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The Texas Longhorns will kick off their final season in the Big 12 conference on Saturday against the Rice Owls as Steve Sarkisian enters his third year as head coach.
Texas has made it clear it understands there will be extra motivation to beat them this year as they prepare to depart for the SEC after the 2023 college football season.
Commissioner Brett Yormark during a Big 12 Tournament semifinal basketball game between the Iowa State Cyclones and Kansas Jayhawks on March 10, 2023, at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri. (Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
While Sarkisian knows everyone will be rooting against his Longhorns this season, recent comments from Brett Yormark, commissioner of the Big 12, were a bit surprising.
Speaking last week at the Red Raider Club kickoff luncheon in Lubbock, Texas, Yormark had a message for Texas Tech head football coach Joey McGuire.
"Coach [McGuire], I'm not going to put any pressure on you, but I'm gonna be in Austin for Thanksgiving. And you'd better take care of business like you did right here in Lubbock last year," Yormark said.
Sarkisian was asked about Yormark’s comments on Monday and the Texas head coach joked that the reporter was trying to get him in trouble.
Head coach Steve Sarkisian of the Texas Longhorns reacts during the Texas Football Orange-White Spring Football Game at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on April 15, 2023, in Austin. (Tim Warner/Getty Images)
"I got a letter from the commissioner about sportsmanship the day before that speech," Sarkisian told reporters. "So, I'm trying to figure out about what are we promoting to our student-athletes and then to go say those types of things. I'm not guessing he's gonna have his Thanksgiving dinner with us the night before that game."
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Texas also found itself in some controversy over the weekend when an "Embrace the hate" T-shirt was promoted by the University Co-op, the school’s store.
"A lot has been made about that, a lot has been made about a T-shirt being made," Sarkisian continued. "Let’s not make this more than it is. This is about us. We’re focused on what we get to do and why we get to do it. We’re proud to be part of the University of Texas."
Sarkisian has used the phrase "embrace the hate" before, saying his team understands what they face in their final year in the Big 12.
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Head coach Steve Sarkisian of the Longhorns watches players warm up before the game against the Baylor Bears at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Nov. 25, 2022, in Austin. (Tim Warner/Getty Images)
"I think that they've kind of assumed this mentality of, ‘Embrace the hate.’ We get it. We're the University of Texas, we get it. This is our last year in the Big 12," he said in August, via ESPN.
"We can sit there and be a punching bag, or we can go attack the people that we're going to play. And I think that they've assumed that responsibility to say, 'Hey, we're gonna go after everybody else too.' I think that that's the right mentality to have."
Texas is looking to win its first conference championship since 2009.