Steve Sarkisian didn't hold back in a recent interview, taking a sharp aim at Ole Miss for what he sees as a complete disregard for academic integrity. The Texas Longhorns head coach, known for his candid remarks, went on a tear against the Rebels, suggesting that their academic standards are laughably low.
In a conversation with USA Today's Matt Hayes, Sarkisian unloaded on the current state of college football, particularly the way some programs handle academics. He claimed that while Texas requires players to transfer in with at least 50% of their credit hours completed, Ole Miss has no such barrier.
“At Texas, we will only take 50% of a player’s academic credit hours,” Sarkisian said. “You may be a semester from graduating, but you’re going all the way back to 50% if you play here and want a degree. But at Ole Miss, they can take you. All you have to do is take basket weaving, and you can get an Ole Miss degree.”
The comments come after Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney accused Ole Miss of tampering with one of his linebackers, Luke Ferrelli, who had just transferred from California. Swinney claimed Ferrelli received a photo of a $1 million check before heading to Oxford. Sarkisian used that incident to highlight what he sees as a broader problem: a lack of accountability across the sport.
“There’s a reason in the NFL, when you get caught tampering, you get drilled. You lose draft picks,” Sarkisian said. “You don’t practice the right way, you lose practice days, coaches get fined. There are a lot of things in place to protect their rules and guardrails. Right now in college football, there’s no fear. People do whatever they want.”
The NCAA has yet to act on Swinney's claims, and Sarkisian argues that the lack of consequences is hurting the game. He pointed out that fewer than 5% of college players will make it to the NFL, making academic standards even more critical. This echoes the recent celebration of Shedeur Sanders earning his degree, a rare bright spot in a landscape often dominated by NIL deals and transfers.
Sarkisian also took aim at the College Football Playoff selection committee. His Longhorns, who finished 10-3 last season, were left out of the 12-team field despite playing five games against top-10 opponents at the time. He called for more transparency in the selection process.
“Everyone talks about NIL. But my biggest gripe is the selection committee,” Sarkisian said. “There’s no transparency on what exactly the committee is doing. We have to figure that out.”
Rather than expanding the playoff further, Sarkisian suggested a return to a simpler format. “I’d go back to a four-team playoff, and have your own conference playoff to get the four teams if you want more inventory for your television partners,” he said. “We have to think outside the box. Just adding teams and going to 24, that’s a very spastic view, thinking that’s going to solve the problem. Forever in college athletics, we don’t think about the unintended consequences of decisions we make. It’s all knee-jerk reactions. Look where it has gotten us.”
The comments have sparked debate across the college football world, with many questioning whether Ole Miss will respond. For now, Sarkisian has made his position clear: academics matter, and he believes the Rebels are failing on that front.
