Texas coach Steve Sarkisian knows what to expect when President Donald Trump attends Saturday’s college football game at Tennessee — and it goes beyond creating the atmosphere.
Sarkisian said Thursday that coaches could lose earpiece communication when Trump enters a stadium, leaves a stadium or moves to another location — something Texas will have to prepare for when it faces the Volunteers at Neyland Stadium.
“The one thing you have to keep in mind when the president goes to any game is that every time he enters the stadium, leaves the stadium or changes location within the stadium, they cut off all communication,” Sarkisian said during a Zoom call Thursday. “So they cut your headphones. They cut coaches’ headphones. They cut coach-to-player communication headphones. So you have to have a plan for that, if and when it happens, and you don’t get any warning. It just breaks.”
The potential disruption could create challenges for Texas’ offensive and defensive staffs. Defensive coordinator Will Muschamp calls the defensive plays from the sideline, while Sarkisian communicates the offensive plays directly to quarterback Arch Manning.
Knowing it might be an issue to deal with, Sarkisian reached out to a fellow coach who has dealt with Trump’s presence at the stadium before. He texted Miami coach Mario Cristobal asking for guidance on how Cristobal managed Trump going into 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 move late in the game; they had no communication because he was leaving early before the game was over. You don’t get any warning; it just ends. You have to be prepared for it.”
Miami eventually lost the national championship game to Indiana, but Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti pushed back Thursday against claims that a lapse in communication led to the final score.
Cignetti said Trump’s departure resulted in a brief communication issue earlier in the fourth quarter.
“President Trump left the game about seven minutes into the fourth quarter, there were two or three plays that we couldn’t hear at all,” Cignetti explained Thursday. “The second play was when they gave the ball to (Malachi) Toney, threw it to him, to go ahead with 6:37.”
“What’s going around on social media is that the communications device went down on Miami’s last drive on offense,” Cignetti added. “Oh really?” So I had to share it.”
The White House Rapid Response account also disputed the claim that Trump’s departure affected Miami’s headset communications during the final trip.
“No, President Trump’s departure from the CFP Championship in January did not cause headset or commentary 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 preparing for the possibility that the headsets might 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 needs to use the bathroom, whatever that looks like,” Sarkisian said. “You have to be prepared to be out of communication for a short time.”
