The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Forty Acres Insider: Dec. 21
12.21.2018 | Forty Acres Insider
Important news, interesting tidbits and exciting stories happening in and around Texas Athletics compiled by Vice President and Athletics Director Chris Del Conte. [<a href="http://texassports.com/archives.aspx?path=forty_acres_insider">Forty Acres Insider archives</a>]
Greetings Longhorn Nation,
Christmas came early on the Forty Acres this year! On Thursday, we received a truly special gift when the UT Board of Regents approved our basketball arena agreement. I couldn't be more excited to head into the holidays having this fantastic news for the university, fans, students and the entire Austin community. It will be a fabulous facility that provides a tremendous home-court advantage for our Men's and Women's Basketball teams and a sensational gameday environment for our students and fans. On top of that, it will be a big-time venue that attracts premier concerts and shows.
But we certainly didn't do this alone. This project has been in discussion for some time and took a lot of cooperation, collaboration and teamwork. It is a great example of our "We, not me" mantra. I can't thank President Greg Fenves enough for his leadership on this project, and the UT Board of Regents and the City of Austin for making this dream a reality. One of the real champions and unsung heroes who deserves a ton of credit for taking the lead on this deal and carrying it through for our department is Shawn Eichorst. He'll continue to play a key role in getting everything just right and we are so lucky to have him at Texas. There are so many people behind this project to thank, especially everyone at ArenaCo including the Oak View Group (OVG), Live Nation, C3 Presents, and our very own "Minister of Culture" Matthew McConaughey.
How cool is it to be in an agreement with the proven experts at OVG and one of the premier sports executives, Tim Leiweke; Live Nation, the world's leading live entertainment company; Austin's own C3 Presents, the best in the world at producing music festivals; and Matthew McConaughey, arguably the coolest dude in the country who just happens to be an Academy Award-winning actor, UT grad and Longhorns fanatic? This venture came together due to the unselfish commitment and determination of many people to see it through. For that, and all the incredible people we are fortunate to be aligned with, we are forever grateful (and also eager to break ground and start constructing our state-of-the-art arena).
Speaking of grateful, it was a joy to spend some time with Tom Herman and his staff on National Signing Day. They worked so hard balancing recruiting and preparing our team for the Allstate Sugar Bowl and delivered another top-10 class. FaceTime was working overtime and I loved hearing the coaches celebrating with our signees and their families as the Letters of Intent rolled in. Coach Herman is developing a championship program that is built on a culture of family; you can feel it any time you're around the team. Signing Day further reinforced that as we now have 21 new family members with more to come in February, and the future continues to be extremely bright.
I had a chance to gather up my family last week and celebrate the spirit of the holiday season at The Trail of Lights, a longtime Austin tradition at Zilker Park. It certainly lived up to the hype, and what an amazing scene it was for "UT Night" on Sunday. Thanks to all of our spirit groups and fans who made it an extra special evening!
We are beyond grateful for a terrific 2018 and wish everyone an awesome holiday season and prosperous New Year. Please enjoy it with family, friends and plenty of cheer, and thank you all for helping us as we continue to put the "T" back in Texas. It certainly is the most wonderful time of the year and a great time to be a Longhorn!
(By the way, the Forty Acres Insider will return after UT's Winter Break.)
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Hook 'em, Horns!
Upcoming events
I hope you'll come out and support our Men's Basketball team against Providence this Friday. It will be a fun time at the Erwin Center, and I look forward to seeing everyone there. In addition to Friday, you have a chance to cheer on the men's team when they host UT Arlington on Friday, Dec. 28, and the women's team vs. Northwestern State on Saturday, Dec. 29. Make sure to check out the Men's Basketball holiday season ticket discounts, too! Then, ring in the New Year with Texas Football Jan. 1 at the Allstate Sugar Bowl. If you're joining us in The Big Easy, show your support for @TexasFootball and @SugarBowlNola on social media and use the hashtag #HornsinNola.
Football National Signing Day
What a fine group of student-athletes are joining our program! Thank you to all the terrific families who are entrusting us with their young men. Thank you also to our friends at Longhorn Network for sharing the many great moments and stories with our fans during a live three-hour Signing Day show. Read more.
Sweat patch technology
As the use of technology in sports continues to grow, our amazing group of health and wellness trainers and dieticians continue to use new methods to support our student-athletes. Men's Tennis is the only tennis program in the nation using sweat patch technology to optimize fluid and sodium replacement, preventing injury and optimizing performance. Watch the video.
Football Freshman All-Americans
Congrats to Samuel Cosmi and Caden Sterns on being named Freshman All-Americans by USA Today. Cosmi, a redshirt freshman, also received votes and earned honorable mention as the Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year. Sterns, who was named the Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year and first-team All-Big 12 by the coaches and Associated Press, is a true freshman. In addition to the USA Today honor, Sterns has been named a freshman All-American by The Athletic and a true freshman All-American by ESPN.com. Read more.
Mack Brown Hall of Fame induction
Congrats to our great friend and legendary Texas Football head coach Mack Brown on his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2018. He was the 22nd Longhorn inducted into the Hall of Fame, joining two other Texas coaches -- Dana X. Bible (1937-46) and Darrell K Royal (1957-76). Read more.
Tailgate Guys in New Orleans
Tailgate Guys is the official pregame hospitality provider for the 2019 Allstate Sugar Bowl. Their PRE Game event offers two exclusive access options: the Premier PRE Game Club and the Champions PRE Game Club. Both events take place before the game and are located within premium, VIP areas inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Buy tickets.