Steve Sarkisian Blasts Ole Miss' Academic Standards Compared to Texas amid Transfer Portal

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian believes that Mississippi has lowered its academic standards to make it a more attractive destination for recruits in the transfer portal.

Speaking to USA Today's Matt Hayes, Sarkisian put Ole Miss' academic standards on blast compared to Texas when it comes to recruiting in the transfer portal.

"At Texas, we will only take 50% of a player's academic credit hours," Sarkisian said. "You may be a semester from graduating, but you're going all the way back to 50% if you play here and want a degree. But at Ole Miss, they can take you. All you have to do is take basket weaving, and you can get an Ole Miss degree."

Sarkisian's comments were part of a bigger discussion about "how bad" the state of things in the NCAA are stemming from the rise of the transfer portal.

Ole Miss is currently embroiled in a recruiting scandal in which Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney accused the program of tampering with linebacker Luke Ferrelli.

One of the accusations made by Swinney involved Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding allegedly texting Ferrelli a photo of a $1 million contract while he was in class with a message, "I know you're signed. What's the buyout?"

The NCAA opened an investigation into the tampering accusations that remain ongoing.

Mississippi did have four football players, including Jaxson Dart, honored by the National Football Foundation in April 2025 for maintaining a GPA of 3.2 or higher throughout their entire college tenure.

Ole Miss has routinely ranked among the highest-spending programs in the country during the NIL era. The program spent between $10-13 million on its roster in 2024. It spent $57.1 million in total football expenses from 2023 to '24.

Texas isn't exactly slacking when it comes to spending, with a reported budget between $35-40 million for the 2025 football season. The Longhorns reportedly have the highest NIL budget among all FBS programs in 2026 at $23 million.

Ohio State was the only other program at $20 million, followed by Oregon at No. 3 with a $19 million NIL budget.

If nothing else, Sarkisian's comments do add more intrigue to the Ole Miss-Texas game in Austin on Oct. 24. It will be the first meeting between the two teams since Texas joined the SEC in 2024.