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For other uses, see Longhorn.
Texas Longhorns athletics programs include the extramural and intramural sports teams of The University of Texas at Austin. These teams are referred to as the Texas Longhorns (or variously as Longhorns, Horns, or Texas), taking their name from the Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and are now the official "large animal" of the State of Texas. The University of Texas at Austin (often referred to as simply The University of Texas) is the flagship institution of The University of Texas System. The women's teams are sometimes called the Lady Longhorns, but generally both the men's and women's teams are referred to as the Longhorns. The Longhorn nickname appeared in Texas newspapers by 1900.[1] The University of Texas at Austin offers a wide variety of varsity and intramural sports programs. Due to the breadth of sports offered and the quality of the programs, Texas was selected as "America's Best Sports College" in a 2002 analysis performed by Sports Illustrated. Texas was also listed as the number one Collegiate Licensing Company client from 2005–2007 in regards to the amount of annual trademark royalties received from the sales of its fan merchandise.[2] Texas is one of only two remaining NCAA Division I schools to operate separate men's and women's athletic departments, with the other being the University of Tennessee.[3]
[edit] Varsity sports A charter member of the Southwest Conference until its dissolution in 1996, the Texas Longhorns now compete in the Big 12 Conference (South Division), as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The school's colors are officially Orange (Pantone 159) and White, with Burnt Orange — also known as Texas Orange — being the specific shade of orange used.[4][5] The University of Texas Longhorn Band performs the alma mater ("The Eyes of Texas")[6] as well as the university fight song ("Texas Fight") at various sporting events. Over the years, Longhorn sports teams have won 47 total national championships,[7] 39 of which are NCAA national championships.[8] The University of Texas currently fields a varsity team in eight men's sports and 10 women's sports.[9] They are:
[edit] FootballMain article: Texas Longhorns football  Two Texas Longhorn running backs have won college football's most prestigious individual award, the Heisman Trophy: Earl Campbell (1977) and Ricky Williams (1998). Eleven Longhorns have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame[10], while four are enshrined in the NFL Hall of Fame.[11] Other Longhorn players have also received recognition for their performance. Texas ranks as the second most NCAA Division I-A program in college football history, in terms of total wins, having passed Notre Dame with win 831 on November 27, 2008.[12] As of the end of the 2008 season, the Longhorns' all-time record is 832-316-33 (.718). Only the University of Michigan has won more games and a greater percentage of games played than Texas,[13] which recorded its 800th victory with the Longhorns' 41-38 win over the USC Trojans in the 2006 BCS National Championship Game at the Rose Bowl. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the program was somewhat less successful, but the Longhorns have since returned to prominence in college football, finishing in the top six of the AP and coaches' polls in 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2008. The University of Texas team plays home games in Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium which has a seating capacity of 100,119.[14] Renovations began on the stadium November 14, 2005, two days following the last home football game of the 2005 season. The improvements were completed before the 2008 football season, and included additional seating[15] and the nation's first high definition video display in a collegiate facility nicknamed "Godzillatron."[16] The University completed a $27 million expansion and renovation to the south end zone facilities in August 2009 which added 4,525 permanent bleacher seats and changed the playing surface to FieldTurf. With the new permanent bleacher seating section added behind the south end zone and the total remodeling of the north end zone completed in 2008, the stadium's official capacity now stands at 100,119. This has already been surpassed, when 101,297[17] saw #2-ranked Texas beat Texas Tech 34–24[18] on September 19, 2009. The Longhorns are currently coached by Mack Brown, who came to Texas after being head coach at North Carolina. [edit] Texas Longhorns under Mack BrownMack Brown has been the head football coach for Texas since 1998. From 1998 through the 2008–2009 season, the Longhorns had a 124–27 win-loss record. In his first six years at Texas, Brown had a winning record but he had not managed to win the Big 12 conference or to lead the Longhorns into a Bowl Championship Series game. He was often lauded for his recruiting while being criticized for failing to win championships. That changed with the 2004 Texas Longhorns football team who played in the 2005 Rose Bowl against the Wolverines of the University of Michigan. The game was the first meeting between the two storied teams and the Longhorns' first trip to the Rose Bowl. In a classic game that featured five lead changes and three tie scores during the course of play, the Longhorns defeated the Wolverines 38–37 on a successful 37-yard field goal by place kicker Dusty Mangum as time expired. It was the first time the Rose Bowl had ever been decided on the closing play, and it earned the Longhorns a top 5 finish in the polls. Three ex-Longhorns from the 2005 Rose Bowl team — Cedric Benson, Derrick Johnson, and Bo Scaife — were selected in the 2005 NFL Draft.  