This article was written by Mark J. Burns and published on Sport & State, a new media company founded by Clay Travis that is built around sports, culture, original voices, and live conversation.
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Texas football and ESPN sideline reporter Holly Rowe meet again this Saturday.
Hopefully, the reunion, for both parties’ sake at least, doesn’t turn into more viral Internet clips and a multi-day news cycle as the top-ranked Longhorns visit the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium.
Inside the Texas athletic department, the belief is that there will be “no issues here” if and when Rowe approaches either coach Steve Sarkisian and quarterback Arch Manning for interviews in Knoxville, according to John Bianco, Texas Senior Associate Athletics Director, Communications.
When asked by Sport & State if he expects Sarkisian and Manning to participate in the interviews, Bianco responded simply “yes.” He also acknowledged that customary meetings between the broadcast team and Texas staff are happening as normal.
ESPN declined comment to Sport & State about Rowe’s assignment to cover Tennessee-Texas on Saturday. She will be joined by play by play caller Chris Fowler and analyst Kirk Herbstreit in a rare noon ET kickoff on ABC for the network’s top college football broadcast crew.
You might remember when Sarkisian stiffed Rowe during a postgame interview after Texas’ stunning 20-point fourth-quarter comeback win against the Buckeyes on Sept. 12, prompting her to look visibly frustrated and annoyed on air.
“Texas fight! Hook ‘em!” said Sarkisian to the camera as he stormed off at DRK-Texas Memorial Stadium, while Rowe walked away in disgust after being spurned by the third-year Texas coach.
Holly Rowe was PISSED after Steve Sarkisian blew her off 😳 pic.twitter.com/MYFmQ0OO7V
— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) September 13, 2026
The controversy didn’t end the following week — if anything, it only got worse for the Longhorns.
During a Monday press conference, Inside Texas reporter Evan Vieth asked Manning if he had seen any TikTok edits of his postgame celebration, leading the redshirt junior to comment on an AI video clip of Sarkisian slapping Rowe.
“I saw an AI edit of Sark’s interview. Y’all seen that one? That’s a good one,” Manning said to the room filled with reporters, who collectively laughed at the remarks.
You’re all welcome. Hookem. pic.twitter.com/7sRH9jQpIm
— Hookem 🤘 (@hookem) September 14, 2026
Naturally, the Internet rallied behind Rowe for the insensitive comments, even if some sports media personalities like Sport & State founder Clay Travis believed Manning said and did nothing wrong. If anything, the blame fell on Rowe for her child-like response to Sarkisian side-stepping the postgame interview, Travis said.
Last Tuesday, Manning finally issued a statement on Instagram and offered his apologies to Rowe “for what she personally had to deal with because of my comments.” Sarkisian also addressed the situation, saying “nowhere do we condone domestic violence or violence against women.”
Here’s Arch Manning’s apology for his insensitive comment in his press conference. Says he’s “deeply sorry” and says he apologizes to Holly Rowe of ESPN. “I need to do better and will be more thoughtful going forward.” pic.twitter.com/hRVJyx7PIb
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 15, 2026
On social media, Rowe acknowledged and accepted Manning’s apology.
“We move forward with respect and kindness for one another,” she wrote.
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