Steve Sarkisian launched a direct attack on one of his SEC rivals during a recent interview.
The Texas Longhorns coach criticized Ole Miss for their transfer portal practices and academic standards in comments to USA TODAY Sports. Sarkisian wanted to highlight the differences between what’s happening in Oxford and Austin.
“At Texas, we will only take 50% of a player’s academic credit hours. You may be a semester from graduating, but you’re going all the way back to 50% if you play here and want a degree. But at Ole Miss, they can take you. All you have to do is take basket weaving, and you can get an Ole Miss degree.”
The Texas coach expanded his criticism beyond Ole Miss to the entire college football landscape.
“It’s like we’ve forgotten about academics, yet less than 5% of these guys will play in the NFL.”
Sarkisian’s comments reflect growing concerns about academic standards during the NIL era.
He also targeted Ole Miss for their approach to transfer portal regulations. The Longhorns coach suggested some programs work around NCAA rules through legal challenges.
“Everyone knows the rules, right? Then we go to our attorney general and say we don’t like that rule, let’s just sue. Right now, no one is afraid of the consequences.”
The two programs will face each other when Texas hosts Ole Miss at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium on Oct. 24.
Texas currently maintains stricter academic requirements for transfer students compared to other SEC programs. The Longhorns require transfers to start over at 50% of their previous credit hours regardless of their academic standing at their previous school.
This creates a competitive disadvantage in recruiting transfers who are close to graduation.
