Longhorn Nation,
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS, YES, WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS … LIGHT THE TOWER AGAIN! Track and Field made it two more titles with a clean sweep of the Big 12 Outdoor Championships last week! You could hear those chants of Texas Fight all the way from Waco as Coach Flo and our Horns raised both Big 12 Outdoor Championship Trophies once again! And count 'em up folks, that's a Big 12-record 14 championships this year … AND WE'RE NOT DONE YET! To add to the trophy tally and our shear dominance in our final lap around the Big 12, we've now won 10 more titles than the next best schools (Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, 4) and our 14 championships equals the total of the other 13 Big 12 members combined (14). We'll be going for our 15th when No. 1-ranked Rowing takes to the water in Sarasota, Fla., in quest of a ninth-straight Big 12 Championship on Sunday. Last week was filled with Trophies, Tower Lightings, Caps and Gowns, passing out those iconic T-Rings, and so much more. This week, we're right back at it, and we'll keep fighting 'til the end!
Our Horns were shining bright on the national stage last week, too, as No. 3 Men's Tennis put it to our rivals from College Station to advance to the NCAA Elite Eight in a 4-0 shutout of No. 17 Texas A&M last Friday. Y'all really showed up and showed out to help us rout the Aggies, so thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for showing them a "Longhorn welcome" and turning up that heat! It's the fourth time in the last five years the men have reached the quarterfinals, and this time it has been utter domination. All three NCAA matches have been sweeps — yep that's 12 wins and zero (zilch!) losses — for Coach Berque and the guys as they continue their laser-focused path in quest of a Natty! Up next, it's on to Stillwater, Okla., for a matchup with No. 7 Tennessee on Thursday (4 p.m. CT).
And before we get rolling ahead too far in this week's Forty Acres Insider, let's give another shoutout to all the awesome matriarchs in our family — here's to hoping everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day on Sunday. Here in Texas Athletics, we want to take a moment to send a huge, heartfelt thank you to all the moms who entrust us with their precious children. We don't take that responsibility lightly, recognize the importance of our roles as educators, role models, mentors, and leaders, and we are beyond grateful for the opportunity to work with such a bright and talented group of student-athletes every day. THANKS, MOM!
And speaking of moms (along with dads and the entire family for that matter!), what a weekend it was for all our student-athletes at commencement ceremonies. The graduation ceremony in a packed-house at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday night was once again, MAGNIFICENT! Kudos to our main man President Hartzell and his entire staff for the epic celebration they put together filled with awesome speeches, fireworks and a really cool drone show to honor the Class of 2024. And WOW, what an incredible commencement speech was delivered by a great Longhorn, retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Jeannie M. Leavitt (Class of 1990 and the first female fighter pilot). She truly epitomizes What Starts Here Changes the World! The stadium was abuzz, everything was spot on, and y'all hit it out of the park in recognizing all the grads — including 109 of our current and former student-athletes — in a sensational show that went off without a hitch. Congrats to all our graduates, we are oh so proud of you as you set out to change the world. You are FOREVER A LONGHORN!
Back to those victorious Track and Field efforts in Waco where our Horns out-ran, out-jumped, out-threw and just crushed the competition in our final Big 12 T&F competition! Despite many a weather interruption and delays, the women stormed past everyone with 150 points (52 better than runner-up BYU!), while the men bested defending champ Texas Tech by 19 (134-115). That was the third time in the last four years we've swept the men's and women's outdoor crowns. It was the women's squad's fifth-straight title, matching the longest outdoor championship streak (men or women) in conference history. On top of the team titles, we had a phenomenal Sunday Track and Field graduation celebration, too. Fresh off their triumphant return as dual Big 12 Champions, I sure was thrilled to be on hand for the heartwarming event Coach Flo and the staff put together honoring our 24 Class of 2024 Track and Field graduates. That group of two dozen proud new UT graduates featured our National Champion and 2024 Paris Games Olympian Rhasidat Adeleke, and four of our individual conference champs from last weekend — Yusuf Bizimana (800m), Kristine Blazevica (heptathlon), Leo Neugebauer (long jump) and Marilyn Nwora (shot put). Twenty-three of the outstanding Longhorn graduates were obviously busy putting their best Texas Fight to work on the track and in the field during graduation ceremonies, so what a joy it was to have them don their caps and gowns and give them their flowers (AND T-Rings!) in recognition of a job well done in the classroom, as well!
