June 24, 2025 • 23 mins
Greg Tepper joins the program to talk about the upcoming issue of DCTF magazine
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
He was the editor in chief, and it's well, you
explain it, tip, I mean, you rightly were promoted to
editor in chief. Is how does that all work with
the emeritus thing and all that, with the homage being
paid to the late great founder and your boss for
a time, Yeah, I.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Hate it it.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
Basically, this was a promotion that was kind of thrust
upon me because you know, for those who don't Dave,
Dave Campbell was our only editor in chief in company
history and in publication history. Of course, he passed away
in December twenty twenty one. Since then, we've kind of
kept him on as editor in chief in kind of
an honorary role. And then more or less, my boss
(00:42):
came to me and said, hey, do you know that
an editor in chief is actually an active role, Like
that's a real thing that has to be filled.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
And I said, and I was like, well, yeah, that's fine.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
So we cut a deal and I said, that's fine,
I'll move to editor in chief, but we've got to
make sure that he's still at the top of the masthead.
And so sure enough, if you go, if you read
the credits, you'll still the first name you see will
still be Dave Campbell.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
But he is, he is forever now editor emeritus.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
That is his Uh, he was. He got a posthumous
promotion to editor emeritus. Will be editor emeritus forever, and
I will take over the uh the very large, incomprehensibly
large shoes of of Dave Campbell as editor in chief.
It's a great honor, it is a great privilege. It
is also a great charge to keep. But we're trying
(01:30):
our best around here.
Speaker 4 (01:31):
I like that.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
I like I like how that was nicely, nicely done.
So that that's that's real done. Okay, Uh they put
this is gently as a kid.
Speaker 4 (01:40):
When's the magazine coming out? I mean, how many times
have you heard that from people?
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (01:46):
Yeah, it's it's it's it's interesting. It's interesting to hear
an invoice instead of tweets.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
The but a lot.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
This is a so I will tell you this. The
magazine is not even in our offices yet. Is rolling
off the printer like literally right now, at which point
subscribers will they will start to be mailed out towards
the end of this week, at which point, hey, if
you're a subscriber, check your mailbox. You know it's going
(02:14):
to be three to of course, the United States Postal
services three to fourteen.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Days, which is not helpful, but you know, so make
sure you're checking your mailbox.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
That's the best way to get it into Go to
Texas Football dot com such subscribe you will Also it'll
start hitting new stands around Texas probably middle of July.
And there are probably people who who have read our
magazine forever who are saying, isn't that later than usual?
And the answer is yes, and they're the reason behind that.
And you can blame the transfer portal because one of
(02:42):
the things we did was we said, okay, well, when
does the carousel It's never been to come to a
complete halt, but when can we kind of at least
take a snapshot in time that we feel like we're fairly.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
Confident is going to have the most accurate information. And
so what we decided was, Okay, we're going to move.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
The magazine deadline back after move in day, because that
at that point, if you move in, you're pretty pot committed.
I would say, yeah, And so we waited until then,
and so it is coming out a little bit later
than usual. But there is a reason for that is
because we want to make sure it's as accurate as possible.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
There's always going to be changes.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
Bo Bentley, who is the the gatefold cover boy with
this line of Bobcats, already committed to Oklahoma since we
send in the magazine to press, so that's already a
little bit out of date. But there is a reason
behind us the magazine being a little bit later this year.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
And Bo made a commitment prior to going to print. No,
they hadn't.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
So you will read the magazine and they'll say he's
down to three one of the Luckily one of those
is Oklahoma.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
It would have been very embarrassing if he had gone
off the board. I'm going to go to Louisiana Monroe.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
Yeah, yeah, there you go. Our producer today, Cole Dixon,
asked me. He said, when does it usually uh go
to go to press? And I said, you know, it's
interesting because and I said, the same thing transfer portal.
Speaker 4 (04:01):
You guys wanted to wait.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
So how long a gap is that from when you
normally get it? He was asking when you normally put
the magazine to bed, when you are done with it,
and he also asked when you really start the work
on the next one, and when you put that issue
to bed? When did it used to be as opposed
(04:23):
to waiting through the portal now to do it?
Speaker 2 (04:27):
So great questions.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
And the first part is that we normally in the
past few years and we sent the magazine to press
right before Memorial Day, and so we are about two
weeks later than we normally are, simply because we wanted
to get the most accurate information.
Speaker 4 (04:41):
So that is part of it.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
As far as starting the process, this process goes back
to February. February is usually when we start for a
number of reasons. Every other year in high school football
a realignment year. We wasn't realignment the year this year,
but you can finally get your arms around what high
school football is to look like starting in February. And
then that is when we start having conversations about about
(05:05):
covers and big, big features and what we want this
magazine to look like.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
That starts in February.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
So it is a really about a four to five
month process to put this Bad Boy together. Ages of
it and that you know the thing about the cover
that you know I say that we meet in February.
Let's be honest. Around the office throughout the course of
the year, we're just kind of saying maybe they could
be the cover. How we thought about that as a cover.
(05:34):
It's not until February that we sit down we actually
decide it. But there are still there are those ongoing
kind of sidebar conversations that we have about the cover
essentially all year long.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
All right, So, since you brought it up, I think maybe,
and I'm just gonna say maybe, I think maybe a
lot of long worn fans hoped, if not expected, that
Sark and or arch Man might be on the cover.
