Joining the SEC has been a huge bullseye the entire University of Texas has been pointing toward for multiple years, so when the date the move became officially finally arrived, the Longhorns were in a mood to party.
Just how big a mood? Well, let's just call it a $2.3 million mood. No, really. Yo soy fiesta, indeed.
As reported by Sportico, a recent public records request revealed that the University of Texas spent a total of $2.3 million on its SEC entry party. That included a $610,000 payment to the Miami-based rapper Pitbull (we don't understand why he was the choice, either), $339,000 on advertising for the party (and new conference), and more than $35,000 on a Times Square advertisement.
@bellaestrella27 University of Texas SEC celebration #pitbull #utaustin #universityoftexas #texaslonghorns #hookemhorns #texasgirl ♬ original sound - Bella Estrella
Apparently the school didn't foot the entire bill itself; $1.07 million of the aggregate fees were paid by Learfield, the school's sports marketing partner. A shade under $900,000 was contributed by Texas' athletic department, with additional funding coming from the marketing department.
Of course, $2.3 million is a drop in the bucket when it comes to Texas' overall athletic revenues. Per Sportico's database, the department earned $271 million in 2023, with a budget of $232 million.
Scary numbers across the board, but still ... that is one serious party in the middle of the college sports offseason!