Meanwhile in Oklahoma City, Softball was stampeding to the Big 12 Championship Game, coming up just short of matching their regular season title with a postseason tourney crown. Now it's time for our ladies to roll up their sleeves and get back to work with our eyes on the ultimate prize and a trip to the Women's College World Series. It's been a historic year so far for Coach White and our Horns, and no surprise here as more history was made on Sunday when we were tabbed the No. 1 overall seed of the whole doggone NCAA Tournament for the first time in our program's history! It all starts right here on the Forty at McCombs Field on Friday with our round one game against Siena (3 p.m. CT/LHN). Coach White's message in Sunday's press conference was spot on, "being at home is huge. I know our fans are gonna come out, they're gonna be loud, and WE GOTTA ROCK THE PLACE." You heard coach — you know the drill, get your Burnt Orange and White best ready and head on over to a weekend bonanza of Softball and Baseball at McCombs and UFCU Disch-Falk Field (where top-25 Baseball will be in action all weekend, too)!
Our Big 12 Champion Women's Golf team punched their ticket to the NCAA Championship after finishing second at last week's Bermuda Run Regional in Winston-Salem. It's the eighth-straight year that Coach Murphy and the squad have advanced to the NCAA Championship, joining Florida State, Stanford, and USC as the nation's only four programs to make the final field of 30 each of the last eight championships. The NCAA Championship starts on Friday at Omni La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, Calif., and as an added bonus, we're the host school out west, to boot!
Now it's our No. 13-ranked men's squad's turn, and they got off to a great start Monday in taking dead aim on qualifying for the NCAA Championships right here on our home course at the UT Golf Club. The NCAA Austin Regional opening round had our Big 12 Champion Horns in the lead in our own backyard, and we're looking for a top-five finish in order to advance to the NCAA Championship for the 17th time in-a-row. We'll be hosting the men's NCAA Championship following the women's from May 24-29 at Omni La Costa in Carlsbad, Calif.
On the heels of another Big 12 series win last weekend at UCF — that's five-straight series victories and seven of eight on the year if you're counting — our Baseball squad is back in the top-25 this week and closing strong. With seven wins in our last nine outings and banging the big ball at a record pace with 103 homers, we're heading into the final series of the season playing some of our best ball. This week we close out the regular season against Kansas, right here at UFCU Disch-Falk Field from Thursday-Saturday. The Jayhawks better be ready, as y'all have been incredible all year long, and we know you'll bring it big-time in our final Big 12 series. So, let's get our Horns Up and close it out with a boisterous and emphatic final Big 12 push at The Disch. Then it's Arlington and Globe Life Field next week for our last go around in the Big 12 Tourney. We're just a half-game out of second place which keeps us in play for a top-two seed and first-round bye. This weekend is huge in the conference race so come on out and help our Horns keep the good times rollin'!
Oh, and in closing, how about this for a What Starts Here Changes the World moment?! Our very own Longhorn Legend Derrick Johnson, who a few years back returned to school after a Hall of Fame-worthy NFL career to earn his UT degree in 2020, delivered an impassioned, inspirational, and powerful message to the 2024 class of College of Education graduates as a featured speaker. After D.J. DROPPED THE MIC, since his personal graduation experience was virtual during COVID, he walked the stage to officially receive his degree with his mother, Beverly, a schoolteacher for 40 years, proudly watching! What an awesome, full-circle, moment on an extra special Mother's Day Weekend for our College Football Hall of Famer and his family! Well done, my friend, we couldn't be prouder of you and are so fortunate to have you as a Longhorn for Life!!
YEA ORANGE! YEAR WHITE! YEA LONGHORNS! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! What a time it is to be a Longhorn and here we go with another awesome week of Texas Fight. We're right in the thick of bringing that Learfield Director's Cup back to its proper home on the Forty, and we're so grateful to have y'all along for the ride, so get those HORNS UP, and let's HOOK 'EM! ATX Made baby, let's do this!!
Softball earns program's first No. 1 overall seed in NCAA Championship
In a 2024 season that has seen multiple accomplishments achieved by our Softball team, another was added Sunday night when Coach White's squad was selected as the No. 1 overall seed for the upcoming NCAA Division I Softball Championship for the first time in program history. Let's go, ladies! What an accomplishment! The Longhorns will head into the postseason on the heels on making a second consecutive run to the final game of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Softball Championship last week that included run-rule victories against both Texas Tech and Baylor in back-to-back days. Now we flip the calendar forward and our focus moves to the NCAA Championship. The NCAA Austin Regional begins on Friday when Texas takes on Siena (3 p.m. CT/LHN), and the regional will continue on both Saturday and Sunday. Longhorn Nation, we need a packed house at McCombs all weekend, so do your part and cheer us on as we look to win the regional and advance to next week's Super Regional right back here on the Forty Acres!
Baseball enters final home weekend after winning fifth-straight Big 12 series
Coach Pierce and the guys kept it rolling last week with their fifth-straight Big 12 series win and eighth league series win overall. The Longhorns went out to Orlando and took care of business against UCF in three tightly played games. Game 1 was all about pitching and timely hitting, as the Horns held on for a 6-3 win. After dropping Game 2, the Longhorns came out and mashed their way to a series win with 10 runs on 12 hits in the series finale. Texas closes out the regular season this weekend with a three-game series against Kansas at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Thursday (6:30 p.m. CT/LHN), Friday (6:30 p.m. CT/LHN) and Saturday (2:30 p.m. CT/LHN). Don't forget to get to the yard early on Saturday, as we'll have our Senior Day celebration!
