Texas brings Lynda Tealer back to Austin, adding a former NCAA executive and SEC veteran to Chris Del Conte’s powerhouse athletics leadership team.
Texas Athletics just made a front-office move that says plenty about where Chris Del Conte believes college sports are headed.
Lynda Tealer, a longtime college athletics administrator, former NCAA senior executive and University of Texas School of Law graduate, is returning to Austin as Deputy Athletics Director for Strategic Initiatives and Administration.
She’ll officially begin Sept. 1, giving the Longhorns another heavyweight administrator at a time when NIL, athlete compensation, conference power and NCAA governance are reshaping college sports almost by the month.
For Del Conte, the decision apparently wasn’t complicated.
“Lynda is incredible. She brings a breadth of experience and expertise, along with a wealth of knowledge, to our athletics department, and on top of all that, she's a Longhorn,” Del Conte said. “When we began looking to fill this role, Lynda's name came up time and time again. She checked every box for what we were looking for and was an absolute home run hire. Her experience as a former student-athlete gives her a unique perspective as an athletics administrator, she's one of our own as a UT Law School graduate, and her legal background is invaluable in this role. She's someone I've always admired.
"She has a passion for college athletics, is deeply respected by student-athletes, coaches and administrators across the country, and has a proven ability to build relationships and collaborate across campus. That makes her a perfect fit for our executive team. I'm thrilled to welcome Lynda back to the Forty Acres and excited for the impact she'll have on Texas Athletics.”
Tealer arrives with an unusually broad résumé.
She spent the past two years as the NCAA’s Senior Vice President of Championships, overseeing 84 NCAA championships and responsibilities ranging from event operations and playing rules to ticketing, licensing, marketing and digital media.
Before that, she spent 29 years working in collegiate athletics administration, including 21 years at Florida. Her duties with the Gators included serving as deputy athletics director, overseeing women’s sports and men’s basketball and working as the athletic department’s deputy Title IX coordinator.
Now her career has come full circle.
“This is a genuinely unique opportunity for me to finish my career where it all began,” Tealer said. “My time in Law School at Texas was such an important launching point professionally. While I didn't have much experience at that time, I knew I wanted to be involved in college athletics, and Texas is where I fell in love with the industry.
"To have the opportunity to come back and contribute to this university at this stage of my career is special. Not many people get the chance to return to the place that helped shape their professional journey, and I don't take that for granted. It's truly a dream come true, and I'm so grateful to Chris Del Conte for giving me this wonderful opportunity.”
Tealer already knows Del Conte beyond his reputation in Austin. Their paths crossed repeatedly at championship events during her time at Florida and the NCAA.
“I've had the opportunity to get to know Chris over the years at championship events,” Tealer said. “He's obviously a tremendous leader who has built one of the premier athletics departments in the country, but what excites me most is the opportunity to work with and for someone who genuinely cares about student-athletes, coaches and the future of college athletics. He leads in a way that brings people together, creates alignment and reminds everyone that relationships matter.
"That approach is especially meaningful in today's environment. I appreciate his perspective on our industry, the way he treats people and his vision for the future of college athletics. There are certainly challenges and difficult issues we face, but at the end of the day this should still be fun. Building relationships and enjoying the process and the people you work with matters, and that's a priority for Chris and his staff.”
Texas’ move into the SEC also makes the reunion especially natural.
Before her two decades at Florida, Tealer worked alongside current SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey as associate commissioner of the Southland Conference from 2000-03. She previously served as assistant athletics director at Santa Clara.
“I'm excited to be back in the SEC,” Tealer said. “Greg Sankey is a tremendous leader and a personal friend. I had the opportunity to work with him at the Southland Conference and again during my time at Florida, and I'm looking forward to doing so once more.
"I'm also excited to reconnect with so many outstanding leaders and administrators across the SEC. It's a group that is always focused on doing what's best for the conference and its student-athletes, and I look forward to collaborating with them again.”
Her influence has extended well beyond individual schools.
Tealer has chaired the Division I Council and served on the Division I Board of Directors and NCAA Board of Governors. She has also worked with the NIL Working Group, Competition Oversight Committee, Division I Transformation Committee and SEC/ESPN Content Board.
But long before the executive titles came, Texas helped point her toward a career she didn’t yet fully understand.
A former college basketball player at the University of San Diego, Tealer earned her business administration degree in 1992 before receiving her law degree from Texas in 1995.
She credits legendary former Longhorns athletic director DeLoss Dodds with helping open the door.
“I'll be forever grateful to DeLoss Dodds,” Tealer said. “When I was in law school at Texas, he took time to meet with me to talk about college athletics and introduced me to so many people throughout the department. That opened the door for me to spend time learning so many aspects of the operation. I visited with people, asked tons of questions, answered phones in the Longhorn Foundation and volunteered whenever I could. Coming from a small private college where I played basketball, I really didn't understand what athletics administration was or the many roles people played in supporting student-athletes and coaches.
"Texas is where I was exposed to the inner workings of a major athletics department and saw firsthand the dedication of the people who worked tirelessly behind the scenes. That's where I fell in love with the business of college athletics, and it all started because of the kindness, mentorship and support DeLoss gave me. The impact he had on my life and career is something I'll always be grateful for.”
Three decades later, she’s coming back to the place that helped launch it all.
And in an era when running a major athletic department increasingly requires expertise in law, business, media, athlete rights, conference politics and NCAA governance, Texas didn’t simply add another administrator.
Del Conte added someone who has already worked in virtually every room that matters.