Speaker 4 (06:02):
I do know this.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
What goes into a lot of the wisdom you guys
put into a cover decision comes down to what have
you done to earn the cover position? Arg while still
a great talent and showing some things as he did
last year, hasn't had a full season under belt. We've
seen what Sark is capable of doing, obviously, and back
(06:24):
to back trips to the Final four, and you know,
so on and so forth. What ultimately led to the
decision to have Sark on the cover this year?
Speaker 3 (06:34):
Well, let's start kind of zooming out first of all,
which is that, you know, we we took into consideration
a lot of different college stories, a lot of different stories,
you know, Baylor was a real contender here for what
they've been able to do. Texas State was a real
contender here with what G. J. Kenning continues to build there.
There is a remarkable story going on in Lubbock that
(06:56):
has to do kind of with football and kind of
with just the shape of football and the shape of athletics.
We ended up and SMU obviously as well, was right
in that mix as well. They got a great coach
and Lashley and a great quarterback in Kevin Henry Jennings.
Kevin Jennings rather I should say Kevin Henry Jennings for
those who who remember him from.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
South of Cliff days.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
But we ended up landing on Texas because this does
feel like they are in many respects the representative of
the past in as far as their history and even
the last two years making a college football playoff and
the present. You will have to check out our rankings,
but we think Texas is going to be pretty good
and the future. And Steve Sarcasian is in a lot
(07:39):
of ways emblematic of the re establishment of Texas at
or near the top of the college football landscape. A
guy who has done it his way and in many respects.
I know you guys talk about this every day, but
it's important to remember that he's a pretty unlikely candidate
to be the guy to lead Texas back to the
Mountain top up. I mean, this is the guy that
(08:01):
Neil he needs to read Mike Craven's remarkable sit down
feature with him.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
This is the guy who was basically ready to give
up coaching. He was scheduled to go and call a
college football game for Fox like before he got a
call from Like. It was on the docket the first
he got a call from Nick Saban's staff. And yet
he got that second chance he had and has shaken
off all of those seven win sarc type things and
(08:25):
has brought Texas back in a way that is his own.
And it's a remarkable story for a guy who is
a bit of a reclamation project as well. And he's
he's taken Texas to a place that they just quite frankly,
haven't been since Mac Brown left, and that I think
is remarkable. And when you take a look across the
landscape of college football, he does feel like him And
(08:47):
and maybe you know some of the guys, some of
the other guys at at Penn State or at Oregon
and Dan Lanning uh and in James Franklin feel like
the next guys to get that get over the hump
and get that national championship, and we thought that this moment,
it felt really important to capture that story and the
build that he's had there at Texas.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
Incidentally, a side note, I think that Mike Craven is
the perfect guy to do that piece on Sark And
for no other reason, Mike buy his own his mission
is a personal reclamation project and doesn't shy away from
that at all. So I mean he probably understands it
as well as anybody else that path that road walking
(09:26):
and walking in those shoes. Plus he's a hell of
a writer that helps to Yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
No, Mike was the perfect choice for this just because
he was going to be the guy who was going
to ask the right questions in the right way. And
I think that when we got you know, the Texas
Flege Department and coach Tychesian and John Bianco were extremely
generous for their time to have us sit down and
have a lengthy, in depth conversation with him about the
truth behind this build here and the truth behind culture
(09:55):
Wednesdays and the truth behind the vulnerability that he's shown.
It's a really real, great read and I'm excited for
people to get their hands on.
Speaker 4 (10:02):
That, all right.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
You know my wife, she she looked at when the
cover reveal came out, and she looked at that photo
of a sort and said, he looks so serious. Well,
he can be that way. He's very affable. But it
was a great photo as well taken.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
Yeah, we went down to the Hall of Fame down
there at Texas at t K r uh and and
and set up a photo shoot, uh there with with
kach Sakhisian. We had a great, a great photographer there,
an Austin named John Doherty who took the shot and
and we wanted it to be kind of representative of
him at the forefront of the kind of those trophy
cases and just saying like here he is the representative
(10:40):
of all of these things. He is the torch bearer
now and plainly simple and and and the the image
turned out great, uh where we're so pleased with the
way that it turned out. And then the cover is,
by the way, one other thing and this is this
is a real nerdy thing. But like you may notice,
the masthead is different, like the mask head, it's it's
it's a little bit different. We're changing a couple of
things instead of play with with the magazine. I think
(11:01):
people are going to like the new look we have
in it. And one of the things of the mass
at and the main thing there is we want to
make Dave Campbell's name front and center. And so there's
it's small tweaks like that, but I think people are
who who've read this magazine for a long time are
going to are going to notice it and and and
and appreciate the care we've taken with it.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
All Right, since we're still on the cover, let's talk
about the gatefold. Uh. You mentioned Salina and uh And
I always like to tell people it's it's like the
perfect thing to make me feel old, since I actually
called playoff games when Bill Elliott was playing for Pilot
Point in the early eighties.
Speaker 4 (11:34):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
But but he's kind of an architect of of I
don't know if dynastic is the right word, but he's
But he's the architect of one of the perennial giants
every year beneath the two largest classifications, isn't he?
Speaker 4 (11:51):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (11:52):
And and it is a really remarkable story that that
we're telling here, and and the high school.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
Sometimes the high school cover is.
