I've got a different point of view on the entrenchment of fucked up "We're Texas" logic and when things will change than I guess @SydneyCarton and @Barbacoa and others on here.
I've seen a weird confluence of relatively unrelated issues mash-up against each other regarding UT over the last 6 months. Like first hand. My view after being in the middle of all of it in some form is that I'm not sure the fucked-up mindsets from the administration, various UT staffs, and the higher-level boosters around the program aren't actually systemic and perhaps never going away barring something cataclysmic.
We've done a ton of work on NIL related shit. I'm very proud of the genuine effort and outputs I've seen from people like us on this board and other like-minded individuals elsewhere. Largely, the work that has been done has been altruistic and aimed at helping Texas get competitive and stay there on the NIL end. No one has been trying to profit or curry favor as far as I know.
However, at every turn in which any of this momentum across multiple initiatives has gotten people a seat at the table with significant power brokers, money people, or the admin, the net result has been "good luck to you guys, we can't help you, and we really, frankly, don't want to help you or see any of this work out. But hey, let us know if in spite of all of this, you figure it all out and really become a force that we then need to reckon with or help claim credit for! Good luck with aaaaaallllll that."
In addition, the staff has zero interest in helping anything happen, but, hey, they'd also really love for something to happen! Same is true for Crystal and his crew. That guy, having witnessed shit, isn't very intelligent and doesn't want to see anything change, and also doesn't think there's a problem. Ironically, he can gladhand like a motherfucker if he needs a new practice bubble or softball facilities. I guess those are easier to directly claim credit for though, so it makes sense.
Being an outsider and now witnessing things in the SEZ, it's stunning. You go to these games and functions, and all these people want and need is access and influence so that they can show their neighbors pictures with CDC or Peter Gardere or Derrick Johnson. They do not care about winning football games. At all. I have now seen them behave up close and personal through a devastating loss at home and they all seemed to have a wonderful fucking time. I mean, it's a fucking party, with an atmosphere like that of the one held for Harvey Dent in Bruce Wayne's penthouse ahead of the Joker's arrival. The game was a social event for socialites and their families to rub shoulders with one another while some young people tossed a ball around downstairs on the lawn. In other words, these people aren't fans. They're patrons. They expect attention and access, but they do not give one fuck about results.