Texas Longhorn Athletics programs include
the extramural and intramural sports teams of University of Texas at
Austin. These teams are referred to as the Texas Longhorns, 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, Texas, or the abbreviation UT) 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 University of Texas has traditionally been considered a college
football powerhouse, with four national titles to their credit,
including one to conclude the 2005-2006 season. From 1936 to 2004, the
team finished the season in the top ten 23 times, or one-third of the
time, according to the Associated Press. The team experienced its
greatest success when it was coached by Darrell Royal, winning three
National Championships — 1963, 1969 and 1970. Two Texas Longhorn running
backs have won college football's highest honor, the Heisman Trophy:
Earl Campbell (1977) and Ricky Williams (1998). Other former Longhorn
greats include: Scott Appleton, Tommy Nobis, Bobby Layne, Tom Landry,
Jerry Sisemore, Brad Shearer, Kenneth Sims, Tony Degrate, Doug English,
Jerry Gray, Eric Metcalf, Tony Brackens, Priest Holmes, Derrick Johnson,
Cedric Benson, and Vince Young.
The Longhorns have a long tradition of winning football games. Only
three programs, Notre Dame, University of Nebraska and the University of
Michigan, have won more games than Texas, which marked its 800th victory
with its win over the USC Trojans in the 2006 BCS National Championship
Game at the Rose Bowl. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the team
was somewhat less successful, but has recently returned to prominence,
finishing in the top ten in 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2005. The team
currently plays home games in Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium
which has a seating capacity of 80,082, but, as evidenced by the 1999
game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, actual attendance could surpass
85,000. The stadium is undergoing renovations scheduled to start
November 14, 2005, two days following UT's last home football game of
the season. The improvements are scheduled to be completed before the
2006-2007 football season, and include additional seating and the
nation's first high definition video display in a collegiate facility.
Under the current bowl system, the Longhorns played their first Bowl
Championship Series game in 2005 at the Rose Bowl against the University
of Michigan. The game was the first meeting between the two storied
teams and the Longhorns' first trip to the Rose Bowl for a BCS game. The
Longhorns defeated the Wolverines 38-37 thanks to a successful field
goal kick by Dusty Mangum as time expired off the clock. Three
ex-Longhorns from the 2005 Rose Bowl team, Cedric Benson, Derrick
Johnson, and Bo Scaife, were selected in the 2005 NFL Draft.
