It's been a rough stretch lately for some of the University of Texas' highest-profile programs and some comments from athletic director DeLoss Dodds won't make things any easier for Longhorns fans.
In an interview with the Austin American-Statesman published this week, Dodds pledged that the Longhorns will have "good years again" but didn't sound all that upset about the current state of affairs.
"If you win all the time, it's not good for the coaches or the kids," Dodds said. "You've got to learn to appreciate it."
Not to put words in Dodds' mouth, but that's another way of saying Longhorns fans have been spoiled by success.
They haven't been spoiled lately.
Although the football team finished with nine wins and won its bowl game last season, Mack Brown's squad has a three-year record of 22-16. The football program had a poor showing, by Brown's stratospheric standards, on National Signing Day (No. 23 class overall by Scout.com's rankings) and has lost the last three rivalry games with Oklahoma.
It was also recently revealed that co-offensive coordinator Major Applewhite, a former UT quarterback, was reprimanded in 2009 for having an inappropriate relationship with a student trainer.
The men's basketball team has won just two conference games and will likely miss the NCAA tournament for the first time in coach Rick Barnes' 15 seasons.
The women's basketball team is also struggling with a losing record and just two Big 12 wins.
Last month, women's track coach Bev Kearney resigned after admitting to an improper relationship with one of her athletes.
In short, there hasn't been much good news out of Austin lately, but Dodds told the American-Statesman that things will change for the better. In the process, he took a bit of a swipe against a departed Big 12 member.
"We're going to have good years again," Dodds said. "Our bad years are not that bad. Take a school like Missouri. Our bad years are better than their good years. But we've created a standard."
It hasn't all been bad for Texas lately. The women's volleyball team won a national title in December, the men's golf team last June.
Texas also continues to be one of the most profitable athletic departments in the country. Texas athletics generated a $34 million profit in 2011-12, according to US Department of Education figures quoted in the story.
Of course, the figures that matter most to Longhorns fans — the ones who donate all that money and purchase all those tickets — are wins and losses.
"We're poised for the future," Dodds, 73, told the newspaper before later adding, "Our coaches care about the kids, and I feel we're on an upward spiral."
Follow Keith Whitmire on Twitter: @Keith_Whitmire
