The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Legends and landmarks: W.A. Tex Moncrief
07.15.2010 | Texas Athletics
July 15, 2010
Jordan Christian, Texas Media Relations
Most Texas Longhorns loyalists like to think they bleed orange, and in W.A. Tex Moncrief's case, purple turned in to the deepest orange one can imagine.
"When I came to Texas, I was a devoted TCU fan because I grew up here in Fort Worth, but after I was there at Texas naturally I started pulling for Texas," Moncrief says.
When soaking in the sea of orange during a home Texas Football game it is easy to notice the W.A. "Tex" Moncrief-Neuhaus Athletic Center which peeks out from behind the stadium's videoboard. This campus facility serves as the football headquarters and was dedicated to the devout Longhorn in 1997, in recognition of Moncrief's many contributions to UT, including a $5 million pledge to the Longhorn Legacy. Moncrief himself has been inside the complex and expresses that, "I like the whole thing."
After he received his degree in petroleum engineering from Texas in 1942, Moncrief served with the Navy before joining his family business, Moncrief Oil.
"I joined the Navy, and after I got out of the Navy I came back in 1945 and went with my dad, and was with him from then on until he died in 1986," Moncrief says.
Moncrief continues the family business in Fort Worth with his son Charlie, who is a graduate of TCU.
"He is my right hand man and sticks right with me like I stuck with my dad," Moncrief says.
Moncrief's passion for petroleum started as a 10-year-old boy in Longview, Texas where he watched his father uncover one of the discovery wells, and from that moment he knew what he was destined to do.
"I tugged on my mother's coat, and I said `Mother when I grow up I want to be an oil man,' and I never changed my mind," Moncrief says.
While working on a degree at Texas, Moncrief made time for sports, despite his dedication to making himself the "oil man" of his aspirations.
"I enjoy football most of all, but also like golf, and in fact I qualified as the No. 3 man on the Texas golf team in 1938," Moncrief says.
A diploma was not the only thing that Moncrief took away from The University of Texas. He met some longtime friends along the way, who helped introduce him to a lifetime love -- Texas Football.
"I knew Darrell Royal way back then and we were good friends and that is really what got me really interested in football, and I knew Blair Cherry as well and he got me interested too," Moncrief says. "I have been a bleeding orange Longhorns fan ever since."
Moncrief enjoys athletics, but has never forgotten the value of an education. In 2009, Moncrief gave a donation to UT Austin to create the W. A. "Tex" Moncrief, Jr. Endowment in Simulation-Based Engineering Sciences, which will continue to help young students chase after their dreams just like Moncrief did.
Moncrief also serves as president of the William A. and Elizabeth B. Moncrief Foundation, which contributes to educational, health, civic and cultural organizations. Moncrief was named by the Texas Exes as a Distinguished Alumnus in 2008 and his love for The University of Texas and its many programs has never floundered.
Even today Moncrief makes an effort to attend games and stay connected to his beloved university.
"That is really about it. I am just a dyed in the wool Longhorn fan," Moncrief says.