DeLoss Dodds, the University of Texas athletic director, seems to be on some sort of mission to shift the focus away from all the negativity around the football program in Austin – suspensions, the team’s struggles, Mack Brown’s job security – to other sports or schools. Dodds recently said college basketball was in “shambles,” and the sport went on an unprecedented run of upsets and buzzer beaters. His latest target? For some reason, Dodds took a jab at Missouri in the Statesman:

“We’re going to have good years again,” Dodds promised. “Our bad years are not that bad. Take a school like Missouri. Our bad years are better than their good years. But we’ve created a standard.”

Who says that? Yes, Texas has created a standard. But why kick Missouri when the Tigers are down? Two years ago, the Tigers were a “hot” program and Gary Pinkel was a “hot” coaching candidate (yes, even at 58). They landed the No. 1 recruit in the country. Sure, it’s been all downhill from there (life in the SEC ain’t easy), but who considers Missouri in the same galaxy as Texas when it comes to football? Did Dodds want to pick on an SEC school that used to play in the Big 12? You know he wanted to go at A&M, but the Aggies are a program on the rise.

[RELATED: Gary Pinkel Told These Two Attractive Women to Stop Running the Stairs, Because They Were Distracting His Missouri Tigers]

Besides Dodds taking shots at Missouri, there was this nugget from the story that you’re probably aware of, but it is worth repeating:

Besides the $15 million a year it reaps from ESPN for the Longhorn Network — $4 million of that goes to IMG — the athletic department turned a football profit of $79 million last year, an increase of more than $8 million over one year, according to Department of Education figures.

I couldn’t find profit numbers for the Missouri program, but based on these December “value” numbers, the gulf between Texas and Missouri is enormous. Find another target, DeLoss. [Statesman]

Related: Mack Brown Tried to Recruit Robert Griffin III and Johnny Manziel as a Defensive Back and Safety