Texas AD clarifies use of A.I. on key play that failed in loss to Florida

Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte on Friday moved to clear up confusion over whether the Longhorns used artificial intelligence to call a failed fourth-down play in last weekend's 27-24 loss to Florida.

An Austin American-Statesman story published earlier Friday reported that Del Conte had cited the play — a fourth-and-2 on which Texas trailed 20-17 and quarterback Arch Manning was stopped for a 3-yard loss — as an example of the football team's use of a new AI platform, calling it a pivotal embrace of "Bevo Lab."

But On Texas Football later posted on X that Del Conte clarified he had cited the play only as an example of what the platform "could suggest, not what it actually did."

Bevo Lab, officially announced by Texas on Friday, is the school's new AI data analytics initiative, described as "higher education's premier sports intelligence platform and living laboratory." Texas says it is drawing on ties to Dell and Google Cloud — both led by Longhorns alumni — and that all 21 sports programs and their 500 athletes will take part.

"Bevo Lab will become the global benchmark for innovation in sports AI and data analytics, making Texas Athletics the most data-driven athletic program in the country," Del Conte said.

The program includes a "unified data warehouse" dubbed the Bevo Lakehouse, consolidating game film and wearable data starting with football, plus a "transfer AI" system for roster evaluation, game strategy, scouting and player development. About 40 student researchers will run modeling and data projects under Kirk Goldsberry, the former ESPN basketball analyst who now leads the school's Business of Sports Institute.