The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Hall of Honor
- Induction:
- 2021
- Class:
- 1992
Peter Gardere is best remembered for being the only QB in the history of the Red River Showdown to lead his team to victory in all four seasons. The four-year letterman’s (1989-92) 7,396 career passing yards and 49 total touchdowns place him among the most productive Longhorn quarterbacks ever, as well. Gardere ranks fourth in school history for all-time passing yards and is one of five quarterbacks in UT history with multiple 2,000-yard passing seasons (1990, 1992). Gardere’s 41 career starts are second-most in school history, while his 25 career wins are tied for sixth-most as a Longhorn starting QB. His 561 career completions and 1,025 career attempts still rank third in school history, while his 37 touchdown passes are sixth. He finished his career with eighteen 200-yard passing games, tied for fourth-most in school history. A 1992 captain, Gardere passed for 2,364 yards and 16 TDs that season, while adding four TDs on the ground. In 1990, Gardere passed for 2,131 yards and 11 TDs, while adding four rushing TDs in leading the Longhorns to the Southwest Conference Championship, a 10-2 record, a berth in the Cotton Bowl and a No. 12 final national ranking. As a freshman, Gardere started seven games while winning four, and both marks are tied for seventh-most in school history. His 1,511 yards that season are sixth-most by a freshman in school history. In his four career victories against Oklahoma, Gardere passed for 649 yards and six TDs. In 1989, he led the Longhorns’ come-from-behind 28-24 victory over No. 15 Oklahoma, passing for 144 yards and two scores. As a sophomore, the Longhorns beat No. 4 Oklahoma, 14-13, as he once again passed for two TDs. In 1991, Gardere helped lead UT to a victory over the No. 6/5 Sooners, 10-7, before closing his Red River Showdown career with a convincing 34-24 win over No. 16 OU as a senior. An All-State player at Houston Lee before coming to the Forty Acres, Gardere is a member of the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame. He played baseball for the Longhorns following his senior year at UT and then signed a free agent deal with the Seattle Seahawks as a punter. He went on to have stints in both the NFL and Canadian Football League before retirement from football. He returned to UT and graduated in 1998 with a degree in speech communication and now works in commercial leasing in Austin.
