Source: Texas AD to retire in 2014

Published January 13, 2015

Longtime Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds will step down in August 2014 and move into a consulting role at the nation's wealthiest college athletic program, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on Monday.

The school is expected to make a formal announcement Tuesday, according to the person who spoke condition of anonymity because they did not want to pre-empt a statement from university officials.

The Austin American-Statesman first reported Dodds' decision.

Dodds could not immediately be reached for comment. Dodds vigorously denied a report earlier this month that he was stepping down on Dec. 31. Under the retirement plan to be announced Tuesday, Dodds will remain on the job through Aug. 31, 2014 and move into a consulting role through 2015.

Dodds is under contract at Texas through 2015 at $700,000 per year with a $1 million annuity if he's employed at the end of August 2014.

Dodds, 76, came to Texas from Kansas State in 1981. During his tenure, the Texas men's program has won 14 national championships and 107 conference titles, most notably the 2005 national football championship.

Texas also modernized and expanded its stadiums and facilities and grew into a massive, money-generating machine that brought in $163 million last year. Dodds -- who once said about Texas' wealth, "We are the Joneses" -- oversaw the school's shift from the old Southwest Conference to the Big 12, and Texas' 20-year, $300 million partnership with ESPN for the Longhorn Network, a 24-hour channel dedicated to Longhorns sports.

Even with that success, Dodds has been under fire from some Texas fans upset with three sub-par seasons by the football team under coach Mack Brown and last season's losing record in men's basketball, the program's first since 1997.

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