Speaker 3 (11:59):
Tough to pick them the college cover because we got
fifteen hundred teams to choose from it, and there's so
many great stories out there. We landed on Salina in
a lot of ways because they are not only really
really good, they got a blue chip quarterback in bo
Bentley on the cover as well as their star linebacker
Lukey A. Jeanie and coach Bill Elliott on the cover
sitting in the diner there on the town square in Solina.
(12:23):
But then they are also that the Salina story is
one of I think that is so emblematic of what
is going on across the state of Texas, which is
exponential growth. Salina is one of the fastest growing cities
in America.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
They just passed a multibub.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
Billion dollar bond to build a new high school, which
is going to shift. It can transform in a lot
of ways. That program and that that town, and this
is happening all over the place. I know, you can't
throw a rock in Austin without finding towns that used
to be little itty bitty hamlets. It's suddenly our multi
(13:04):
school you know, program or multi school districts, and that's
happening in Solina as they are playing arguably their best
football ever, I mean, running to a state championship last year.
They've got a blue chip quarterback, which they've had great
quarterbacks in the past, including their offense coordinator Nathan Elliott,
but this guy, Bo Bentley is different. And so there
(13:24):
is there's something very intentional about the headline here, which
is we call it Salina's Golden Hour, okay.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
Because it's perfect right now.
Speaker 3 (13:32):
Everything's rolling and also clockets ticking, and that town is
about to change significantly in a way that so many
other towns across Texas have changed. And it's a great
story written by our own Carter Ea, who really dug
into not just the past and the present, but also
what is a very very different future for Salina.
Speaker 4 (13:53):
You know what you just described there. And I was
reminded of it the other day.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
The other day on Sunday, Lennon and I drove over
to see the home that my son and his fiance
are purchasing. Now technically technically it's in Georgetown, far West Georgetown,
but just past that, as we were driving over to
a Mexican restaurant, they have dinner. I saw the gleaming, new,
(14:19):
gigantic Liberty Ranch High School, the brand new Liberty Hills School.
So what you're talking about is that same type of thing,
isn't is there what we've seen all across the state
of Texas.
Speaker 3 (14:29):
Yeah, you're seeing changing demographics. And I know, you know,
you're a high school football and they're like I am.
One of the fun things about covering high school football
is that, yes, the football is great, and the coach
is great, and the stories are great, and also you
become an expert not only on geography, but kind of
on like demographics and like demographic shifts and population shifts
across Texas.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
And this, you know, Solana's next. You know it happened.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
You know, there's a time when when in the DFW metrotypes,
Plano was a small town and now they are enormous.
The at the time went palin on this small town
and they are enormous Frisco, right, And now Solana is
kind of next up to be that booming area of
the DFW metroplex. And that is the story that is
so resonant everywhere across the state of this population boom
(15:16):
and it's changing these towns into something that is gonna
obviously have an impact on the high school football scene.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Talking about the brand new issue of Dave Campbell's Texas
Football magazine that is just around the corner from hitting
the Shells with Greg Tepper to the editor in chief,
here's a question that's been burning in my mind for
a year. So we talked about it a year ago.
Did you capin it four hundred pages or did you
have to expand?
Speaker 3 (15:42):
We captain at four hundred pages. Now we had to
do some jiu jitsu. Okay, had to do some jiu jitsu.
Thanks a lot the conference realignment, I mean, you know,
and by the way, there could be more conference realignment
on the horizon if suddenly Texas State moves to the
PAC twelve, which is rumored.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
Now.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
The good thing for us, and this is the way
that I think the good thing for us, is that
we don't have to add a page. We can just
sub out the sun the sun Belt for the PAC twelve.
But the difference would be like if Sam Houston were
to move to the Sun Belt, then then we're just
going to have to start really telling these colleges to
knock it off. But border pages is enough for now.
(16:22):
I cannot promise that it's always going to be four
hundred pages, because I mean we're cramming fifteen hundred high
schools and now forty nine colleges in there. Ut RGV
gets their first preview in the magazine this year, so
it's the times they are changing.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
In Dave Campbell's as.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
Well, what's the biggest thing other than the things you've
already mentioned the mast had difference the uh, and then
and then you mentioned some of the things with the
colleges as well. What's the other other than in the
demographic thing, What's the biggest thing folks will notice? Uh,
it could be whether it's the high school section or
or the collegiate section.
Speaker 4 (16:56):
What's the biggest difference they'll notice.
Speaker 3 (16:58):
We've got new We've got kind of new look in
the in the college section. I think people were really
going to like these FBS sections that we've kind of
redesigned from scratch.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
We've added some new features, including coach gossip.
Speaker 3 (17:09):
Mike Craven and Carter went around and just got anonymous
coach gossip to talk about other teams, which I know
people love to get into that nitty gritty. That's fun
and then one of the things that we also did
in this year's magazine is that we have a we
have the definitive feature on Dave Campbell.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
The reason we did it is because Dave would never
let us do it if he were still alive. He was,
he was too, he would have he would have had
he's in fact, he's very politely, very angry with me
at the moment, and so uh, but we we we've
never told our you know, the story of our founder
and editor in chief, and so we decided to tell it.
