Steve Sarkisian gifts Pat McAfee with sleeveless shirt featuring Texas' 'FAFO' motto

Pat McAfee notoriously is not a fan of shirts with sleeves. So when Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian had some apparel to gift to the ESPN talking head and football analyst, he knew the proper modifications to make.

But the slogan on the front is what got McAfee’s attention, just as Sarkisian thought it might. The shirt — with sleeves cut off — is a simple black, Nike shirt with “FAFO” in block white lettering across the chest and the Longhorn logo in burnt orange on the spine.

McAfee didn’t immediately get the meaning of the acronym, but was quickly set straight.

"You can interpret this however you want but this is our mantra around here" ~ @CoachSark

HEY @OfficialAJHawk..

WHY DON'T YOU FAFO ONE TIME 😂😂 #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/8O41nQPOaM

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 18, 2024

“Fast as f***?” McAfee said, before one of his co-hosts set him straight, and that the acronym stands for “F*** around and find out” or some slight variation. “Oooooooooh. I didn’t know if we just had super speed. OK, we’re finding out. A lot of people are finding out. I love this.”

After Sarkisian complimented McAfee, after the host slipped the sleeveless arrangement over the black tank top he was already wearing, the Texas coach was asked about the origins of FAFO for his team.

“We kind of adopted that last year and it’s kind of just continued to carry over, man. So we bought in to that one,” Sarkisian said.

So far, as McAfee joked, there’s been plenty of finding out going on for Texas’ opponents, as the Longhorns are undefeated and have looked to be the most dominant team in the sport so far.

And Sarkisian added another maxim the Texas team likes to lean on, somewhat related to the FAFO message.

“Well, the other saying we have here: You have to choose violence,” Sarkisian said. “In football you have to choose violence. Because if you don’t, you’re probably going to get beat.”

Sarkisian discussed the state of college football at large

He thinks the game’s acclaim is at a new high this year, especially with the effect on it by the expansion of the College Football Playoff.

“First of all, I’m going to say this about college football. I think, from a popularity standpoint, we’re at an all-time high, man – all-time high, baby,” said Sarkisian. “It’s amazing, man. It’s amazing.”

“I think this new playoff is going to be incredible for college football,” Sarkisian added.

Texas has enjoyed the year as much as any team to this point in 2024. The Longhorns are the No. 1 team in the nation at 6-0 with a win at Michigan along with their latest victory over Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry. That includes a 2-0 start to conference play as part of their debut season in the SEC.

Still, Texas, like all other programs, is having to continue to adjust to all that’s new about their game. Each aspect is a lot already but all of them together make college football, let alone athletics as a whole at the level, much different than what it what was.

With that said, Sarkisian knows how to have to approach this new era if they want to succeed during it on The 40 Acres.

“I also think we have to continually adapt as programs, right? Times are changing, right,” said Sarkisian. “You know, NIL has changed. You know, revenue sharing coming, what that’s going to look like. Like, conference realignment.”