Chris Del Conte was appointed TCU's director of intercollegiate athletics on Oct. 21, 2009.
Since his arrival on campus, Del Conte has overseen a series of historic moments in TCU's history. The latest milestones were the Horned Frogs' July 1, 2012 entrance into the Big 12 and the Sept. 8 opening of the new Amon G. Carter Stadium after its $164 million rebuild.
In addition to overseeing the fundraising campaign for Amon G. Carter Stadium, Del Conte saw his efforts result in the Summer 2012 completion of a new football locker room, sports medicine center and equipment room. Other recent facility improvements include the August 2010 opening of the Jane Justin Fieldhouse at Garvey-Rosenthal Soccer Stadium, a Spring 2011 expansion of baseball's Lupton Stadium and the Fall 2011 debut of the Physical Performance Center.
The partnership between TCU, Fort Worth and the Metroplex has never been more evident. In 2012, football sold out of season tickets for the first time with a record total of 31,257. Football, baseball, soccer, men's tennis, track and field and volleyball have also set single-season attendance records.
In two of the last three years, TCU set a single-season school record with six conference championships. During that stretch, nine sports won league titles (baseball, women's basketball, football, women's golf, men's swimming and diving, men's tennis, women's tennis, women's indoor and outdoor track and field). Sixteen of 20 sports have been represented in NCAA postseason play with 12 teams nationally ranked.
The TCU football program made two straight BCS appearances, including a 21-19 win over Wisconsin in the 2011 Rose Bowl. Additionally, the Horned Frog baseball team reached the College World Series for the first time in program history in 2010, and the rifle team won the 2010 and 2012 NCAA national championship. In 2009-10, TCU was the only school in the nation to play in a BCS game and win at least one game at the CWS.
The success on the playing field has carried over to the classroom. TCU student-athletes have recorded their highest cumulative grade-point average since tracking began in 1998. Fifteen of 20 sports have recorded team GPAs over 3.0.
Over the last three years, three TCU head coaches (Gary Patterson, football; Jim Schlossnagle, baseball; Karen Monez, rifle) have been named National Coach of the Year in their respective sports.
The recipient of the 2010 Bobby Dodd Division I-A Athletic Director's Award, Del Conte was also one of five finalists for the SportsBusiness Journal's Athletic Director of the Year.
During his tenure at Rice, Del Conte had responsibility for 16 intercollegiate programs, 350 student-athletes, along with coaches and staff. Del Conte also designed, developed and managed the Rice Vision for the Second Century Campaign, which raised over $90 million. He secured significant funds to build athletic facilities such as the Tudor Fieldhouse and Youngkin Center for Student-Athlete Excellence, and also raised $4 million for upgrades to the football stadium. Del Conte also secured a marketing sponsorship and broadcast rights contract for Rice and maintained a focus on student-athlete academic achievement, resulting in numerous public recognition awards from the NCAA for the academic progress rate of student-athletes.
Prior to Rice, Del Conte was the senior associate athletics director for external operations and sports programs at the University of Arizona (2000-06). In that role, Del Conte had responsibility for the planning, management and oversight of the day-to-day operation for the department of intercollegiate athletics. He also functioned as the chief financial officer; managed external operations; had oversight and management of all contracts, ticket sales, broadcast rights fees, corporate sponsorships, and trademarks and licensing; and oversight of all facility construction.
Del Conte also served as an assistant athletics director for external operations at both Washington State (1998-99) and Cal Poly (1994-98).
Del Conte served on the North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee and currently assists with the Davey O'Brien Foundation Board and the National Sports Marketing Network Board. His other professional committee involvement and associations include the Division I-A Athletics Directors Association and the National Association of Directors of Athletic Development.
Del Conte received a bachelor's of arts degree in sociology from UC Santa Barbara and a master's of education, administration and supervision from Washington State.
Del Conte is married to Dr. Robin Ward and has two daughters.