Dave Wilson from ESPN wrote it for us. He did
(17:46):
a spectacular job. If you've never known the origin story
of Dave Campbell and Dave Campbell Texas football, it'll it'll,
it'll lay it all out to them. You can learn
about how Dave Campbell wanted to be a chemist. Uh,
it's it's, it's there's there's a lot of really good notes.
I learned a lot of things including and I don't
know if I want to spoil this, but I will.
You can read in the magazine the only time that
(18:09):
I've ever heard of Dave Campbell being visibly angry, and
it's for the most Dave Campbell reasons I think.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
Yeah, I will tell you he got He walked right
up to the line of that and almost got that way.
This is something I don't know if anybody ever told
you this, but you know, I'm one of the members
of the nominating committee for the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.
Well they for many years, was just like editor in chief.
(18:36):
He was the head of the nominating committee. And there
was there came a time when the motion was going
to be made that he should be put on the
ballot to go in, and he vehemently protested it and
just and and and said absolutely, I'm deady, I don't
(18:58):
want to hear any more about it when it's not
gonna happen. Blah blah blah, and we are okay. And
then when he left the room, we put him in. Anyway,
that's very days.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
Yeah, that's a very Dave Campbell. That's about it.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
That's about as distilled a version of Dave Campbell as
it gets. Yeah, who never wanted that spotlight? Yeah, yeah,
he never did.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
Okay, a couple of hints from you, and we won't
let you play complete spoiler on this, but just a
couple of hints on since this is our first of
our weekly visits of the season. Even I'm going to
be gone on vacation next couple of weeks, but once
I get back and we'll start doing it again. But
(19:39):
the college programs and the high school programs that are
really grabbing your attention, whether you pick them pre season
number one or not, both in their conferences and in
their districts and in the state wide poll, which you
guys managed so well every year. What really jumps off
the page about that? So I'll give you a couple.
Speaker 3 (20:01):
In the college ranks, we are I mean needles say,
we think Texas is going to be pretty good. We
have pretty high hopes for Texas State and we have
pretty high hopes. Hold onto your hats, fokes the UTEP miners. Wow,
I'm in on Scottie Walden in a second year there.
(20:22):
I think that what he's building out there is resonating.
And if you go on Texan Football dot Com right now,
Mike Craven's got a great piece on their schedule. Their
schedule sets up pretty well for them. So those are
two teams keep an eye on. In the high school ranks,
a couple of teams that we are very bullish on that.
Maybe you should be writing down South lake Kill in
(20:44):
six A. I'm gonna keep banging the drum. This is
a team that played the state championship game last year
before falling to Vandergrift. They bring back nineteen starters from
last year's team. They are going to be I think
loaded for bear. Another team I'm very interested in heading
into the twenty twenty six would be you take a
look at Dickinson.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
They were seven to four year ago, but I think
that they are on the rise.
Speaker 3 (21:07):
They're in the six A ranks in five A, buy
some stock right now. In Laporte, we are in on
what on what the Bulldogs have got going as well
as another team you're gonna you're gonna get sick.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
To hear me about Brenham.
Speaker 3 (21:22):
Brenham looks like the real stinking deal coming into twenty
twenty five. And then and finally in the four A
ranks they were not. I will just say that if
you think the Canyon West planes is just a flash
in the pan after a run in the state semi
final year ago, I think you are sorely mistaken. I
think that we are probably careening towards another regional final
(21:43):
between Canyon West Planes and Stevenville, and that is going
to be a box office material.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
So those are a couple of teams to keep an eye.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
On, all right, Yeah, good stuff, all right, So again
just to review for people to say, give me, give me,
give me. It's if you're a subscriber. Could happen within
the first few days of July, or maybe a few
days after, right, okay, yes, and if uh and and
by the way, for anybody wants to subscribe, you simply
go to Texas football dot com. You can find all
(22:12):
the subscription there is in It's incredibly economical too, for
everything that you get for it, and and then and
then for those waiting for it to hit the shelves,
probably mid.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
July, Yes, mid July is probably what you're looking at.
But again, Texas Football dot Com.
Speaker 3 (22:28):
Slash subscribe is the best way to do it because
we'll mail direct you to you your priority. We make
sure that you get it. Uh and, so that's the
best way to do it. Instead of running all over
to the grocery store looking for it everywhere, the best
way to go is to Texas Football dot Com.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
Slash subscribing will drop it into your mailbox.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
It certainly works for me. It's worked for me for
those who are picking up is going to be what
the major grocery store chains. Uh and I think I
saw it at Barnes and Noble last year.
Speaker 3 (22:54):
Yeah, they're still kicking around and in those places, but
uh uh, Brokshire is agv won. Those are the places
that you can most reliably find it.
Speaker 4 (23:03):
Okay, Hey, I appreciate this.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
And when I get back from vacation, well shortly after
I get back from vacation, there's sec media days and
then I'm going to see you down in San Antonio again.
Speaker 4 (23:13):
Yeah, yeah, you'll be.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
You can't escape us, No, and you're easy to find
if you just go to the watery hole there at
the hotel.
Speaker 4 (23:19):
You're pretty easy to fina.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
Hey. Hey, hey, hey, I would know that because I
spend time there with you. That's why I said that
evidence for being completely honest. Hey, thanks, TEP. I appreciate it.
Look forward to seeing you soon. Absolutely voice take care
all right. That is Greg Tepper. He's the editor in
chief against his protestations of Dave Campbell's Texas Football magazine.
