Caitlin Clark in Austin? Kevin Durant part of group seeking to bring WNBA franchise to Austin alongside Longhorns

Texas women’s basketball coach Vic Schaefer said Tuesday he believes Austin would embrace a potential WNBA expansion franchise considering the sport’s phenomenal growth.

USA Today reported that Texas exes Fran Harris and Kevin Durant along with former Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry have submitted a bid for an Austin team.

Lasry would be the financial backer with Harris, a former UT and WNBA player turned successful business woman, as a driving force. Durant played just one season for the Longhorns under coach Rick Barnes before going pro, but he has long been supportive of UT and Austin.

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Asked if he thought Austin could support a WNBA team, Schaefer told reporters Tuesday, “Oh, I think so. You know, we don't cross paths. We’re a different time of the year. Other than the soccer team (Austin FC), we just don’t have a pro team.”

The city of Austin has long been viewed as being anti-pro sports because of the Longhorns. The area has welcomed minor league baseball, hockey and men’s basketball over the years. But Austin FC in Major League Soccer was the first major pro sports team to make it all the way from concept to reality in Central Texas.

Any WNBA team would have a perfect venue to play in — Moody Center on the UT campus.

“I think there's a support group here that would love to have that team,” Schaefer said. “That group has talked to me, and I'm, I'm all for it.”

Geography hasn’t helped, either. Pro teams in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio have long dominated the sports landscape in a triangle around the state.

The WNBA would be different, though. The Houston Comets were one of the first and most successful WNBA franchises, but that team folded in December 2008. It’s been reported that Houston billionaire Tilman Fertitta is pushing behind the scenes to bring the Comets back to life.

The WNBA has received more than 10 bids for a new expansion franchise, according to USA Today. A new team would raise the overall number of teams to 16. The WNBA wants to add another team prior to the 2028 season.

“I don’t feel like it hurts us or hinders us one bit. And so I hope they get it,” Schaefer said. “I think it’d be great for our city and great for our state.”