Coach Has Theory About The ‘Trump Curse’ — And It Makes The President Look Real Obnoxious

There may be a reason behind the "Trump curse" — but it's not witchcraft.

At least, according to the University of Texas Longhorns' head football coach Steve Sarkisian , who recently shed light on a challenge coaches face whenever President Donald Trump decides he wants to attend a game.

"The one thing that you have to be aware of when the president goes to any game is that any time he enters the stadium, leaves the stadium or changes locations within the stadium, they cut all communication," Sarkisian told reporters on a Zoom call on Thursday. "So they cut your headsets. They cut the headsets to coaches. They cut headsets for coach-to-player communication. So you have to have a plan for that, if and when it happens, and you get no warning. It just gets cut out."

Sarkisian made his remarks ahead of the throwdown between the Longhorns and Tennessee Volunteers this Saturday in Knoxville's Neyland Stadium — a game Trump is scheduled to attend .

"You have to have a plan to adjust if and when he comes in the middle of the first quarter, leaves in the fourth quarter, or decides he's got to use the restroom, whatever that looks like," Sarkisian continued, talking about having to deal with the president's whims. "You've got to be prepared to have no communication for a short amount of time."

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Later Thursday, in an interview with On Texas Football , Sarkisian elaborated on the issue and provided an example he heard from University of Miami coach Mario Cristobal.

"A good friend of mine is Mario Cristobal," he said, "Last year, when they were playing Indiana in the national championship, they had that drive at the end of that game.

"They had no communication because [Trump] was leaving early before the game ended. And so you get no warning. It just cuts out ... and so you've got to be prepared for that. That is definitely something that is unique that could come up in this ball game."

The idea that Trump may have impacted last season's championship game sent some college football fans into a spiral.

Former Meet the Press host Chuck Todd said om X : "***!!!?!? Are you telling me that Trump cost Miami in the final drive? Is that what Sark is saying? I went into a bit of sports media blackout post-Miami loss in that game, but was this widely reported post-game?"

"You kidding me??" said sports writer Alex Donno in a post on X . "They cut off Miami's comms with no warning during the final drive of the title game down 6???"

"A pretty insane story given the timing and stakes," echoed sports analyst CJ Vogel on X .

The dramatic timing of the cutout in Sarkisian's story has been disputed and downplayed by some involved with both teams.

An anonymous source on Miami's 2025 staff told The Athletic "that the outage occurred before the last drive." Indiana's Curt Cignetti told ESPN that the headsets went out around the 6:45 mark, when Miami had the ball.

"It came back before kickoff," Cignetti told ESPN. "We both had communication from that point on."

CBS Sports also spoke with multiple sources in the Miami program about the communication blip. Two sources told CBS the lapse did not happen on the final drive. All the sources "were adamant" that the cutout only lasted a "couple plays" and didn't "notably impact the outcome of the game."

Despite whether Trump screwed over Miami or not, some sports fans believe that Trump's attendance at sporting events leads to bad luck — especially for the president's favored team.

The phrase "Trump curse" as it pertains to sports popped up on social media after the president allegedly jinxed the New York Knicks in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, and when the United States lost to Belgium in the World Cup — despite Trump trying to goose the game in U.S. favor. Most recently, New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart — who introduced Trump at an event in May — suffered a knee injury Monday night against the Los Angeles Rams that requires surgery and will keep him out for the rest of the regular season.

Many others have extended the "Trump curse" to describe pretty much anything the president touches, like the demolition of the White House East Wing, the botched renovation of the Reflecting Pool , his poorly attended Great American State Fair …or, by extension, the current state of the nation as a whole.