Men's Tennis Super Regional Champs – on to the Elite Eight!
What an awesome evening it was on Friday night as over 1,100 of you packed the Texas Tennis Center in your Burnt Orange best for one final time this season! And what a treat we were all given to be able to see Coach Berque and our squad sweep away 15th-seeded Texas A&M to win the Super Regional Championship and punch their ticket to the championship site in Stillwater for the Elite Eight. The last time our Horns were on those courts in Stillwater just a few weeks ago, they left holding a Big 12 Championship trophy high over their heads, and they'll have a chance to kick it up a notch for the biggest prize this weekend starting on Thursday against seventh-seeded Tennessee at 4 p.m. CT. So for all of Longhorn Nation, it you can get to Stillwater, come root this team on! It's a special group led by a senior class that has had such an impact on our program, and that's why it was so special to see them close out their time on the 40 with such a terrific match against a rival. The doubles point was electric, we took all the first sets, and then Cleeve Harper, Micah Braswell and Gilles-Arnaud Bailly brought it home, just second before Eliot Spizzirri and Jonah Braswell might have themselves. It was an amazing way to end the home season and close out the Texas Tennis Center careers of Cleeve, Micah, Eliot, Siem Woldeab, Eshan Talluri and Evin McDonald. So, here's a giant Hook 'Em to them and everything they've accomplished as incredible ambassadors for our program and university, including graduating this past weekend! Now let's go finish this thing, gents!
Another incredible season for Women's Tennis
Even though the season for Coach Joffe and our Women's Tennis team came to a close on Friday out in Los Angeles, they were oh so close to reaching Stillwater themselves and were the highest seed to have to play a Super Regional on the road. Let me tell you, what this team accomplished this year was just remarkable considering various obstacles they couldn't control that thinned the roster to the point where there was very little margin for error. Not once did they let that affect their mindset or their effort, and they brought their Texas Fight match after match. Even when one of those obstacles was losing their top line player Sabina Zeynalova for most of the second half of the season, they didn't blink. They made their adjustments, and they got after it to the tune of their fourth-straight season with at least 23 wins. Think about that and what a model this program has become in college tennis. Three of their six defeats came at the hands of the team that was the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Championship, and two of those went down to the wire in matches that just about went our way. Just like with the men's squad, we've got a team that's made us so proud with everything they do, led by a tremendous senior class of their own in Charlotte Chavatipon, Taisiya Pachkaleva, Malaika Rapolu and Tanya Sasnouskaya with Taisiya and Tanya transferring in the last couple years and receiving their UT degrees, meanwhile, Charlotte and Malaika in their four years here have only helped our program to back-to-back National Championships and a 104-16 record. Wow! Plus, Coach Joffe has this program in great shape for the future, too, as he already has the nation's top-ranked recruiting class on deck for next year! So a big Hook 'Em to the program and another incredible season.
Track & Field sweeps Big 12 Outdoor titles!
Despite battling numerous weather delays all weekend, Coach Flo's squads took care of business up in Waco. Our No. 9 Women won their fifth-straight Big 12 outdoor title in dominating fashion, while our No. 8 Men won their second crown in five years. Overall, our Longhorns captured eight individual event titles with some top-end performances. Our field events group went to work starting with Kristine Blazevica, who became the first ever multi athlete (male or female) to go back-to-back-to-back-to back when she claimed the heptathlon crown with a score of 5,954 points. She now owns six of the top-10 scores in UT history! Leo Neugebauer completed his sweep of the long jump this season, winning the outdoor title with a jump of 7.77m on his very first attempt. On the women's side, Ackelia Smith became the back-to-back triple jump champion with a NCAA-leading mark of 13.92m, and graduate student Marilyn Nwora won her second career shot put title. On the track, our Longhorns claimed three events. Dejanea Oakley is having a standout season and took home the 200-meter dash crown in a time of 22.60, the 12th-fastest time in the NCAA this year. Holy smokes! Ziyah Holman made it four years in a row that a Longhorn won the 400-meter dash with her time of 50.99. She's now the ninth-fastest woman in UT history with that mark. And if you missed it, our freshman 400-meter hurdler, Akala Garrett, lit up the track by hitting the Olympic standard with her winning time of 54.73 and moved to No. 2 in UT history and No. 6 in the world this season! Our final track champion was that guy Fly Bizzy, Yusuf Bizimana, who won his fourth 800-meter Big 12 title. Now that's what I'm talking about! We'll turn the page and get ready for the NCAA West Prelims in Fayetteville, Ark., on May 22-25.
