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| Chris Del Conte |
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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| Colin Burns (Arlington): Now that we're a year into the Big 12, what has been different or interesting that you didn't expect? |
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Chris Del Conte: There's really been nothing that we didn't expect. We have passionate fan bases and historic rivalries have been renewed. It's been a great fit for us and the conference. |
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| Pat (Arlington, TX): One comment and one question: (1)I saw some umbrellas at the TCU/SMU game. Bag checkers need to check better. Come on people, it's not that hard to put on a poncho. (2) Are all fans wearing purple this week? I assume the color block was only for the SMU game? |
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Chris Del Conte: Thanks for the comment. It is my hope that we'll have every game filled with people dressed in purple. The color block was for the SMU game only. |
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| Jim -Fort Worth: Why not have just one helmet design? I like the gray. Major teams keep same design for decades. |
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Chris Del Conte: Our traditional colors will always remain purple and white. However, in today's highly-competitive environment of recruiting the best student-athletes, we have decided to implement a variety of uniform options that our players, coaches and recruits love and embrace. |
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| Bill (Fort Worth): I know that this has been mentioned numerous times in the past 2 yrs but what is being done about the pa sound volume? We are in the 400 level and we have to plug our ears and I have seen several babies and or young children having to wear noise canceling headphones. Thank you! |
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Chris Del Conte: This is an on-going concern of mine as we implemented a single source sound system in the north end zone, instead of a distributive system throughout the stadium. That does cause certain areas to be louder than others. We'll continue to work on this. Thank you for your feedback. |
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| Clay (Dallas): How long will TCU allow the west side lower bowl to remain empty and full of opposing fans during our football games? |
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Chris Del Conte: Those tickets have been sold to long-standing season-ticket holders who have supported the Horned Frogs for many years. |
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| Austin (Houston): Do you ever read killerfrogs.com? Who's your favorite poster? |
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Chris Del Conte: Our staff keeps me updated on the job evaluation website. |
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| Bobby (Fort Worth): Is there a limit to the amount of 11am games a team has to play? |
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Chris Del Conte: I understand your concern in regards to the 11 a.m. games. As part of our entrance into the Big 12 Conference, we're contractually obligated to our television partners. They determine our kickoff times. However, I do anticipate some night games this season. |
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| Caroline (Fort Worth): What do you typically eat for lunch on an average day? |
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Chris Del Conte: It depends and ranges from a handful of almonds to a business lunch at Del Frisco's. |
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| Albert Pujols (Anaheim): Any plans to honor Matt Carpenter for all he's done for my former team this year? |
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Chris Del Conte: Albert: As you can see, the Cardinals have not skipped a beat in your absence, thanks in large part to TCU's own Matt Carpenter. Upon his return to Fort Worth this winter, I'm sure we'll see Matt many times on campus. |
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| Larry: What's next for facilities after the DMC is done? |
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Chris Del Conte: Not only are we in the midst of raising money for the DMC, we're making improvements with our Lowdon Track and Field Complex and Lupton Stadium. After this, I can assure you our coaches have no shortage of projects. |
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| Gary Yeager (Aledo): Who are your mentors? |
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Chris Del Conte: My parents. |
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| Hank (Midland, Texas): What did you know about TCU or your thoughts about us before you came here? |
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Chris Del Conte: I had spoken to Eric Hyman numerous times about TCU, and he always talked about how passionate the people were for TCU. Secondly, I hired former TCU assistant David Bailiff as our head coach at Rice, and he spoke glowingly about his time here and the people he came across. |
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| Tommy G. (Fort Worth, TX): How many emails do you get a day? |
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Chris Del Conte: It depends on the outcome of our football games. It will range from 50 to a couple hundred. |
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| Mallie (Forth Worth): What's your favorite part of our beautiful football stadium? |
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Chris Del Conte: The view from the upper deck where you can overlook our beautiful campus and the great city of Fort Worth. |
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| ron, Plano: Do you expect sellouts for every basketball game when we have the new coliseum? |
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Chris Del Conte: That's always my expectation. |
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| FrogAbroad (Guatemala City): I enjoyed the live "construction cam" during the AGCS remodeling. How about a live "Frog Alley Cam" on game days to highlight the gameday activities off the field? It would help make home games even more enjoyable for far-flung fans.
GO FROGS! |
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Chris Del Conte: Logistically, it was a lot easier to arrange cameras during a stadium construction. I'll discuss this with our marketing department to see if something is possible. |
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| Paul Barnes, Euless: I realize TCU''s identity is a relatively small private school but is any consideration being given to growing its enrollment? You may not be the one to ask but was wondering what your thoughts were. I'm aware there are pros & cons but just looking from the angle of increasing the fan base. Thanks Mr. DelConte |
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Chris Del Conte: That's way above my pay grade. However, I do understand your thought process. The fact that a student who comes to TCU will have a student-faculty ratio of 13:1 speaks volumes for the type of education received at TCU. |
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| Drew (Dallas): Is there any reason why TCU puts the conference name, not the school name, on the ribbon on the conference logo? From what I've seen, everyone else puts the school's name there. |
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Chris Del Conte: I noticed that this weekend at the Oklahoma game. We're a proud member of the Big 12 Conference, and we'll look into it. |
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| Ken in Weatherford: No question. Just wanted to say that the "railgate" trip was fantastic. Very well done. Just needed 4 more points on the game to make it a perfect day. Go Frogs!! |
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Chris Del Conte: Ken: Thanks for your comment. The Frog Club staff did an amazing job on the Railgate trip. Special thanks to BNSF and Matt Rose for giving us this opportunity. |
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| Charlie W. (Lawrence, Kansas): How much are the Hot Dogs at TCU games and is there a limit on purchases? |
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Chris Del Conte: There's no limit, sir. |
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| Felina (El Paso): Do you still use CDs or are you all digital? |
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Chris Del Conte: Everything is digital these days. |
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| Phil (Chicago): Do you see any changes in the future regarding the NCAA's treatment of non-football and non-basketball athletic scholarships? |
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Chris Del Conte: No. I don't see any changes. |
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| Phil (Chicago): What do you see as the largest opportunities for TCU athletics now that we are a member of the Big XII? |
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Chris Del Conte: The largest opportunity is to grow the TCU brand coast-to-coast. |
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| Steve (Dallas): Any possibility of extending the lots opening and closing times for 11 AM kickoffs? At least let people finish watching the 2:30 kickoff games that end around 5. |
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Chris Del Conte: This is a hot topic, especially with our tailgaters. As for now, our policy is 5 hours ahead of time and 90 minutes afterwards. We don't anticipate any changes at this time. We will review this after the season. |
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| Bill (Fort Worth): any plans to install tvs at the concession stands in the west side upper concourse? Keep up the great work! |
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Chris Del Conte: That is a concern of mine. Because of the open nature of the concourse, we've discussed how best to install those when factoring in weather elements. We'll keep you posted. |
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| Jason (Fort Worth): Have you ever used the cryosauna? Has it made a noticeable difference in our athletes' recovery? |
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Chris Del Conte: I personally have not used the cryo sauna. However, our student-athletes tell me it makes a noticeable difference. |
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| John (Fort Worth, TX): Why do we only run read options and out-routes on offense? Let's see some variation |
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Chris Del Conte: In Gary Patterson, we trust. |
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| Phil (Chicago): How do you feel about high school athletes bypassing intercollegiate athletics and entering professional sports? |
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Chris Del Conte: I feel strongly against it. The value of education, being around kids your age and the growth you experience in college is immeasurable. You can't put a price tag on a degree. |
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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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