Texas Lottery Veteran Recognition: Mike Cotten

As the longtime Texas Football head coach, Darrell Royal let it be known he wasn't a fan of the forward pass. In fact, the coaching legend once famously said, "I've always felt that three things can happen to you whenever you throw the football, and two of them are bad."

For any quarterback playing under Royal, discipline was a prized commodity. A necessity.

During his days playing for Royal, quarterback Mike Cotten met with his head coach almost daily.

"He was the coach, and we were the players," Cotten recalled. "In order to hold your position, you had to perform. … Possession and ball control were very important to Coach Royal."

Cotten and Royal reviewed their playbook listing of down-and-distance scenarios during these office-coaching sessions. Cotten's ability to make decisions under pressure, to assess the field and to control the huddle complemented his other campus duties.

Cotten joined the Marine Corps program, the Platoon Leaders Class, as a freshmen and later served as a Marine Captain during Vietnam.

Born in Uvalde, Cotten grew up in Austin and was recruited to the Forty Acres by longtime Royal assistant, Mike Campbell. He lettered for the Longhorns from 1959-61. He was team co-captain and All-SWC quarterback in 1961, when the Longhorns went 10-1 and claimed a Southwest Conference Championship. Cotten was also named the offensive MVP during a Cotton Bowl win against Ole Miss.

Cotten's military commitment on campus, as part of the platoon leaders, divided his officer candidate school into 12 weeks of training, split over two summers. Cotten spent the summers after his freshman and junior years in Quantico, Virginia.

Following graduation from Texas, Cotten would have advanced into the Marines as a second lieutenant, but his draft was deferred so he could attend UT law school. After he passed the bar exam in 1965, Cotten began his active duty service. He toured for 13 months overseas, in Japan and Vietnam. Cotten also studied at the Naval Justice School.

"I always admired the Marines," Cotten said. "I wanted to be a Marine officer. You volunteered for that work, and I was gung-ho about it. I liked to collide with things.

"It's hard work, physically. But you do it with a group of guys. They became like my football teammates. We're very close because of that shared experience."

Following his service, Cotten returned to Austin. His primary practice focused on transportation law. He was one of the original members of the Stadium Veterans Committee, which was assembled in 1996, and remains active today.

He has two daughters with his late wife, Betty.

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