(23:41):
We got some other topics we get to coming up
on thirteen under the zone
He was the editor in chief, and it's well, you
explain it, tip, I mean, you rightly were promoted to
editor in chief. Is how does that all work with
the emeritus thing and all that, with the homage being
paid to the late great founder and your boss for
a time, Yeah, I.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Hate it it.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
Basically, this was a promotion that was kind of thrust
upon me because you know, for those who don't Dave,
Dave Campbell was our only editor in chief in company
history and in publication history. Of course, he passed away
in December twenty twenty one. Since then, we've kind of
kept him on as editor in chief in kind of
an honorary role. And then more or less, my boss
(00:42):
came to me and said, hey, do you know that
an editor in chief is actually an active role, Like
that's a real thing that has to be filled.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
And I said, and I was like, well, yeah, that's fine.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
So we cut a deal and I said, that's fine,
I'll move to editor in chief, but we've got to
make sure that he's still at the top of the masthead.
And so sure enough, if you go, if you read
the credits, you'll still the first name you see will
still be Dave Campbell.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
But he is, he is forever now editor emeritus.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
That is his Uh, he was. He got a posthumous
promotion to editor emeritus. Will be editor emeritus forever, and
I will take over the uh the very large, incomprehensibly
large shoes of of Dave Campbell as editor in chief.
It's a great honor, it is a great privilege. It
is also a great charge to keep. But we're trying
(01:30):
our best around here.
Speaker 4 (01:31):
I like that.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
I like I like how that was nicely, nicely done.
So that that's that's real done. Okay, Uh they put
this is gently as a kid.
Speaker 4 (01:40):
When's the magazine coming out? I mean, how many times
have you heard that from people?
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (01:46):
Yeah, it's it's it's it's interesting. It's interesting to hear
an invoice instead of tweets.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
The but a lot.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
This is a so I will tell you this. The
magazine is not even in our offices yet. Is rolling
off the printer like literally right now, at which point
subscribers will they will start to be mailed out towards
the end of this week, at which point, hey, if
you're a subscriber, check your mailbox. You know it's going
(02:14):
to be three to of course, the United States Postal
services three to fourteen.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Days, which is not helpful, but you know, so make
sure you're checking your mailbox.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
That's the best way to get it into Go to
Texas Football dot com such subscribe you will Also it'll
start hitting new stands around Texas probably middle of July.
And there are probably people who who have read our
magazine forever who are saying, isn't that later than usual?
And the answer is yes, and they're the reason behind that.
And you can blame the transfer portal because one of
(02:42):
the things we did was we said, okay, well, when
does the carousel It's never been to come to a
complete halt, but when can we kind of at least
take a snapshot in time that we feel like we're fairly.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
Confident is going to have the most accurate information. And
so what we decided was, Okay, we're going to move.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
The magazine deadline back after move in day, because that
at that point, if you move in, you're pretty pot committed.
I would say, yeah, And so we waited until then,
and so it is coming out a little bit later
than usual. But there is a reason for that is
because we want to make sure it's as accurate as possible.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
There's always going to be changes.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
Bo Bentley, who is the the gatefold cover boy with
this line of Bobcats, already committed to Oklahoma since we
send in the magazine to press, so that's already a
little bit out of date. But there is a reason
behind us the magazine being a little bit later this year.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
And Bo made a commitment prior to going to print. No,
they hadn't.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
So you will read the magazine and they'll say he's
down to three one of the Luckily one of those
is Oklahoma.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
It would have been very embarrassing if he had gone
off the board. I'm going to go to Louisiana Monroe.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
Yeah, yeah, there you go. Our producer today, Cole Dixon,
asked me. He said, when does it usually uh go
to go to press? And I said, you know, it's
interesting because and I said, the same thing transfer portal.
Speaker 4 (04:01):
You guys wanted to wait.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
So how long a gap is that from when you
normally get it? He was asking when you normally put
the magazine to bed, when you are done with it,
and he also asked when you really start the work
on the next one, and when you put that issue
to bed? When did it used to be as opposed
(04:23):
to waiting through the portal now to do it?
Speaker 2 (04:27):
So great questions.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
And the first part is that we normally in the
past few years and we sent the magazine to press
right before Memorial Day, and so we are about two
weeks later than we normally are, simply because we wanted
to get the most accurate information.
Speaker 4 (04:41):
So that is part of it.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
As far as starting the process, this process goes back
to February. February is usually when we start for a
number of reasons. Every other year in high school football
a realignment year. We wasn't realignment the year this year,
but you can finally get your arms around what high
school football is to look like starting in February. And
then that is when we start having conversations about about
(05:05):
covers and big, big features and what we want this
magazine to look like.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
That starts in February.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
So it is a really about a four to five
month process to put this Bad Boy together. Ages of
it and that you know the thing about the cover
that you know I say that we meet in February.
Let's be honest. Around the office throughout the course of
the year, we're just kind of saying maybe they could
be the cover. How we thought about that as a cover.
(05:34):
It's not until February that we sit down we actually
decide it. But there are still there are those ongoing
kind of sidebar conversations that we have about the cover
essentially all year long.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
All right, So, since you brought it up, I think maybe,
and I'm just gonna say maybe, I think maybe a
lot of long worn fans hoped, if not expected, that
Sark and or arch Man might be on the cover.
