The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Mack Brown to be inducted into Rose Bowl Hall of Fame Saturday
12.29.2017 | Football
The legendary Texas coach led his Longhorns to three postseason games hosted by the Rose Bowl, including back-to-back victories and a win in the 2005 National Championship Game.
Photo Gallery
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Legendary Texas head football coach Mack Brown will be inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame on Saturday. Brown guided his Longhorns to victories in both the 2005 and 2006 Rose Bowl games, taking home the National Championship over USC with the latter.
"I'm beyond flattered, humbled, honored and just feel truly blessed to represent The University of Texas in the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame," Brown said. "The Rose Bowl is a game I watched and dreamed of being a part of since I was a young college football fan and it fulfilled a lifelong dream to coach in the Grandaddy of them all.
"But this isn't about me," he continued. "I can't thank all of our players, coaches and staff who made the Rose Bowl such a huge part of Texas Football history. They deserve the credit and this is a tribute to all of their hard work, all we did as a program and something I'll proudly accept for all of us. It's truly a special, special honor."
Brown's Texas teams put together two of the most impressive performances in the history of the bowl, including Jan. 4, 2006, when the Longhorns defeated previously-unbeaten and No. 1 Southern California, 41-38, to claim the fourth National Championships in program history. On a night when he ran for 200 yards and passed for 267 more, QB Vince Young capped a performance that Texas fans will remember forever by scoring his third TD and running for a two-point conversion to earn the win along with Offensive MVP honors. Meanwhile safety Michael Huff, who helped stop the Trojans on the 4th-and-2 play to set up that possession, was selected Defensive MVP.
That victory came a year after the Longhorns defeated Michigan, 38-37, when Dusty Mangum's 37-yard field goal split the uprights as time expired. In that win, Young ran for 192 yards and four touchdowns while passing for 180 yards and another score. Brown and UT also played in the Rose Bowl's BCS National Championship Game following the 2009 season against No. 1 Alabama.
Brown compiled a career coaching record of 244-122-1 (.666) in 30 seasons as a head coach, including the last 16 at Texas. His 244 wins are the 10th most in NCAA history by a coach with at least 10 years at an FBS school. When he left Texas, he was one of only two coaches nationally at the time to have directed teams to 21 bowls in the previous 22 seasons and the only one to have 23 winning seasons in his last 24 years. His 225 wins overall from 1990 to 2013 were the most nationally.
At Texas, Brown led the Longhorns to a mark of 158-48 (.767), second only to Darrell Royal's 167 wins in school history. He was named the 2008 Bobby Dodd National Coach of the Year and the 2009 Big 12 Coach of the Year, in addition to the 2005 Paul "Bear" Bryant National Coach of the Year award winner after guiding the Longhorns to the 2005 National Championship.
Under Brown, Texas won nine of its last 12 bowl games during his tenure and had a 10-5 record overall, including a UT record streak of 12 consecutive bowl appearances. The 10 bowl wins give Brown the most in Texas history, surpassing Royal's eight. In addition, the streak includes a BCS National Championship, another BCS National Championship Game appearance and three BCS bowl wins.
Brown lifted a UT program that managed at least 10 wins just three times in the 16 years prior to his arrival in 1998, but did so nine times in his 16 seasons with the Longhorns. That included a streak of nine straight 10-win seasons that is tied for the second-longest such streak in NCAA history. He also led the Longhorns to a school-best 12 straight nine-win seasons and six seasons of at least 11 wins.
The Horns finished the year ranked in the top 15 in 10 of his final 14 years, which included a string of 10 straight. They also had seven top 10 finishes and five top five rankings. During Brown's tenure, the Longhorns posted a school record 162 straight weeks (from 2000-2010) in the Associated Press Top 25. Prior to Brown's arrival in 1998, the last time Texas had finished the year in the top 10 was 1983. When Brown's Longhorns climbed to No. 1 in the polls in 2005 it was the first time Texas had been ranked in the nation's top spot in two decades (1984). In addition, from 1998-2013, Texas led the nation in all-time appearances in the BCS rankings with 103, ahead of both Oklahoma (100) and Florida (92).
During his 16 seasons in Austin, the Longhorns featured a Heisman Trophy winner, two runners-up and a third-place finisher, three Maxwell Award winners, three WCFF Player of the Year Award winners, two Doak Walker Award winners, two Thorpe Award winners, two Nagurski Trophy winners, two O'Brien Award winners, two Hendricks Award winners, a Butkus Award winner, a Lombardi Award winner, two Manning Award winners, two Draddy/Campbell Trophy winners, a Wuerffel Trophy winner, a Disney Spirit Award winner, a FWAA Armed Forces Merit Award winner, 54 All-Americans, 73 first-team All-Big 12 selections, five Big 12 Offensive Players of the Year, six Big 12 Defensive Players of the Year and 12 Big 12 Freshman of the Year honorees.
In the 30 NFL Drafts during Brown's time as a head coach, 108 of his student-athletes were selected, and he had a player selected in 28 straight drafts. He had 20 players (16 from UT/four from UNC) selected in the first round in a span of 17 drafts (1998-2014). Over his 16 years at UT, Brown had 71 players selected in the draft with 55 (77.5%) of those coming in the first four rounds.
With all of the success on the field, the primary emphasis remained the same with Brown's squads — maintaining a high level of achievement in the classroom and in the community. Eighty percent of his players at North Carolina received their degrees and he increased the pace at Texas, while more than a third of his players at Texas regularly earned 3.0 grade point averages and achieved spots on the Big 12 Commissioner's and Athletics Director's honor rolls.
Over his final seven years, the success in the classroom reached an all-time high. The Longhorns led the Big 12 in academic all-conference selections in five of his last eight seasons. From 2006-13, UT totaled a league-best 159 Academic All-Big 12 selections, while Kansas was second with 124.
Mack and Sally Brown's efforts in the community have been significant, as well, with the couple having earned numerous honors for their good works in addition to having served on several charitable boards. Most notable of their current endeavors is a lead role in the annual Mack, Jack & McConaughey event each spring in Austin. MJ&M is a joint fundraising effort in combination with Academy Award-winning actor Matthew McConaughey and ACM Award-winning recording artist Jack Ingram. Since the two-day event launched in 2013, the nonprofit has given over $5 million to charitable organizations like CureDuchene, Dell Children's Medical Center, HeartGift, just keep livin foundation and The Rise School of Austin.
Brown is no stranger to Hall of Fames, as he has been inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, the Holiday Bowl Hall of Fame and the Longhorn Hall of Honor. He is also on the ballot for the 2018 College Football Hall of Fame.
The Rose Bowl Hall of Fame was established in 1989 to honor members of the Rose Bowl Game family who have contributed to the history and excitement of the Rose Bowl Game and those who embody the best of the passion, strength, tradition and honor associated with The Granddaddy of Them All®. What was once only a dream of 1982 Tournament of Roses President Harold E. Coombes has become an annual tradition with over 100 inductees.
Those eligible for induction include players, coaches, school administrators, athletic directors, conference officials and others who have made special contributions to the Rose Bowl Game. Inductees are selected by a committee made up of representatives from the Tournament of Roses, media professionals and leaders in college football.
Inductees will be celebrated at a ceremony where they receive the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame trophy and blazer. In addition, inductees are memorialized on a permanent plaque with their names and year of induction at The Court of Champions at the Rose Bowl Stadium.
