Univ. of Texas Women's AD Chris Plonsky begins her 29th year at the school this fall, but there "appears to be no more polarizing person in the Texas athletic department," according to Chip Brown of HORNS DIGEST. Plonsky is described as everything from a "huge asset to a destructive, divisive force." UT is the "only school in Division I, II or III with a women's and a men's" AD. Sources said that Plonsky "takes gender equity to extremes and uses Title IX when it doesn’t apply -- creating division within the athletic department over money spent on the men as compared to women’s athletics." Sources said that division also has been "caused by Plonsky collecting dirt on her own coaches ... then using the intel to micro-manage" them. UT booster Pam Willeford said that "there’s no better college athletics administrator in the country than Plonsky." Willeford: “I have never known anyone who works as hard or spends more time or cares as much as Chris does.” But Brown noted Plonsky’s critics "describe a demoralizing, fear-based leadership style that has brought down morale in several key areas of Texas athletics because of a power grab" in '14 after the departure of 32-year AD DeLoss Dodds. Plonsky since '93 has supervised men’s and women’s athletics revenue generation in media and licensing sponsorships, and beginning in '11 that "also included UT’s day-to-day relationship with ESPN for the Longhorn Network." During former AD Steve Patterson's two years at UT, Plonsky also became the "prevailing voice over academic support, sports medicine, compliance, equipment managers and game day experience." Sources said that the leaders of those areas "make decisions out of fear, based on what Plonsky wants -- not based on what’s in the best interest of the university."
NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN? Plonsky has "been in charge of marketing and licensing" for UT athletics for more than 20 years. Sources said that her "authority to approve any athletics imaging involving the Longhorn brand was quickly challenged by new football coach Tom Herman" upon his arrival. Sources said that Herman went to UT AD Mike Perrin and President Greg Fenves and "requested all the imaging coming out of the football office bearing the Longhorn brand -- on social media and otherwise -- would be approved from within." Herman’s request was granted and the result has been a "hugely popular and welcomed social media campaign from Texas football." Plonsky also oversees UT’s relationship with multimedia rights holder IMG, which "sells sponsorships in connection with UT athletics." It is with Plonsky’s approval that "many of those sponsorships have turned into roughly" $8M worth of advertising during football games on the Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium video board. However, that also is "something Herman is trying to change in an attempt to create a better atmosphere during games." Many fans "feel the amount of advertising on the video board and the use of sideline hosts to talk about various sponsorships brings the mood and sound inside the stadium to a halt" (SCOUT.com, 7/20).