Brown followed up the strong 2004 season on the field with an extremely successful 2005 recruiting season by securing the top-ranked recruiting class (the 2005 recruiting season is for players entering the University in Fall 2006). With the exception of Cedric Benson, Derrick Johnson, and Bo Scaife, Texas returned most of their key players from 2004–2005, including red-shirt Junior Quarterback Vince Young. The 2005 Texas Longhorns football team was given a pre-season #2 ranking (behind defending National Champions University of Southern California) by Sports Illustrated magazine, and was also ranked second in the AP and USA Today coaches' pre-season polls. They maintained those rankings throughout the entire 2005–2006 season. Texas and USC ended up winning out their seasons and faced each other in the National Championship, which Texas won, 41–38. At the conclusion of the 2005–2006 season, Sports Illustrated issued a special commemorative edition that featured Vince Young shouting in triumph amidst a storm of multi-colored confetti. Features in the special edition included a story on Vince Young's Glory Days by author Tim Layden, as well as a story dissecting How the Rose Bowl was won by Austin Murphy. The issue was on sale nationwide alongside the regular edition of the magazine, which also featured the Rose Bowl on the cover. [edit] 2006The 2006 Texas Longhorns football team hoped to repeat as national champions. The Texas Longhorns returned several offensive (7) and defensive (7) starters from their National Title team, but quarterback Vince Young elected to go the NFL which left freshman Colt McCoy as the starting quarterback. The Longhorns opened the season with a win at home against North Texas. Their second game, against Ohio State, was one of the most anticipated college football games of the regular season.[19][20][21] The Longhorns lost that game, but then defeated Rice, Iowa State and Sam Houston State by a combined score of 145–24. Then they defeated 14th-ranked Oklahoma 28–10 in the Red River Rivalry. The Longhorns lost their last two regular season games to Kansas State (45–42) and Texas A&M (12–7). A victory against A&M would have clinched the Big 12 South Division title for the Longhorns. As a result of the loss, Oklahoma won the division and played in the Big 12 Championship game. The Alamo Bowl, with the 5th pick of Big 12 conference teams selected the Longhorns to play against unranked Iowa who had placed 8th in the Big Ten conference. With Colt McCoy at quarterback, the Longhorns narrowly defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes 26–24. [edit] 2007The 2007 Texas Longhorn football team began play on September 1, 2007. Texas entered the 2007 season ranked third in the all-time list of both total wins and winning percentage. They were ranked in the Top 10 by numerous pre-season polls. For instance, a pre-season ranking by ESPN writer Mark Schlabach had the Longhorns ranked eighth;[22] Rivals.com has them at ninth.[23] College Football News[24] and Real Football 365[25] both had the Longhorns ranked third. The Longhorns come into the season ranked fourth in both the Coaches' Poll[26] and AP Poll.[27] The Longhorns failed to make good on that ranking, however, dropping to number 20 in the BCS standings after losing to conference foes Kansas State, Oklahoma, and Texas A&M. [edit] 2008In 2008 Texas Longhorn football team entered the season with freshmen athletes at many positions, no definite starting running back and appeared to lack talent at key positions. The Longhorns were projected to post a 9-3 during the 2008 season, and were ranked Nos. 11 and 10 in the AP Poll and the USA Today Coaches Poll, respectively.[28] Despite doubt surrounding the season, the Longhorns rallied to an 8-0 start, including a four game in-conference stretch against opponents ranked in the top 12 football teams in the country. During that stretch, the Texas Longhorns defeated BCS ranked #1 Oklahoma, #11 Missouri, and #7 Oklahoma State before losing to #7 Texas Tech on November 2, 2008. On January 5, 2009, Texas defeated #10 (according to final BCS rankings) Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl 24-21. The loss to #7 Texas Tech was the only loss for the 2008 Texas Longhorns, finishing 12-1 overall, 5-1 in the Big 12 Conference South Division and #3 in the BCS rankings, #4 in the final AP Poll, and #3 in the final USA Today Coaches Poll.