Women's Golf advances to NCAA Championship!
For the 32nd time in program history and the eighth straight season, our Women's Golf team is NCAA Championship bound! The Longhorns finished in second place at the NCAA Bermuda Run Regional with a team score of 20-under-par during the 54 holes of competition last week. Freshman Selina Liao tied for fifth and freshman Farah O'Keefe tied for 10th to lead the way individually. Now it's on to beautiful Omni La Costa Resort (Carlsbad, Calif.), where The University of Texas is serving as the proud host school for both the NCAA Division I Women's and Men's Championship. Coach Murphy and our ladies will tee it up beginning on Friday this week.
Redding, Benson to be enshrined in Texas High School Football Hall of Fame on Saturday
Let's give a big round of applause and hold our Horns high for a pair of absolute Longhorn Legends being enshrined in the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame on Saturday. Here's to the dominant All-American defender Cory Redding and one of the nation's all-time greatest running backs, the late Cedric Benson, who are part of this year's class. Redding was the USA Today's High School Defensive Player of the Year in 1999 and brought those talents to the Forty Acres where he twice earned All-American honors for us. A superstar at Midland Lee High School, Benson, who we lost tragically in a motorcycling accident in 2019, is the only Longhorn (and one of only 10 in the history of college football) to ever rush for 1,000 yards in four-straight seasons. Both are in the Texas Athletics Hall of Honor and went on to lengthy NFL careers with Redding for 13 years and Benson for eight.
Looking ahead at some schedule and season ticket updates for Hoops!
Although it may seem like our Men's and Women's Basketball seasons just ended, it's never too early to flip the calendar and start making plans for next year. In just two years, Moody Center has become one of the best home court advantages in BOTH Men's and Women's Basketball and we're just getting started. New season tickets for the 2024-25 Women's Basketball campaign went on sale Monday. If you were a 2023-24 season ticket holder, you'll have the chance to renew your current seats in July during the renewal process and add seats during the online seat selection process. New season ticket holders will have the opportunity to select your seating location based on your Texas Athletics loyalty point rank at a later time. All season tickets for the 2024-25 season will be reserved and are priced at $100 each. Don't forget, next year will be our first season of Southeastern Conference hoops in The Mood! Our soon-to-be new league announced our Men's Basketball home and away opponents for the upcoming season on Monday, and the SEC followed by announcing the same for Women's Basketball on Tuesday. We'll keep you posted on the season ticket process for Men's Basketball in the near future but trust me when I say The Mood will be THE place to be in 2024-25!
Hook 'Em Horns,
Chris Del Conte
P.S. - Awesome message on Saturday from President Hartzell, well said Boss!
P.S. - Light the Tower, congrats to our Big 12 Regular Season Champion Softball squad!
P.S. - Thank You Longhorn Nation for showing up and showing out to support Men's Tennis and their push to the Elite Eight!
P.S. - Closing Statement: Make it 5-straight Big 12 Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships
P.S. - What an awesome tradition, our T-Ring celebrates the Pride and Winning Tradition of The University of Texas!
P.S. - What Starts Here! Appreciate you supporting the NFF and giving back in the community, fellas!
P.S. - A picture is worth a thousand words! We see ya Ryan Watts … What Starts Here!!
P.S. - Shoutout to our creative team for this awesome graphic and our celebration of everything Austin on "512 Day" on Sunday!
P.S. - Longhorns for Life, love to see our student-athletes returning to finish what they started!
P.S. — Thank You KVUE for this awesome story on our Longhorn Legends
P.S. — Game 1 kickoff time is set by ESPN and the SEC.
HEADLINES
Kickoff time set for Football home opener versus Colorado State
Men's Basketball to compete in 2025 Maui Invitational
Texas golfer Tommy Morrison has big star potential written all over him (Austin American-Statesman)
No. 13 Men's Golf in the lead after opening round at NCAA Austin Regional
Home-grown golf talents Keaton Vo, Nathan Petronzio lead Texas men into NCAA Tournament (Austin American-Statesman)
No. 8/9 Track and Field's Blazevica, Nwora and Neugebauer earn Big 12 titles
Texas Ex Alison Gibson wins bronze on 3m synchro at French Diving Open
No. 8/9 Track and Field in fourth after day one of Big 12 Outdoor Championship
No. 1 Softball's Henry, Kavan selected as TUCCI/NFCA Division I Freshman of the Year Top 10 finalists
UT Athletics announces 2024 Spring Commencement participants
Video: Edrick Edrick Floréal media availability (May 9)
Video: No. 3 Men's and No. 9 Women's Tennis media availability (May 8)
No. 1/1 Softball claims three individual awards, eight earn All-Big 12 status
No. 1/1 Softball's Atwood sweeps weekly awards
