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Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Chris Del Conte chats live Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. CT. Fans are encouraged to submit their questions now.
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TCU Moderator: Welcome to today's chat with TCU director of intercollegiate athletics Chris Del Conte. |
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| Houston: Where do you see the track and field/cross country programs in the future? What are their status on your priority list? Over the years, they have underachieved at the Big 12 level and been dominated on by other programs. What are your views on this? |
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Chris Del Conte: We're in our third year in the Big 12, and our goal is for all our sports to compete for conference championships. In the last couple of seasons, we've had several individual national champions in track and field as well as a host of All-Americans. The goal always remains to win championships. |
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| Houston, Texas: (Men's football) Do you see us contending on a national stage this season and or becoming the BIG12 Champs within the next few years? |
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Chris Del Conte: If you recall, Gary Patterson has laid out a 3-to-5 year plan for us to compete for a Big 12 championship. We're currently ranked 10th in the nation. I'm very pleased with the progress of our football program. |
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| Fort Worth: Can you address why TCU doesn't allow fans to drop off tailgating gear the night before a game like other teams in the Big 12? (i.e. Baylor & OU) |
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Chris Del Conte: This has been a topic of discussion on our staff. However, with the exception of the RV lot, some of our lots aren't cleared until midnight due to campus activities. |
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| Keith (Fort Worth): What happened to the instant replays? Worked great the first game, but no luck since. |
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Chris Del Conte: The replays worked great the first two games, but we had technical issues since. We anticipate the replays working again on Saturday. |
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| Kyle (Plano): Sorry to beat a dead horse, but is there any movement toward selling beer in the stadium? Our fan base has improved this year for sure, but believe this move would help keep some of the halftime tailgaters inside... |
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Chris Del Conte: Selling beer and wine in stadiums is a topic of discussion nationally and at TCU, but there's no real movement to do so here at the moment. |
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| Jacob: Love the weekly videos. Tell the marketing team to keep it up. |
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Chris Del Conte: Agree! Thanks for your support. |
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| FW Frog: Can something be done about the empty seats behind the bench? As a long time season ticket holder, it pains me every game to look over from the upper deck on the east side and see so many open seats right behind the bench or alot of the opposing fans sitting in them. Maybe start a use it or lose it policy like OU? Only one ticket per person can be swiped in and start keeping track of who use their tickets? One glance at stubhub will tell you we have a problem. It would make the atmosphere better if those seats weren't empty and were filled with diehard fans like myself. Thanks for everything you do. |
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Chris Del Conte: I understand your concern and we've made a concerted effort to make sure every seat in the stadium is full. I am pleased, but not satisfied, with our progress to date. |
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| Tyler: With Glen Gardens for sale, has there been any interest from TCU to purchase the course for use for the golf teams? I know there were talks in the past to have a golf facility on the grass lot by the baseball stadium. |
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Chris Del Conte: At this time, we have not discussed the purchasing of any off-campus golf facilities. We have a great relationship with the many courses we utilize throughout the area. |
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| Scott (Fort Worth): When is the time of the TCU vs West Virginia game going to be announced? Are the rest of the games of the season going to be released on this shorter notice? |
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Chris Del Conte: The Big 12 TV partners have four opportunities to utilize a 6-day pick for their selection of games. Our game at West Virginia is the first of those 6-day picks. We'll know the kickoff time either late Saturday night or Sunday morning. |
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| Tony: Any plans of retiring Matt Carpenter's number at TCU? He is the definition of TCU player. Hard worker on the field and in the community as well as if there was one face of the program for the pre Big 12 Schloss era it would be him. |
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Chris Del Conte: Matt Carpenter is indeed a tremendous ambassador for TCU baseball. If we were to look at retiring a number, his would be up for discussion. |
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| Malcom: How is the rest of the fundraising going for rest of the baseball stadium renovations? |
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Chris Del Conte: Fantastic! In the last couple of weeks, we received two verbal commitments for $1 million each. Care to match their gift? |
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| Daniel: Is the construction for DMC on schedule? |
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Chris Del Conte: As of today, we're on schedule. |
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| Wiz Khalifa: Any chance of selling the "We Dem Boys" shirt? |
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Chris Del Conte: Thanks for the question, Wiz. That was a team-issued shirt through our football program. |
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| Jesse: Any chance of using more students for the athletic department? Fashion Department- create a few articles of clothing to sale. Marketing department- assist with special marketing projects. Sports Broadcasting- run a 30 min weekly sports show to be streamed on go frogs etc. |
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Chris Del Conte: We can always use students. We rely on them heavily in all our operations and welcome any ideas they have. |
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| Ryan: One request. Can you get a TCU Spotify account made? |
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Chris Del Conte: Since I'm a neophyte on this subject matter, you'll have to educate me on what Spotify is. I'll check with our marketing department. |
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| Baha Men: Who let the Dogs Out? |
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Chris Del Conte: It could be my neighbor. |
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| Damon: Flyover? Is it possible for a game this season? |
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Chris Del Conte: As far as I know, the federal government has not changed their policy regarding flyovers. |
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| Mark: Just like Coach P changed his mind on his offensive coaching philosophy. Has the administration changed their view on calling Amon g Carter Stadium "Hell's Half Acre"? |
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Chris Del Conte: I do applaud Coach Patterson for changing his offensive philosophy. However, we have no plans to call our football home anything other than Amon G. Carter Stadium. |
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| Phillip: I still haven't seen any product with the retro logo that was mentioned before. Is it actually going to happen? |
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Chris Del Conte: We're just waiting for copyright clearance. |
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| Buck: Has there been discussions about selling beer to everyone in the stadium and not just club level? |
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Chris Del Conte: Let us perfect the WiFi in the stadium before we address the parking lots. We do prefer you in the stadium. |
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| Matt (Denver): It looks like, at least for "Power 5" schools, there will indeed be a move towards full-cost scholarships + a stipend. My guess, and understandably so, will be that ticket prices will go up. What changes do feel will have to be made. Thanks for everything and Go Frogs! |
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Chris Del Conte: No final determination has been made on the stipend and cost of attendance. We are in the process of reviewing all options. I'll keep you posted. |
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| Jeff (League City): Would Oklahoma State and the Big XII conference even out that weird/Texas A&M punishment scheduling TCU football had to absorb and schedule OSU back in Fort Worth this coming Fall since we played their twice already? We didn't do anything to deserve that and I think most TCU traveling fans next season will pick one, but not both games in the State of Oklahoma to go. It would even our schedule out for years to come and is fair. |
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Chris Del Conte: We absorbed Texas A&M's schedule which had them going to Stillwater back-to-back years. The schedule is now set for us to have alternating years of five and four conference home games. |
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| NEDS, FW: What are the chances of moving the shuttle drop off to Cantey vs. backing up traffic on Stadium all the way to Berry? |
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Chris Del Conte: Our shuttle service is set for the year. We'll review adjustments at the conclusion of the season. |
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| Scott (Fort Worth): Thanks for keeping the lots open after the games. We tried one day to leave right after the game and it took us over an hour just to get to 30. If the traffic can't be fixed, at least we have an alternative to sitting in traffic. |
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Chris Del Conte: Thanks for the great feedback and we appreciate you taking advantage of the opportunity. |
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TCU Moderator: That concludes today's chat with Chris Del Conte. Thanks for joining us. |
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