Speaker 4 (06:02):
I do know this.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
What goes into a lot of the wisdom you guys
put into a cover decision comes down to what have
you done to earn the cover position? Arg while still
a great talent and showing some things as he did
last year, hasn't had a full season under belt. We've
seen what Sark is capable of doing, obviously, and back
(06:24):
to back trips to the Final four, and you know,
so on and so forth. What ultimately led to the
decision to have Sark on the cover this year?
Speaker 3 (06:34):
Well, let's start kind of zooming out first of all,
which is that, you know, we we took into consideration
a lot of different college stories, a lot of different stories,
you know, Baylor was a real contender here for what
they've been able to do. Texas State was a real
contender here with what G. J. Kenning continues to build there.
There is a remarkable story going on in Lubbock that
(06:56):
has to do kind of with football and kind of
with just the shape of football and the shape of athletics.
We ended up and SMU obviously as well, was right
in that mix as well. They got a great coach
and Lashley and a great quarterback in Kevin Henry Jennings.
Kevin Jennings rather I should say Kevin Henry Jennings for
those who who remember him from.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
South of Cliff days.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
But we ended up landing on Texas because this does
feel like they are in many respects the representative of
the past in as far as their history and even
the last two years making a college football playoff and
the present. You will have to check out our rankings,
but we think Texas is going to be pretty good
and the future. And Steve Sarcasian is in a lot
(07:39):
of ways emblematic of the re establishment of Texas at
or near the top of the college football landscape. A
guy who has done it his way and in many respects.
I know you guys talk about this every day, but
it's important to remember that he's a pretty unlikely candidate
to be the guy to lead Texas back to the
Mountain top up. I mean, this is the guy that
(08:01):
Neil he needs to read Mike Craven's remarkable sit down
feature with him.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
This is the guy who was basically ready to give
up coaching. He was scheduled to go and call a
college football game for Fox like before he got a
call from Like. It was on the docket the first
he got a call from Nick Saban's staff. And yet
he got that second chance he had and has shaken
off all of those seven win sarc type things and
(08:25):
has brought Texas back in a way that is his own.
And it's a remarkable story for a guy who is
a bit of a reclamation project as well. And he's
he's taken Texas to a place that they just quite frankly,
haven't been since Mac Brown left, and that I think
is remarkable. And when you take a look across the
landscape of college football, he does feel like him And
(08:47):
and maybe you know some of the guys, some of
the other guys at at Penn State or at Oregon
and Dan Lanning uh and in James Franklin feel like
the next guys to get that get over the hump
and get that national championship, and we thought that this moment,
it felt really important to capture that story and the
build that he's had there at Texas.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
Incidentally, a side note, I think that Mike Craven is
the perfect guy to do that piece on Sark And
for no other reason, Mike buy his own his mission
is a personal reclamation project and doesn't shy away from
that at all. So I mean he probably understands it
as well as anybody else that path that road walking
(09:26):
and walking in those shoes. Plus he's a hell of
a writer that helps to Yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
No, Mike was the perfect choice for this just because
he was going to be the guy who was going
to ask the right questions in the right way. And
I think that when we got you know, the Texas
Flege Department and coach Tychesian and John Bianco were extremely
generous for their time to have us sit down and
have a lengthy, in depth conversation with him about the
truth behind this build here and the truth behind culture
(09:55):
Wednesdays and the truth behind the vulnerability that he's shown.
It's a really real, great read and I'm excited for
people to get their hands on.
Speaker 4 (10:02):
That, all right.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
You know my wife, she she looked at when the
cover reveal came out, and she looked at that photo
of a sort and said, he looks so serious. Well,
he can be that way. He's very affable. But it
was a great photo as well taken.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
Yeah, we went down to the Hall of Fame down
there at Texas at t K r uh and and
and set up a photo shoot, uh there with with
kach Sakhisian. We had a great, a great photographer there,
an Austin named John Doherty who took the shot and
and we wanted it to be kind of representative of
him at the forefront of the kind of those trophy
cases and just saying like here he is the representative
(10:40):
of all of these things. He is the torch bearer
now and plainly simple and and and the the image
turned out great, uh where we're so pleased with the
way that it turned out. And then the cover is,
by the way, one other thing and this is this
is a real nerdy thing. But like you may notice,
the masthead is different, like the mask head, it's it's
it's a little bit different. We're changing a couple of
things instead of play with with the magazine. I think
(11:01):
people are going to like the new look we have
in it. And one of the things of the mass
at and the main thing there is we want to
make Dave Campbell's name front and center. And so there's
it's small tweaks like that, but I think people are
who who've read this magazine for a long time are
going to are going to notice it and and and
and appreciate the care we've taken with it.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
All Right, since we're still on the cover, let's talk
about the gatefold. Uh. You mentioned Salina and uh And
I always like to tell people it's it's like the
perfect thing to make me feel old, since I actually
called playoff games when Bill Elliott was playing for Pilot
Point in the early eighties.
Speaker 4 (11:34):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
But but he's kind of an architect of of I
don't know if dynastic is the right word, but he's
But he's the architect of one of the perennial giants
every year beneath the two largest classifications, isn't he?
Speaker 4 (11:51):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (11:52):
And and it is a really remarkable story that that
we're telling here, and and the high school.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
Sometimes the high school cover is.
