Del Conte says he’s not listening to job offers: ‘TCU is home’
TCU athletic director Chris Del Conte said Monday he has not spoken with Arizona about its opening and does not plan to, refuting speculation that linked him to the position.
“I’ve had many donors call me from my time there, and I tell them that I love them, that they’ll always have a special place in my heart, but TCU is home,” he said.
Del Conte was an assistant athletic director at Arizona from 2000 to 2006. He worked in the athletic department of another Pac-12 school, Washington State, in 1998 and 1999.
He said he is not looking for another job and feels no obligation to listen to offers.
No, I do not, because I don’t want our coaches doing that. I don’t want anyone doing that. I want everyone to be loyal to TCU.
TCU athletic director Chris Del Conte
on whether he feels an obligation to listen to job offers“No, I do not, because I don’t want our coaches doing that,” he said. “I don’t want anyone doing that. I want everyone to be loyal to TCU. I understand with coaches, it’s a businiess decision. It’s my choice to try to keep coaches here, and we’ve done a good job of doing that because we feel that TCU is a destination job. We have to remember that TCU is a destination job. That’s my feeling, and that’s what I say every time we recruit a player or coach to come here.”
On Twitter, Del Conte responded to followers about the speculation.
Anytime a job is open and our name is mentioned its because of the effort y' all put forth to make TCU great.. we're just getting started https://t.co/8Dkeh613Nb
— Chris Del Conte (@_delconte) January 21, 2017
Like I've said many times... I work for an amazing chancellor who inspires us all to go above and beyond what is possible.. All !! https://t.co/5WBT9pXYbH
— Chris Del Conte (@_delconte) January 21, 2017
— Chris Del Conte (@_delconte) January 21, 2017
Del Conte has been at TCU since being hired from Rice in October 2009. Since his arrival, TCU has rebuilt Amon G. Carter Stadium in football, renovated the basketball arena and locker room and added new offices, a training center and a new locker room among other renovations at the baseball stadium. A new locker room was also built for volleyball, and soccer is resurfacing its playing field.
Del Conte said football and baseball season tickets are sold out and that soccer, men’s tennis and volleyball led the Big 12 in attendance.
“Opportunities come and go,” Del Conte said. “At some point in time, I’ll look back on my career at TCU and say we did a lot of good things. But we still have a lot of work to do. We’re just getting started competing on a national level across all sports, and I want to see that through.”
Carlos Mendez: 817-390-7760, @calexmendez
This story was originally published January 23, 2017 at 1:49 PM with the headline "Del Conte says he’s not listening to job offers: ‘TCU is home’."