 12?

Jake Trotter: Sure, why not? They've looked like the best team so far along with Oklahoma. And they get the Sooners in Waco on Nov. 7.

Robert (El Paso): I think Kliff Kingsbury has done a pretty good job so far, but he went for a fourth down against TCU that was ill-advised. What are your thoughts on Kliff so far?

Jake Trotter: Kliff has been the Big 12 coach of the year so far, in my humble opinion.

ouwooferman (Houston): Bigger environment: Playing at ND or BU?

Jake Trotter: Notre Dame. Better team? Baylor.

Kyle (Iowa): What do you think is key for Iowa State to upset Texas? Establishing a running game or will it be more on the defensive side of the ball?

Jake Trotter: Getting Aaron Wimberly going. He's the sparkplug in that offense. If they can get him in space, they have a chance to move the ball.

Kevin (Reno, NV): What took Dana Holgorsen so long to place Clint Trickett in the starting lineup? I thought he was penciled in when he arrived to Morgantown?

Jake Trotter: Strange, right? I thought for sure Holgorsen would give Trickett a shot during the OU game when it had become evident WV was not scoring with [Paul] Millard at QB.

Jeff (Dallas): Better Defense - OU or TCU?

Jake Trotter: Slight edge to TCU when all its guys are healthy.

JakeJones (OKC): Which Big 12 team should be on upset alert this weekend?

Jake Trotter: Texas. Iowa State found its offensive footing in Tulsa, and Ames on a Thursday night -- that's a setting nobody wants to deal with.

Larry (TX): Which would you consider the better coaching job, USC or Texas (assuming Mack Brown gets smoked by OU)?

Jake Trotter: Texas. More money. More support.

Ryan (Tyler, TX): Jake, who will the Longhorns look to replace DeLoss Dodds?

Jake Trotter: First name I thought of was Oliver Luck. Luck has a law degree from Texas.

Allen (Houston): Still not buying Baylor. When they play these teams with athletes on D, they wont be putting up all those points. Same old Baylor, with a ceiling of 9 wins. Won’t be shocked to see WVU beat them handily.

Jake Trotter: There's always the possibility they become this year's 2012 West Virginia. I don't see it. This Baylor defense is better than last year's West Virginia defense. And this Baylor offense is more complete than last year's West Virginia offense, which really had just 3-4 players.

Jesse (SC): Should a conference expansion occur, what teams would be the prime candidates for the Big 12?

Jake Trotter: The only schools worth adding at this point would be in the ACC. But that would require the ACC crumbling before the Big 12.

Josh (Dallas): Still taking a wait-and-see approach with the entire top 3. None are yet to have a performance against a quality team that makes you think they are playing on the level of a clear favorite. Thoughts?

Jake Trotter: I think that's somewhat fair, but winning in Notre Dame is no small feat, even if the Irish are not as good as last season.

Drew (Houston): Love the work Jake, definitely helps me get through the week until Saturday's games. Is it just me or do fans of other teams seem really upset that Baylor isn't an automatic “W” for their team anymore? Seems like any praise Baylor gets, they try to point out "they haven't played anyone" argument or bring up Baylor's past history claiming they've never finished close to the top of the B12 so they can't this year. While I agree they haven't been tested yet, they sure have obliterated the teams they've face, which is what great teams should do. I've got news for them, this Baylor squad is good and worth all of the attention it is getting.

Jake Trotter: Some outside fans don't believe yet, which is somewhat understandable... what has Baylor ever done other than win 10 games in 2011? But per the eye test, this team is legit, and I think they will begin to prove that as the competition level rises.

Big Ferm (San Diego): As a Baylor fan, it's time to quit talking about it and be about it. Will a convincing victory over WVU on Saturday legitimize the Bears as a real threat to win the Big 12?

Jake Trotter: Baylor won't be legitimate in the eyes of many unless they beat OU Nov. 7. That will be their chance to win the doubters over, too.

Tony (Richmond, CA): Has Sterling Shepherd now officially arrived?

Jake Trotter: Thought he arrived last season?

Jon (Atlanta): Considering Maryland blanked WVU, how much does that say about OK State?

Jake Trotter: Maryland didn't face Trickett. He would have made a difference in that game, though not the ultimate outcome. But it doesn't bode well for OSU. The defense played OK, but didn't dominate an offense that had been completely inept previously.

Dillon (Bedford, PA): Do you think Keith Patterson is due for a raise? It's early but the improvement in WV's defense is pretty amazing so far.

Jake Trotter: It's amazing. The Mountaineers have been stout. Big test coming this weekend.

CJ (Norman): What's your favorite NCAA football food?

Jake Trotter: Ballgame food? Corndogs. Usually walk down from the press box during halftime of games I'm covering to get one.

If you haven't already seen the video of Dana Holgorsen sipping Red Bull on the sideline, enjoy.

