Texas coach says Ole Miss degree comment was poor choice of words

Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian said his remark about basket weaving and Ole Miss degrees was a poor choice of words. Sarkisian spoke to reporters Tuesday on the first day of SEC spring meetings in Miramar, Florida. He told USA Today earlier this month that "all you have to do is take basket weaving, and you can get an Ole Miss degree."

the remark Sarkisian said he was addressing transfer rules and degree requirements across college football programs. He noted that Texas limits transfer credit to 50 percent of a degree regardless of hours completed. "Other schools can take all of your hours that you take," Sarkisian said.

" He added that he could have used macroeconomics as an example instead. "The class was irrelevant, and that was a poor choice of words on my part," Sarkisian said.

Related comments by another coach First-year LSU coach Lane Kiffin also addressed Ole Miss during a recent Vanity Fair interview. Kiffin, who previously coached at Ole Miss, said some recruits cited family concerns about moving to Oxford, Mississippi.

Kiffin later clarified that he hoped the remarks came across as respectful. Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter posted on X that the program's success appeared to make some people uncomfortable.