Steve Sarkisian says Ole Miss basket weaving comment was 'poor choice of words'

Destin, Fla. — Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian told the media on Tuesday that the SEC has not fined him for comments directed at Ole Miss. In a USA Today story published earlier this month, Sarkisian said “all you have to do is take basket weaving, and you can get an Ole Miss degree.”

Sarkisian said the comments were a “poor choice of words” and “taken out of context.” Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter has not commented publicly about Sarkisian’s comments, but sources told On3’s Chris Low that there have already been discussions among Ole Miss administrators and SEC officials.

“We have a rule at the University of Texas, we can only take 50% towards your degree, no matter how many hours you’ve completed,” Sarkisian said. “Other schools can take all of your hours that you take. To me, that’s an inequity in our sport. Those are some of the things that we have to work through.

“I could have used macroeconomics. I could have used engineering. It wouldn’t have mattered. The class was irrelevant, and that was a poor choice of words on my part.”

Texas hosts Ole Miss on Oct 24. The Longhorns are coming off a 10-3 season.