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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 online chat with TCU director of intercollegiate athletics Chris Del Conte. |
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| Mike: When will the rest of the Lupton stadium begin (team area, concourse) and will it interfere with next season? |
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Chris Del Conte: It will begin as soon as we raise the necessary funds to begin the project. When we do start on it, it should not have any impact on our season. |
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| Dustin (Fort Worth): If and when we move towards giving athletes a stipend, do you think that athletes in all sports will receive a stipend and will they all receive the same amount? |
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Chris Del Conte: We have always treated all of our student-athletes equally. If and when a stipend would occur, I would expect the same. |
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| Toiya: What, if any, Christian values are athletes expected to have or learn on and off the court? |
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Chris Del Conte: I have a sign in my office that reads, "My potential is God's gift to me. What I do with my potential is my gift to him." That's been my message to student-athletes. My hope is that they fill their potential to the best of their abilities. |
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| Rodrick (Coppell): On most ballparks, the fences along the left and right field foul lines angle inward so the fans have better sight lines. Any thoughts to doing that at Lupton? |
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Chris Del Conte: That's a good thought. We don't have any plans for that right now, but we'll make a note of it. |
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| Joe Gagnon (Houston): Are there plans to follow Charlie Strong at UT and move off-campus athletes into the dorms? |
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Chris Del Conte: All TCU students are required to live on campus for two years. However, there are many lessons to be learned in living on your own, like paying rent and bills as well as burning spam and cooking Top Ramen. I see benefits on both sides. |
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| Ramon (Monument, CO.): By how much will the capacity of Daniel Meyer Coliseum increase with the planned renovation? |
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Chris Del Conte: The capacity will remain the same. |
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| Scott at The Watermark: Mr DelConte - has TCU ever considered creating an all-you-can-eat seating section at AGCS like they have at The Ballpark? |
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Chris Del Conte: We haven't thought about that. My last visit to an All You Can Eat was at the Sizzler. |
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| Wally (Aledo): HOw do you like the play of our baseball team so far? Omaha? |
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Chris Del Conte: I'm encouraged by the play so far, but I'm no Nostradamus. |
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| froggie (Fort Worth): Do you ever relive your track days by working out with our track team? |
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Chris Del Conte: Not a chance! I relive those days in memory only. In my mind today, I'm a lot better than I actually was. |
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| Curtis (Fort Worth): Will all our men's basketball games be at Wilkerson-Greines, or will we also play some downtown next year? How about the women's games? |
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Chris Del Conte: Nothing has yet to be determined. We're looking at all options and hope to have this finalized in the next couple of weeks. |
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| Frank (Omaha): Huge basketball fan! I enjoy following the Lady Frogs on the internet. Hearing all about the renovation (which I am excited about), but I'm concerned I won't be able to watch the games next year. Also, is there anyway we can get audio on the webstream. |
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Chris Del Conte: The audio issue on the webstream will be rectified with our new basketball home. We apologize for that technical issue. We do plan to stream next year at whichever facility we're playing at. |
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| Damon (Burleson): What is the timeframe for reworking Stadium Drive and installing the "Great Yard" in front of the DMC? Please keep doing the great things you do for all of the student athletes at TCU! |
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Chris Del Conte: Thanks for your support! Our goal is to have the entire project finished in October 2015. |
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| Susan (Anaheim): Huge Frog fan in California. We really miss seeing the Frogs in southern Cal. Any plans for Football or other sports to head West soon? |
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Chris Del Conte: Our goal is to play a national schedule. Be on the lookout for TCU athletics contests on the west coast in the years to come. |
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| Lori (Tallahassee): I saw TCU was adding sand volleyball has there been any announcement of a head coach. How can prospective athletes get info on possibly playing? |
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Chris Del Conte: Prentice Lewis, our volleyball head coach, will oversee our outdoor program. Our goal is to begin competition next spring. All prospective student-athletes should contact Coach Lewis. |
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| Jack (Cleburne): I know that TCU is a leader in Big 12 Graduation Rates. That must be a source of pride for you and the entire athletic department. Is that a draw for parents of recruits? |
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Chris Del Conte: We are indeed very proud of our graduation rates. It's a draw for not only parents, but prospective student-athletes as well who want to excel both academically and athletically. |
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| Dustin (Fort Worth): Do you have to play all of next year's basketball games in one location? Is it possible to have some games at Wilkerson-Greines but some of the bigger games (KU) at either the convention center or Will Rogers? |
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Chris Del Conte: All options are being explored. |
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| Damon (Burleson): With the renovations to the DMC are there plans to sell floor seats for the mens or womens basketball games? |
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Chris Del Conte: Yes. Those Jack Nicholson seats are being offered to individuals who made campaign gifts to the project. To date, we've raised over $45 million. Would you care to make a donation? |
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| North Richland hills: What new athletic facility can we expect to see in yrs coming other then dmc |
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Chris Del Conte: Let us catch our breath, as we're in the process of the DMC renovation in addition to projects at baseball and track field. We also have sand volleyball courts on the agenda. Once we finish those, we can have a discussion. |
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| Granbury: As a long time season holder, I have observed many great seats are empty each home game. My question is there a way the ticket office can send a general letter to all season ticket holders, asking them if they would be willing to sell unused ticke2 TCUAthletics, and in return allow TCU season ticket holders the opportunity to"upgrade" their own personal season ticket and in return that season ticket holder's ticket would be available to buy for someone who wants to upgrade their ticket for a particular availab,e game. This is what I made up and call, "the revolving door"ticket exchange. This is not really that complicated. Available tickets to upgrade would be done either thru the "priority point system" as is done by the AthleticDept or? |
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Chris Del Conte: You bring up many great points. On a side note, we did have a phone campaign last year to encourage season-ticket holders to use their tickets as well as arriving in the stadium early, cheering loud and staying late. Your ideas are definitely worth considering. We appreciate your note and will keep you posted. |
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| TCU Moderator: That concludes today's online chat with TCU director of intercollegiate athletics Chris Del Conte. Thanks for joining us. |
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