Speaker 3 (11:59):
Tough to pick them the college cover because we got
fifteen hundred teams to choose from it, and there's so
many great stories out there. We landed on Salina in
a lot of ways because they are not only really
really good, they got a blue chip quarterback in bo
Bentley on the cover as well as their star linebacker
Lukey A. Jeanie and coach Bill Elliott on the cover
sitting in the diner there on the town square in Solina.
(12:23):
But then they are also that the Salina story is
one of I think that is so emblematic of what
is going on across the state of Texas, which is
exponential growth. Salina is one of the fastest growing cities
in America.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
They just passed a multibub.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
Billion dollar bond to build a new high school, which
is going to shift. It can transform in a lot
of ways. That program and that that town, and this
is happening all over the place. I know, you can't
throw a rock in Austin without finding towns that used
to be little itty bitty hamlets. It's suddenly our multi
(13:04):
school you know, program or multi school districts, and that's
happening in Solina as they are playing arguably their best
football ever, I mean, running to a state championship last year.
They've got a blue chip quarterback, which they've had great
quarterbacks in the past, including their offense coordinator Nathan Elliott,
but this guy, Bo Bentley is different. And so there
(13:24):
is there's something very intentional about the headline here, which
is we call it Salina's Golden Hour, okay.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
Because it's perfect right now.
Speaker 3 (13:32):
Everything's rolling and also clockets ticking, and that town is
about to change significantly in a way that so many
other towns across Texas have changed. And it's a great
story written by our own Carter Ea, who really dug
into not just the past and the present, but also
what is a very very different future for Salina.
Speaker 4 (13:53):
You know what you just described there. And I was
reminded of it the other day.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
The other day on Sunday, Lennon and I drove over
to see the home that my son and his fiance
are purchasing. Now technically technically it's in Georgetown, far West Georgetown,
but just past that, as we were driving over to
a Mexican restaurant, they have dinner. I saw the gleaming, new,
(14:19):
gigantic Liberty Ranch High School, the brand new Liberty Hills School.
So what you're talking about is that same type of thing,
isn't is there what we've seen all across the state
of Texas.
Speaker 3 (14:29):
Yeah, you're seeing changing demographics. And I know, you know,
you're a high school football and they're like I am.
One of the fun things about covering high school football
is that, yes, the football is great, and the coach
is great, and the stories are great, and also you
become an expert not only on geography, but kind of
on like demographics and like demographic shifts and population shifts
across Texas.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
And this, you know, Solana's next. You know it happened.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
You know, there's a time when when in the DFW metrotypes,
Plano was a small town and now they are enormous.
The at the time went palin on this small town
and they are enormous Frisco, right, And now Solana is
kind of next up to be that booming area of
the DFW metroplex. And that is the story that is
so resonant everywhere across the state of this population boom
(15:16):
and it's changing these towns into something that is gonna
obviously have an impact on the high school football scene.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Talking about the brand new issue of Dave Campbell's Texas
Football magazine that is just around the corner from hitting
the Shells with Greg Tepper to the editor in chief,
here's a question that's been burning in my mind for
a year. So we talked about it a year ago.
Did you capin it four hundred pages or did you
have to expand?
Speaker 3 (15:42):
We captain at four hundred pages. Now we had to
do some jiu jitsu. Okay, had to do some jiu jitsu.
Thanks a lot the conference realignment, I mean, you know,
and by the way, there could be more conference realignment
on the horizon if suddenly Texas State moves to the
PAC twelve, which is rumored.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
Now.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
The good thing for us, and this is the way
that I think the good thing for us, is that
we don't have to add a page. We can just
sub out the sun the sun Belt for the PAC twelve.
But the difference would be like if Sam Houston were
to move to the Sun Belt, then then we're just
going to have to start really telling these colleges to
knock it off. But border pages is enough for now.
(16:22):
I cannot promise that it's always going to be four
hundred pages, because I mean we're cramming fifteen hundred high
schools and now forty nine colleges in there. Ut RGV
gets their first preview in the magazine this year, so
it's the times they are changing.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
In Dave Campbell's as.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
Well, what's the biggest thing other than the things you've
already mentioned the mast had difference the uh, and then
and then you mentioned some of the things with the
colleges as well. What's the other other than in the
demographic thing, What's the biggest thing folks will notice? Uh,
it could be whether it's the high school section or
or the collegiate section.
Speaker 4 (16:56):
What's the biggest difference they'll notice.
Speaker 3 (16:58):
We've got new We've got kind of new look in
the in the college section. I think people were really
going to like these FBS sections that we've kind of
redesigned from scratch.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
We've added some new features, including coach gossip.
Speaker 3 (17:09):
Mike Craven and Carter went around and just got anonymous
coach gossip to talk about other teams, which I know
people love to get into that nitty gritty. That's fun
and then one of the things that we also did
in this year's magazine is that we have a we
have the definitive feature on Dave Campbell.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
The reason we did it is because Dave would never
let us do it if he were still alive. He was,
he was too, he would have he would have had
he's in fact, he's very politely, very angry with me
at the moment, and so uh, but we we we've
never told our you know, the story of our founder
and editor in chief, and so we decided to tell it.
Dave Wilson from ESPN wrote it for us. He did
(17:46):
a spectacular job. If you've never known the origin story
of Dave Campbell and Dave Campbell Texas football, it'll it'll,
it'll lay it all out to them. You can learn
about how Dave Campbell wanted to be a chemist. Uh,
it's it's, it's there's there's a lot of really good notes.
