Longhorns Country

Dick Vitale Criticizes Longhorns 'Lack of Class' Over Rodney Terry Hiring Delay

Dick Vitale was very critical of the Longhorns over their delay in making Rodney Terry the permanent head coach of the program.
Matt Galatzan|
Dick Vitale Criticizes Longhorns 'Lack of Class' Over Rodney Terry Hiring Delay
Dick Vitale Criticizes Longhorns 'Lack of Class' Over Rodney Terry Hiring Delay

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Texas Longhorns

The Texas Longhorns are heading into their first Sweet 16 matchup in 15 years on Friday night when they face off against the Xavier Musketeers in Kansas City. 

But for some reason, the Longhorns have yet to name acting head coach Rodney Terry, who has held the team together and far more through unprecedented hardships throughout this season, as the program's permanent head coach.

And now, one of college basketball's most influential voices, longtime ESPN play-by-play analyst Dick Vitale, is speaking out.

"Lack of class by Texas athletic board," Vitale tweeted. "I can buy waiting until the end of the regular season on the status of ⁦Rodney Terry. However, after winning ⁦the Big 12 conference title, he deserved a multi-year deal."

And let's be clear, without Terry at the helm, there is no telling where Longhorns' situation could have gone, and it very well may have been a disaster.

Instead, he has led them to a Big 12 tournament title, nearly won them a Big 12 regular season title, and has them one win away from the Elite 8 in March Madness. 

As a result, he is now being pursued by multiple other programs for their vacant head coaching position, sending his future with Texas into question.

So why haven't the Longhorns taken the plunge and hired Terry themselves and made Terry the full-time head coach?

They obviously have their own reasons. 

But at this point, Terry seems to be forcing their hand. 

And for the Longhorns, win or lose on Friday, it is time to make a decision, because if they don't they could be letting the best fit for the program slip away. 

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Matt Galatzan
MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writers’ Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014, covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.

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