[edit] All-time All-AmericansMain article: Texas Longhorns Football All Americans The Texas Longhorn football program has produced 120 All-American selections (93 players), with 48 of these being Consensus All-American selections (41 players) and 21 of these being Unanimous All-American selections (18 players).[29][30] [edit] All-time national award winners[edit] Players
[edit] Coaches
[edit] All-time University of Texas football team(As chosen by the Austin American-Statesman on September 9, 2005.)
Coach: Darrell Royal, 1957-76 [edit] BasketballMain articles: Texas Longhorns men's basketball and Texas Longhorns women's basketball  The Texas men's basketball team has achieved national prominence under head coach Rick Barnes in recent years. Barnes has guided Texas to a school-record nine consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and a school-best eight consecutive 20-win seasons as of March 11, 2007. Hired as the twenty-third men's basketball coach in University of Texas history on April 12, 1998, Rick Barnes left Clemson University to take over a Longhorn program coming off of a losing season and "in disarray."[46] Former head coach Tom Penders had resigned after a scandal involving his unlawful release of player Luke Axtell's grades to the media. Longhorn players Axtell, Chris Mihm, Gabe Muoneke, and Bernard Smith had met with Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds "to say that they had lost faith in Penders and his program."[46][47] Despite playing with just seven scholarship players for the majority of the 1998-1999 season — and opening the season with a 3-8 record — Barnes engineered one of the greatest midseason turnarounds in school history. The Longhorns won 16 of their final 21 games, posting a 13-3 record in conference play and winning the school's first regular season Big 12 Conference championship by a two-game margin, and finishing the year at 19-13, with a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament. In 2002, the Longhorns advanced to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen for the first time since the 1996-97 season, and for only the third time since the expansion of the tournament to 64 participants in 1985. The 2003 Longhorn basketball team matched the school record for most basketball victories in a season with their 26-7 mark and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Final Four round for the first time in 56 years, and for the third time in school history. Along the way, Texas earned its highest ranking in both the Associated Press and the ESPN/USA Today polls in school history (No. 2 in both polls on Dec. 2, 2002) and received its first No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Sophomore point guard T. J. Ford became the first male player for Texas to earn the Naismith and Wooden Awards as college basketball's Player of the Year in 2003. Despite the early departure of Ford to the NBA as the eighth overall pick (Milwaukee Bucks), Texas compiled a 25-8 overall record in 2004 and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen round for a school-record third consecutive year. The four senior starters on the 2004 team graduated as the winningest class in school history (98 wins) to that point. In 2006, the Longhorns recorded the program's first 30-win season (30-7), claimed a share of the Big 12 Conference regular season championship, received a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and advanced to the Elite Eight (Texas fell to LSU in overtime), marking the fourth time in five years that Texas had advanced to at least the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. The 2006 class, which finished with 101 wins in four years, bested the 2004 class' mark of 98 wins to become the winningest class in the history of Longhorn basketball. The 2005-06 season also marked the 100th anniversary of basketball at the University of Texas. Special logos were placed on the uniforms to commemorate this anniversary. In 2007, the men's basketball team was ranked sixth by the Harris Poll for favorite men's college basketball teams, moving up one spot from the previous year. [1] The women's basketball team has long been a national power, especially during the late 1980s (winning a National Title in 1986) and through the 1990s. Both teams play home games in the Frank Erwin Special Events Center. [edit] BaseballMain article: Texas Longhorns baseball The Texas Longhorns are the winningest team in college baseball history, both in terms of total wins and in terms of win percentage. Texas holds the records for most appearances in the College World Series (33) and most individual CWS games won. The Longhorns have won six NCAA baseball national championships (1949, 1950, 1975, 1983, 2002, and 2005) — second only to Southern California's total of 12 — and have appeared in the CWS Championship Game or Championship Series on six other occasions (1953, 1984, 1985, 1989, 2004, and 2009). Former Longhorns who have gone on to success in Major League Baseball include Roger Clemens, Calvin Schiraldi, Burt Hooton, Keith Moreland, Spike Owen, Greg Swindell, Huston Street, Taylor Teagarden, and Drew Stubbs. On May 30, 2009, the Longhorns and Boston College played in the longest game in college-baseball history — a 25-inning game, during the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship regional tournament at Austin, Texas. The Longhorns — who were designated the visiting team despite playing on their home field — won, 3-2. The game lasted seven hours three minutes.