I learned a lot of things including and I don't
know if I want to spoil this, but I will.
You can read in the magazine the only time that
(18:09):
I've ever heard of Dave Campbell being visibly angry, and
it's for the most Dave Campbell reasons I think.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
Yeah, I will tell you he got He walked right
up to the line of that and almost got that way.
This is something I don't know if anybody ever told
you this, but you know, I'm one of the members
of the nominating committee for the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.
Well they for many years, was just like editor in chief.
(18:36):
He was the head of the nominating committee. And there
was there came a time when the motion was going
to be made that he should be put on the
ballot to go in, and he vehemently protested it and
just and and and said absolutely, I'm deady, I don't
(18:58):
want to hear any more about it when it's not
gonna happen. Blah blah blah, and we are okay. And
then when he left the room, we put him in. Anyway,
that's very days.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
Yeah, that's a very Dave Campbell. That's about it.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
That's about as distilled a version of Dave Campbell as
it gets. Yeah, who never wanted that spotlight? Yeah, yeah,
he never did.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
Okay, a couple of hints from you, and we won't
let you play complete spoiler on this, but just a
couple of hints on since this is our first of
our weekly visits of the season. Even I'm going to
be gone on vacation next couple of weeks, but once
I get back and we'll start doing it again. But
(19:39):
the college programs and the high school programs that are
really grabbing your attention, whether you pick them pre season
number one or not, both in their conferences and in
their districts and in the state wide poll, which you
guys managed so well every year. What really jumps off
the page about that? So I'll give you a couple.
Speaker 3 (20:01):
In the college ranks, we are I mean needles say,
we think Texas is going to be pretty good. We
have pretty high hopes for Texas State and we have
pretty high hopes. Hold onto your hats, fokes the UTEP miners. Wow,
I'm in on Scottie Walden in a second year there.
(20:22):
I think that what he's building out there is resonating.
And if you go on Texan Football dot Com right now,
Mike Craven's got a great piece on their schedule. Their
schedule sets up pretty well for them. So those are
two teams keep an eye on. In the high school ranks,
a couple of teams that we are very bullish on that.
Maybe you should be writing down South lake Kill in
(20:44):
six A. I'm gonna keep banging the drum. This is
a team that played the state championship game last year
before falling to Vandergrift. They bring back nineteen starters from
last year's team. They are going to be I think
loaded for bear. Another team I'm very interested in heading
into the twenty twenty six would be you take a
look at Dickinson.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
They were seven to four year ago, but I think
that they are on the rise.
Speaker 3 (21:07):
They're in the six A ranks in five A, buy
some stock right now. In Laporte, we are in on
what on what the Bulldogs have got going as well
as another team you're gonna you're gonna get sick.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
To hear me about Brenham.
Speaker 3 (21:22):
Brenham looks like the real stinking deal coming into twenty
twenty five. And then and finally in the four A
ranks they were not. I will just say that if
you think the Canyon West planes is just a flash
in the pan after a run in the state semi
final year ago, I think you are sorely mistaken. I
think that we are probably careening towards another regional final
(21:43):
between Canyon West Planes and Stevenville, and that is going
to be a box office material.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
So those are a couple of teams to keep an eye.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
On, all right, Yeah, good stuff, all right, So again
just to review for people to say, give me, give me,
give me. It's if you're a subscriber. Could happen within
the first few days of July, or maybe a few
days after, right, okay, yes, and if uh and and
by the way, for anybody wants to subscribe, you simply
go to Texas football dot com. You can find all
(22:12):
the subscription there is in It's incredibly economical too, for
everything that you get for it, and and then and
then for those waiting for it to hit the shelves,
probably mid.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
July, Yes, mid July is probably what you're looking at.
But again, Texas Football dot Com.
Speaker 3 (22:28):
Slash subscribe is the best way to do it because
we'll mail direct you to you your priority. We make
sure that you get it. Uh and, so that's the
best way to do it. Instead of running all over
to the grocery store looking for it everywhere, the best
way to go is to Texas Football dot Com.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
Slash subscribing will drop it into your mailbox.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
It certainly works for me. It's worked for me for
those who are picking up is going to be what
the major grocery store chains. Uh and I think I
saw it at Barnes and Noble last year.
Speaker 3 (22:54):
Yeah, they're still kicking around and in those places, but
uh uh, Brokshire is agv won. Those are the places
that you can most reliably find it.
Speaker 4 (23:03):
Okay, Hey, I appreciate this.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
And when I get back from vacation, well shortly after
I get back from vacation, there's sec media days and
then I'm going to see you down in San Antonio again.
Speaker 4 (23:13):
Yeah, yeah, you'll be.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
You can't escape us, No, and you're easy to find
if you just go to the watery hole there at
the hotel.
Speaker 4 (23:19):
You're pretty easy to fina.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
Hey. Hey, hey, hey, I would know that because I
spend time there with you. That's why I said that
evidence for being completely honest. Hey, thanks, TEP. I appreciate it.
Look forward to seeing you soon. Absolutely voice take care
all right. That is Greg Tepper. He's the editor in
chief against his protestations of Dave Campbell's Texas Football magazine.
(23:41):
We got some other topics we get to coming up
on thirteen under the zone
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