The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Brown inducted into Texas Sports Hall of Fame
03.01.2012 | Football
March 1, 2012
Jackie Lapenta, Texas Media Relations
The Texas Sports Hall of Fame honored Texas Longhorns head coach Mack Brown by inducting him as a member of the 2011 class in a ceremony on Wednesday evening at the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas.
Brown is the 15th inductee with ties to Texas football, and he credited his recognition to all those affiliated with the UT football program during his tenure.
"It is a special night for me because I am able dedicate tonight to the last 14 years of Texas football and all the coaches, and the staff and the players that spent those 14 years [with me,]" said Brown during his induction speech.
"When you win a national championship the focus goes to that team, it doesn't go to the 14 years. So what I can honestly say tonight is that I am standing up here representing every player from '98 until today; every staff member, every janitor in that building, every football coach, every administrator that has worked so hard to make the last 14 years at Texas so special."
Brown earned the prestigious honor alongside nine other candidates including NFL Chicago Bears head coach Lovie Smith, 1989 Heisman Trophy winner and former Detroit Lions QB Andre Ware, former Rice and Green Bay Packers quarterback Tobin Rote and Baltimore Colts Super Bowl champion Bubba Smith.
"When you look at that list of guys this year that are getting in, it is humbling," Brown said upon learning of his selection to the Hall. "When you look at the history of this state, and to be a guy from outside of this state to come in, it is hard to even think or talk about."
The Cookeville, Tennessee native became the head coach of the Longhorns squad in 1998. In his first season, he transformed a team that was previously 4-7 and took them to the Cotton Bowl producing the school's second-ever Heisman Trophy winner in running back Ricky Williams.
In the following 14 years, Brown steered Texas to a 141-39 record including nine consecutive 10-win seasons and 12 straight bowl appearances with a BCS National Championship in 2005. Brown is the second coach in UT history to reach 100 wins and for his efforts was awarded the 2008 Bobby Dodd National Coach of the Year and the 2009 Big 12 Coach of the Year Awards.
"When Sally and I were trying to decide 14 years ago whether to come to Texas or not, I lost my dad, my granddad and my grandmother within [a span of] four months," Brown said. "Sally came to me and said `If your dad and granddad were sitting here today, really important men in your life, what would they say to you?' And I said, `They'd kick my rear end if I don't go coach football where Darrell Royal coached football.' And that is the way we made our decision."
Several individuals from the group that won the 2005 National Championship including former players Quan Cosby and Michael Huff were in attendance at the induction ceremony, along with UT football greats and Hall of Fame members Earl Campbell, Tommy Nobis and James Street.
"He was in the Hall of Fame way before the induction in my eyes," Cosby said. "He's meant everything [to this program].
"I told him after winning a national championship and the success that we had, was that we did it the right way. That's what he does. That's the way he does it in my opinion. He goes after good guys. And he treats you like men. It's unbelievable how close you get to him when he has 105 other people to watch over. But you'd never know it because he's so personal."
"I came to Texas as an 18-year-old kid that was far from home and he embraced me," Huff added. "He taught me to be a man on and off the field, so anything I can do to support Coach Brown I will do."
Other former UT student-athletes echoed these sentiments by commenting on Brown's ability to build personal relationships with his players as a key element to his success.
"Watching Coach Brown, I learn to appreciate that there are two types of people in the world; those that do what works for them and those that do what works for everyone else," said former Longhorn running back Ricky Williams. "The special thing about Coach Brown is he does what works for others and that allows him to do what works for him. He is a master at finding what is required to achieve success in any situation. And he delivers it with his trademark positive attitude and reassuring handshake. I know he had me ready to run through a wall for him. I think I actually did a few times."
"He is all things to all people," former Longhorn defensive end Sam Acho said. "To some he is a coach, to others a father figure, to even others he is a mentor, but most importantly, Coach Mack Brown is a leader. He is a truly inspirational man."
"I like to call him 'Pops' because he was a father figure to me and all of the guys on the team," said Vince Young, who quarterbacked the team to the 2005 National Championship. "He cares about us as people and takes time to really get to know you and your family, and I really love him for that."
Brown's Texas Sports Hall of Fame selection puts him into an elite club of UT representatives who have reached this same distinction. He joins Donna Lopiano, former UT women's athletic director; former football players Earl Campbell, Tommy Nobis, Roosevelt Leaks and James Street; and former coaches D.X. Bible, Darrell Royal, Blair Cherry, Cliff Gustafson, Jody Conradt and Abe Lemons. Brown also joins current UT coaches Augie Garrido and Eddie Reese and current athletics director DeLoss Dodds in the Hall.
"I came to Texas 15 years ago because of the history and the tradition of the place," Brown recited in his induction speech. "It was good long before I showed up. When you follow those guys into the Hall of Fame, you are blessed."
Joining Brown in the 2011 Class are: SHAWN ANDAYA, Texas A&M softball pitcher 1984-87; GARY BLAIR,Texas A&M women's basketball head coach; FRED COUPLES, professional golfer; G.A. MOORE JR, winningest high school football coach in Texas history; DAVE PARKS, All-SWC WR at Texas Tech in 1962 & 1963; TOBIN ROTE (dec.), professional football legend; BUBBA SMITH (dec.), professional football legend; LOVIE SMITH, head coach of the Chicago Bears; and ANDRE WARE, 1989 Heisman Trophy winner.
