University of Texas has fired its athletic director Steve Patterson. He was hired in November 2013 at the University athletic club. His tumultuous tenure as Texas athletic director has reportedly come to an end and Former Longhorns linebacker Mike Perrin will take over as the interim athletic director.
There had been several rumors about his lack of support among Texas donors, Texas fan base and the athletic department. He had been focusing more on the revenue alienating long term staff and supporters of the athletic department.
Patterson had raised football ticket prices after 6-7 seasons in 2014. He also instituted a "loyalty" program for tickets that rewarded long-time donors but eventually pushed out some long term season ticket holders.
Texas is one of the wealthiest athletic clubs and an increase in the ticket price did not go well with ticket holders. According to San Antonio Express, one fan refused to renew his season ticket as 'he was tired of being treated as a wallet'. (full stop/period inside quotations. This is AP style). Although his ticket price had increased marginally, he said the decision was made on principal (check spelling).
Texas President Gregory L. Fenves had asked Patterson several times to change his "management style" made him seem ''impersonal or even arrogant,'' reported SB Nation.
Patterson eventually lost confidence of the coaches which proved to be the last straw. Steve Patterson replaced DeLoss Dodds who had retired after 32 years on the job. He was chosen over former West Virginia athletic director Oliver Luck who is currently current NCAA executive vice president for regulatory affairs.
Prior to Texas University Patterson had served as athletic director at Arizona state. Patterson has overseen two popular hires at Texas - football coach Charlie Strong and men's basketball coach Shaka Smart, both now in charge of underperforming programs, said Chron.
Patterson has a guaranteed contract worth $1.4 million annually that will end in August 2019 and has no buyout clause, said Yahoo! Sports.
