Well that didn’t take long. After just under 2 years on the job, Texas Athletic Director Steve Patterson was fired this morning, according to Mark Schlabach of ESPN.
Patterson met with University of Texas President Gregory Fenves Tuesday morning and was notified that he had been let go. During his tenure as Texas AD, Patterson oversaw the unenviable task of replacing Mack Brown and Rick Barnes by hiring Charlie Strong and Shaka Smart.
Patterson came under fire when he increased football and basketball tickets by 6 and 7 percent respectively. Texas Football season ticket holders felt the worse of the increase with their ticket prices soaring 21.5 percent. As a result, 10,000 football season ticket holders didn’t renew for the 2015 season. It was also reported that he had visited President Fenves’ office numerous times to “soften his approach to running the nation’s wealthiest athletic department like a business.”
Houston attorney and ex-Texas football player Mike Perrin will act as interim athletic director until the board of regents finds a permanent replacement. Speculation has already begun for Mack Brown to make his return to Austin. Other possible candidates include Oliver Luck (father of tree-monster Andrew Luck who happened to lose the job previously to Patterson), and Baylor Athletic Director Ian McCaw.
