Vic Schaefer press conference rant: Why Texas women's basketball coach blasted SEC scheduling after loss to LSU

The Texas Longhorns women's basketball team is early into conference play, but they have been tested early. 

The move to the SEC for Texas was largely looked at through the focal point of football and the great matchups and competition that will come from it. That same situation applies to all of the sports that made the change, and early into the 2025-2026 conference schedule, head coach Vic Shaefer is not happy with the way the Longhorns' schedule has rolled out. 

The Longhorns are in the middle of a two-game road stretch where they have to play at No. 12 LSU and at No. 3 South Carolina. Texas went into the LSU game an undefeated 18-0 and the No. 2 team in the country. The Longhorns lost a great game 70-65, but they don't have much time to deal with the loss. 

Texas' next game is on the road at No. 3 South Carolina, arguably the second-toughest team that the Longhorns could possibly have played next. After the Longhorns' loss to the Tigers, Shaefer didn't mince words with how he felt the SEC did making his team's schedule. 

Here is more on why Shaefer thinks the SEC has a vendetta against the Longhorns. 

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Vic Shaefer press conference

Vic Schaefer was asked postgame about his thoughts on the league and how he navigates it game-to-game when there are so many SEC teams ranked in the top 15, top 10. He said, "they [the schedule makers] obviously have a vendetta against Texas because not only have we started in the league [the SEC] and I get to play South Carolina twice last year, and LSU twice this year, there are 16 [conference] games this year, and I have to play South Carolina on the road this year, as well as LSU, and I get them back-to-back in the same week, make that make sense."

Shaefer continued, "the league is hard enough as it is, but then to bless me and my group with that, it really has a stench to it. I'm disappointed in the league for putting our kids in that position. It is what it is, but I think there are some things right now that bother me in regards to the schedule." Shaefer later said that he is choosing to be vocal about the schedule because he saw how bad it was when it came out, but was waiting for someone with the power to do something to say something, but that never happened. 

"They obviously have a vendetta against Texas."

"It really has a stench to it."

"I'm really disappointed in the league, for putting our kids in that position."@TexasWBB Vic Shaefer on SEC scheduling and playing back-to-back road games at @LSUwbkb and @GamecockWBB. #LSU pic.twitter.com/TCkXM2xuB8

— Jacques Doucet (@JacquesDoucet) January 12, 2026

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Texas women's basketball schedule

Texas played South Carolina early in the season as part of the Players Era Championship. The Longhorns won 66-64, but the win did not count as a conference game since it was played at a neutral site. 

Here is a look at the Longhorns' conference schedule. 

*Rankings accurate as of January 12.

Does Texas have an unfair schedule?

The interesting thing about this rant is that it comes when Texas has two games where it plays No. 12 LSU and No. 3 South Carolina, both on the road over the course of five days. Texas' conference schedule gets absolutely brutal in a few weeks. The Longhorns are currently projected to play five ranked teams in a row from February 1 to February 15. 

Texas will be home vs. No. 5 Oklahoma, home vs. No. 12 LSU and home vs. No. 6 Kentucky before going on the road to take on No. 7 Vanderbilt and No. 20 Tennessee to end the two week stretch. 

There are 16 SEC teams and as of Week 10 of the season, half of the conference is ranked in the top-25. 

To the claim by Shaefer that nobody has to go on the road to play LSU and South Carolina in back-to-back games, he is right. Nobody else in the SEC has to do that. That being said, Vanderbilt has to go on the road in back-to-back games to take on No. 3 South Carolina and No. 18 Ole Miss. Speaking of the Rebels, they had to go on the road to take on No. 2 Texas and No. 5 Oklahoma in a four-day span. 

Tennessee ends its season running through a gauntlet. The Lady Volunteers have a road game against No. 5 Oklahoma and No. 12 LSU before returning home to face No. 7 Vanderbilt in the regular season finale. 

While Schaefer has a point, especially when adding the pre-season rankings which don't mean anything in season, Texas is not the only team in the SEC that has a bad stretch of games, or back-to-back road games against top-15 opponents. His point would be better served to be made when Texas has to play five ranked opponents in a row in early February, as no other SEC team currently has a similar stretch on their schedule. 

When did Texas join the SEC?

Texas joined the SEC on July 1, 2024. This is just the second season that the Longhorns have been in the conference, but if you ask Schaefer, they have been forced into an uphill battle from the start. If Texas had remained in the Big 12, this season the Longhorns would be one of five ranked teams, and would likely have an easier overall schedule which Schaefer seems the be after.