• Texas AD DeLoss Dodds is expected to announce plans for his resignation today. A look at some potential candidates to replace him. The Longhorns also lost a legend Monday in former quarterback James Street.
• One year after giving up 807 yards in Morgantown, Baylor is ready to show how far its defense has come against West Virginia.
• Could Oklahoma find a way to use both Blake Bell and Trevor Knight to challenge opposing defenses?
• Even after one of the best games of his career, TCU safety Sam Carter remains his own toughest critic.
• Texas Tech is sticking with Baker Mayfield at quarterback this week. Is staring the season 7-0 a realistic possibility?
• Charlie Weis still remembers drafting Kliff Kingsbury while with the Patriots. What's going on with the receivers at Kansas? Ex-Jayhawk Marquel Combs has transferred to Southeastern Louisiana.
• Still no word on whether Oklahoma State CB Justin Gilbert will be punished for getting ejected from the WVU game. J.W. Walsh regrets audibling out of a goal-line run in that loss. OSU landed the fastest recruit in the country Monday.
• WVU is down to one healthy quarterback, creating one big question mark for Saturday.
• Paul Rhoads has found his guy at running back in Aaron Wimberly.
• Kansas State is preparing for a disappointed Oklahoma State team this week and trying to fix its own flaws.

1. George DeLeone hired Paul Pasqualoni as an assistant coach at Southern Connecticut State in 1976, and the two have coached together for most of the seasons since, from Division III to FBS to the NFL. When UConn fired Pasqualoni on Monday after two-plus seasons as head coach, the school fired DeLeone, the associate head coach and offensive line coach, too. The Huskies are 0-4, scoring 18 points and gaining 272.5 yards of total offense per game. Pasqualoni has a solid record (151-94-1, .616) in 22 years as a head coach. Something tells me he and DeLeone aren’t done coaching -- together -- just yet.

2. Oregon has won its last 15 road conference games, the longest such FBS winning streak. The Ducks have won their last game at every Pac-12 opponent save Utah (in 2003, when Utes were in MWC. Does that count?) Alabama has won nine straight road SEC games. Stanford and Texas A&M each have won their last five road conference games. The Cardinal lost to Washington in 2012 at CenturyLink Field in Seattle. However, with the victory at that stadium Saturday over Washington State, Stanford has won its last game at every opposing venue in the Pac-12.


3. Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds will announce today that he is retiring next August after 32 years. All Dodds, a former track coach, has done is transform Texas into the premier sports program in the nation. It took him three coaching hires to find Mack Brown, but 150 wins and one BCS championship in 16 seasons indicate Dodds got that one right. It’s a measure of the resources and the expectations that Dodds has raised that fans wonder why the Longhorns don’t dominate every sport in which they compete.

DeLoss Dodds is stepping down as athletic director of Texas. The effects of that decision on the future of the Longhorns athletic department will be far-reaching.

Dodds will formally announce Tuesday his plan to leave the job he has held for 32 years and step down as AD at the end of August, 2014. The search for his replacement is already underway and could end as early as Dec. 1.

Whoever is tapped to replace the Texas legend inherits one of the most powerful thrones in college athletics, and could face one of the most important transition periods in school history. We’ll get into that in a moment, though it’s a topic we’ll be talking about throughout the next year.

Dodds is a powerful man with a legacy to match. He made the Longhorns the financial behemoth it has become today and oversaw one of the greatest periods of athletic success in school history. Whoever is deemed fit to take his place has Texas-sized shoes to fill.

By setting these plans in motion nearly a year in advance, he’s providing UT more than enough time to make a smooth transition. That Dodds will stick around as a consultant should help, too. This is a major move and one that must be handled carefully.

Just imagine the résumés that will wind up on UT President Bill Powers’ desk during the search process. He’ll eventually pick from an elite group of candidates, and there’s no doubt he’ll be seeking a leader with the kind of big-picture thinking, sharp judgment and business savvy that Dodds displayed during his long tenure.

In its report breaking Monday’s news, the Austin American-Statesman said West Virginia athletic director Oliver Luck is one candidate to keep an eye on. Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick’s name has come up plenty in recent weeks, and more major players will in the next few weeks.

The successor could face a critical dilemma whenever he or she is finally chosen. What will be done about the coaches of three of Texas’ most important programs?

Mack Brown knows he has to win and win big this year, and a 2-2 start didn’t make life any easier. The Texas football coach has long said he has a tremendous relationship with Dodds and Powers, who have backed him throughout a trying month for Longhorn football.

“I’ve got the two best bosses in the world,” Brown said days after Texas’ loss to BYU. “They get it. They understand. I have great conversations with them. They put me in a position to run it, they want me to do it, and I’m responsible for it. That’s what I’ve got to do. DeLoss has been around a long time. I don’t have knee-jerk bosses. They get it.”

Well, one of those bosses is now leaving. Who knows how much success in 2013 will be enough to impress the next boss, or whether Brown’s sub-.600 record since 2009 will simply be too much to overcome.

Will the next AD be prepared to clean house? He or she could face similar big-picture decisions with Longhorns men’s basketball and baseball.

The legendary Augie Garrido hasn’t taken UT to a College World Series in two years and didn’t make the Big 12 tournament in 2013. Rick Barnes hasn’t advanced past the second round of the NCAA tournament since 2008 and didn’t make the field last season.

These are worst-case scenarios, to be sure, but not unrealistic ones. The candidates for Texas’ athletic director job will be well aware of these potential first-year decisions.

There are many other reasons why Texas must find the right person for the job. The truth is, there’s really no replacing Dodds. This day had to come eventually, though, and evidently the countdown to that day begins Tuesday.