Jim Schlossnagle’s old quote on winning national championship comes back to burn him

Jim Schlossnagle delivered a quote about winning the national championship that has come back to bite him.

Schlossnagle, 54, led the Texas Longhorns’ baseball team to a 44-14 record during the regular season. His Longhorns went 22-8 in conference play to win the SEC. At the time, Schlossnagle boasted over what an accomplishment that was.

“Winning an SEC title during the regular season is harder than winning a national championship,” Schlossnagle said after his team had clinched the SEC. “We want to win a national title, but this (is) a test of endurance and grit, and obviously having a good team. I’m really proud of our players and the staff.”

Fast forward a few weeks, and Schlossnagle’s feelings might have changed.

Schlossnagle’s Longhorns lost to UTSA twice and got eliminated from the Austin Regional of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday. Texas had been the No. 2 overall seed in the tournament and joined No. 1 seed Vanderbilt in being knocked out early.

This was Schlossnagle’s first year at Texas following three years at Texas A&M, which was preceded by a long career at TCU. He made the College World Series five times while at TCU and twice in three years while at A&M. Some might say that since he has never won a national championship, he might not be qualified to say that winning the SEC is tougher than winning a national championship.

Schlossnagle even got the “Freezing Cold Takes” treatment for his comments.