[48][49] Since 1997, the Longhorns have been led by head coach Augie Garrido, the winningest coach in NCAA baseball history. The team plays its home games at Disch-Falk Field. [edit] Softball Texas fields a women's softball team coached by Head Coach Connie Clark and assistants Corrie Hill and Marla Looper.[50] In 2007 the team posted an overall record of 35 wins and 20 losses.[51] [edit] Men's golfThe University of Texas has a strong golf tradition, winning National Titles in 1971 and 1972 and finishing runner-up four other times. Individual National Champions were Ed White (1935), Ben Crenshaw (1971, 1972, and 1973), Tom Kite (1972), and Justin Leonard (1994). Longhorns who have won the United States Amateur Golf Championship included Justin Leonard and David Gossett. Several former Longhorn players have gone on to success on the PGA Tour including: Tom Kite, Ben Crenshaw, Phil Blackmar, Mark Brooks, Bob Estes, and Justin Leonard. Legendary golf instructor Harvey Penick was a long-time coach at Texas. The team is currently coached by John Fields and Ryan Murphy. [2] [edit] Track and field/cross countryThe men's program is coached by Bubba Thornton, who was also the men's U.S. Olympic coach in 2008; as a team, the Longhorn men placed fourth in the 2008 NCAA outdoor championships. Other notable coaches of the Texas men's program have included Stan Huntsman (Texas coach, 1986-95), who was also the coach of the 1988 U.S. Olympic team, and Clyde Littlefield (Texas coach, 1920-60), the 1925 co-founder of the annual Texas Relays. The Texas Longhorn women placed seventh in the 2008 Big 12 outdoor championships. The women's program is coached by Beverly Kearney, who has guided the Lady Longhorns to six NCAA Championships: Indoor Championships in 1998, 1999, and 2006, and Outdoor Championships in 1998, 1999, and 2005. Other notable coaches have included Terry Crawford, whose teams won Indoor Championships in 1986, 1988, and 1990, and Outdoor Championships in 1982 and 1986. Crawford's athletes also won the 1986 Women's Cross Country Championship. The Longhorn track and field programs have produced numerous Olympians for various nations. Female Olympic medalists have included Sanya Richards and Moushami Robinson (USA, gold, 4x400 meter relay, 2004), Sandie Richards (Jamaica, silver, 4x400m relay, 2000 and 2004), Merlene Frazer (Jamaica, silver, 4x100m relay, 2000), Nanceen Perry (USA, bronze, 4x100m relay, 2000), Carlette Guidry (USA, gold, 4x100m relay, 1992 and 1996), Juliet Cuthbert (Jamaica, silver, 100m and 200m, 1992 and bronze, 4x100m relay, 1996), and Nikole Mitchell (Jamaica, bronze, 4x100m relay, 1996). Male medalists include Winthrop Graham (Jamaica, silver, 400m hurdles, 1992 and 4x400m relay, 1988), Patrick Sang (Kenya, silver, 3000m steeplechase, 1992), Du’aine Ladejo (Great Britain, bronze, 4x400m relay, 1992), Johnny Lam Jones (USA, gold, 4x100m relay, 1976), Eddie Southern (USA, silver, 400m hurdles, 1956), and Dean Smith (athlete) (USA, gold, 4x100m relay, 1952). In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, former Longhorns Leonel Manzano, Trey Hardee, Andra Manson, Michelle Carter, Marshevet Hooker, and Sanya Richards represented the United States. Richards won a bronze medal in the 400 meters and a gold in the 4x400 meter relay. Jamaican Melaine Walker won gold in the 400 meter hurdles. [edit] VolleyballMain article: Texas Longhorns volleyball Texas has finished among the top 25 in the nation 19 out of the last 23 years, with a 1988 NCAA National Championship, as well as a runner-up finish in 1995. They also won an AIAW national championship in 1981. The team is currently coached by Jerritt Elliott and plays home games in Gregory Gymnasium. Texas has finished the Big 12 conference in third place or higher every year for 8 out of 12 years, finishing 1st in 1997, 2007 and 2008, 2nd in 1996, 1998, 2004, 2005 and 3rd in 1999 & 2006. Texas volleyball has produced many All-Americans, and in 2007, they won the program's first Big 12 title since 1997, sharing the title with Nebraska, breaking Nebraska's 3 year streak of winning the title outright. They also earned the programs first AVCA National Freshman of the Year since 1995 in 2007, for Big 12 Freshman of the Year Juliann Faucette. [edit] Swimming and divingIn addition, Texas has won nine National Titles in men's swimming and diving (1981, 1988-1991, 1996, 2000–2002) and nine in Women's Swimming and Diving (1981–82, 1984–88, 1990–91). Texas women's cross country won a National Title in 1986. Women's tennis claimed the title in 1993 and 1995. Women's track and field achieved national indoor titles in 1986, 1988, 1990, 1998–99, and outdoor titles in 1982, 1986, 1998-99, 2005. Volleyball achieved titles in 1981 and 1988.
