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Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian knows what to expect when President Donald Trump attends Saturday’s college football game at Tennessee — and it goes well beyond drumming up the atmosphere.
Sarkisian said Thursday that coaches can lose headset communication when Trump enters a stadium, leaves the stadium or moves to a different location — something Texas will have to be prepared for when it faces the Volunteers at Neyland Stadium.
“The one thing that you have to be aware of when the president goes to any game is that any time he enters the stadium, leaves the stadium or changes locations within the stadium, they cut all communication,” Sarkisian said during a Zoom call on Thursday. “So they cut your headsets. They cut the headsets to coaches. They cut headsets for coach-to-player communication. So you have to have a plan for that, if and when it happens, and you get no warning. It just gets cut out.”
The potential disruption could create challenges for both Texas’ offensive and defensive staffs. Defensive coordinator Will Muschamp calls the defense’s plays from the sideline, while Sarkisian communicates the offense’s plays directly to quarterback Arch Manning.
Knowing that could be an issue he has to deal with, Sarkisian reached out to a coaching colleague who has dealt with Trump’s presence at the stadium before. He texted Miami head coach Mario Cristobal, seeking guidance of how Cristobal managed Trump attending the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship Game.
“A good friend of mine is Mario Cristobal,” Sarkisian said. “Last year, when they were playing Indiana in the national championship, they had that drive at the end of the game; they had no communication because he was leaving early before the game ended. You get no warning; it just cuts out. You have to be prepared for that.”
Miami ultimately lost the national championship game to Indiana, but Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti pushed back Thursday against claims that a loss of communication led to the final result.
Cignetti said Trump’s departure did result in a brief communication issue earlier in the fourth quarter.
“President Trump left the game around the seven-minute mark in the fourth quarter, there were two or three plays we couldn’t hear at all,” Cignetti explained on Thursday. “The second play was when they gave the ball to (Malachi) Toney, pitched it to him, for the touchdown with 6:37 to go.”
“What’s floating around on social media is, the communication device went down on Miami’s last drive of the game on offense,” Cignetti added. “‘Oh really?’ So I had to dispel that.”
The White House Rapid Response account also disputed the claim that Trump’s departure affected Miami’s headset communication during the final drive.
“No, President Trump’s departure from the CFP championship in January did not cause headset or comms issues for the team,” the post read.
Trump’s presence could create an unusual logistical challenge for both teams, and Sarkisian said the key is simply being prepared for the possibility that the headsets could suddenly go silent.
“You have to have a plan to adjust if and when he comes in the middle of the first quarter, leaves in the fourth quarter, or decides he’s got to use the restroom, whatever that looks like,” Sarkisian said. “You’ve got to be prepared to have no communication for a short amount of time.”
