Texas’ Steve Sarkisian clarifies Ole Miss basket weaving dig

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian is looking to clear the air following his recent comments regarding Ole Miss that sparked a media firestorm. Speaking with reporters in Houston this past Thursday, the Longhorns leader addressed the viral basket weaving remark that captured headlines across the country.

Addressing the Controversy

Sarkisian’s initial comments, which emerged from an interview with USA Today, centered on the current landscape of college athletics and varying admission standards for transfer students. While he previously suggested that Ole Miss allowed student-athletes to easily earn degrees through less rigorous coursework, he pivoted to a more conciliatory tone this week.

"The only reason the Ole Miss thing came up is because two of my best friends were there in Lane Kiffin and Pete Golding," Sarkisian said, as reported by The Athletic. "I probably shouldn’t have used basket weaving as my example for the class, OK? The class part of it was irrelevant."

Focusing on Academic Standards

At the heart of the matter is the contrast in transfer policies. Sarkisian emphasized that Texas requires athletes to complete 60 hours—or 50 percent of their degree—at the university. He reiterated that schools like Ole Miss maintain different standards, which he views as an area of inequality for programs like Texas or Vanderbilt.

"Ole Miss is a fine institution, they’ve got the great degrees, all the things there, but there is an inequality when it comes to transfers," Sarkisian stated. "I apologize if they took it that way."

Background on the Transfer Portal Landscape

The conversation regarding transfers has been heated in recent months. Earlier in May, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney claimed Ole Miss coaches were recruiting linebacker Luke Ferrelli while he was still attending class, alleging the player was sent a photo of a million-dollar check. Ferrelli is currently enrolled at Ole Miss.

This dialogue followed a Vanity Fair interview featuring Lane Kiffin, in which the Ole Miss coach discussed the unique challenges of recruiting to Oxford, Mississippi, compared to other locations like Baton Rouge, Louisiana.