Texas announces largest endowment in the country of a named athletics director position
Thanks to a $10 million endowment from longtime UT donors Lois and Richard Folger, Texas now has the largest endowment toward a named athletics director position in the country according to a university release.
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“Lois and Richard Folger understand the importance of the Texas Longhorns’ winning tradition and our ability to compete at the highest levels,” said UT System Board of Regents chairman Kevin Eltife in a release. “The Folgers’ generous endowment positions the Longhorns to build on that winning history when Texas enters the SEC next year and will have an immediate and positive impact on our athletics programs, our student-athletes and the rest of the University.”
Per the press release, the Lois and Richard Folger Athletics Director Endowment will “provide perpetual flexible funding for non-salaried strategic use, empowering the athletics director to launch new initiatives and enhance the excellence of Texas Athletics for years to come.”
Said UT president Jay Hartzell, “the legacy of excellence of Texas Athletics has inspired many of us, including Lois and Richard Folger. They know the role that athletics plays in elevating the entire University by contributing to the vibrancy of campus, connecting Longhorn Nation, and providing incredible opportunities for student-athletes. We are extremely grateful for the Folgers’ longstanding generosity to the University and excited to see how Chris Del Conte will utilize these resources strategically to improve the support of our student-athletes, generate more passion for our University across the student body, position our former student-athletes for post-UT success, and provide a laboratory for our students and faculty with interests in sports.”
This is the third chair endowed by the Folger family on the 40 Acres, joining the Lois and Richard Folger Leadership Chairs in the petroleum and geosystems engineering department and the Dean’s Leadership Chair of the McCombs School of Business.
Richard, who holds two bachelors’ degrees from Texas, is the managing general partner of Colbridge Partners Ltd.
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Lois, who has a bachelors’ and a masters’ from UT, founded and currently serves as president of Folger Energy.
Endowed positions in athletic departments may be new to Texas, but they are not new around the country. Two prominent examples include Michigan, where Jim Harbaugh is the J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family head football coach, and Notre Dame, where Marcus Freeman is the Dick Corbett head football coach. This is the first endowed chair in the Texas athletics department.
“Lois and Richard’s endowment of the athletics director’s chair is another example of the tremendous generosity, dedication and excellence personified by our most involved Longhorns,” said Del Conte. “Lois and Richard have provided vital funding that will make an immediate impact on our department, and most importantly, our student-athletes. I am honored, humbled and thrilled to be the first-ever Lois and Richard Folger Athletics Director. Their support has created a legacy that will permeate through our entire department for years to come.”
UT recently recommended a contract extension for Del Conte to the board of regents. Del Conte, who came to Texas from TCU in 2017, will receive an extension through 2030 worth almost $20 million pending approval at a board of regents meeting scheduled for August 23-24.