[edit] Longhorns at the OlympicsSeveral Longhorn athletes have had success at the Olympics over the years. The table at right shows Longhorn medals won in the Summer Olympics. [edit] Championship historyNational championships[52] (47)
Conference championships[53]
* Denotes shared conference title [edit] RivalriesThe university's biggest in-state rival is Texas A&M University,[54][55] although Texas considers the Oklahoma Sooners to be a more significant rival in football, especially in recent years due to the prominence of both programs.[56] Other teams have also been considered to be rivals of the Longhorns in various sports.[57][58][59][60] [edit] Texas A&MThe annual football game with Texas A&M takes place on the weekend of Thanksgiving each year. In an attempt to generate more attention for the rivalry in sports other than football, in 2004 the two schools started the Lone Star Showdown,[61] which began as a two-year trial program and has continued ever since. Essentially, each time the two schools meet in a sport, the winner of the matchup gets a point. At the end of the year, the school with the most points wins the series and receives a trophy. Aspects of the rivalry include:
[edit] University of OklahomaTexas has a long-standing, bitter rivalry with the University of Oklahoma. The football game between the University of Texas and Oklahoma is commonly known as the "Red River Shootout" and is held annually in Dallas, Texas at the Cotton Bowl. This name has come to refer to the two schools' contests in other major team sports as well. Since 2005, the football game has received sponsorship dollars in return for being referred to as the "SBC Red River Rivalry"[71] (changed to AT&T Red River Rivalry in 2006 when SBC changed its corporate name to AT&T), a move which has been criticized both for its commercialism[72] and its political correctness.[73] In recent years, this rivalry has taken on added significance, since both football programs have been highly ranked and compete in the same division of the Big 12 conference. In 2005, the Dallas Morning News did an opinion poll of the 119 Division 1A football coaches as to the nations top rivalry game in college football. The Texas–Oklahoma game was ranked third.[74] [edit] OthersMany other schools consider Texas among their biggest rivals. This list includes several other colleges in Texas, such as Baylor[75], Texas Tech,[76] and Houston.[77] Texas is also the biggest rival of the University of Arkansas[78] which may be attributed to their long tenure as the two eponymous state schools of the former Southwest Conference, or to the 1969 game between the two, which decided the national championship in favor of the Longhorns.[79][80] [edit] FacilitiesMajor sporting facilities and their main use include:
In addition, The University of Texas has numerous practice, training, and intramural facilities. [edit] Traditions
The University of Texas is a tradition-rich school, and many of those traditions are associated with athletics events, especially football. Some Longhorn traditions include:
[edit] MerchandiseFor the two fiscal years 2005–2007, Texas was listed as the number one Collegiate Licensing Company client in regards to the amount of annual trademark royalties received from the sales of its fan merchandise.[2] Schools that are not members of Collegiate Licensing Company however are not ranked in the listing.[84] Money from merchandising sales goes to the university, as opposed to being earmarked specifically for athletics programs.[2] [edit] References
[edit] External links
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