The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Forty Acres Insider: Aug. 20
08.20.2019 | 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,
I want to send my thoughts and prayers to the family, friends and everyone else affected by the tragic passing of Cedric Benson last weekend. What a heartbreaking day it was, losing one of our great Longhorn Legends. I remember Cedric's amazing ability as one of the best running backs college football has ever seen, but the heartwarming stories that have been told of him as a person have been wonderful tributes to the man he was. He was far too young, impacted so many, and will be dearly missed
The last time we chatted we were just finishing a successful 2018-19 athletics year highlighted by a fourth-place finish in the Learfield IMG College Directors' Cup standings, our best since 2005-06. Men's Tennis won the National Championship, four teams finished in the top two; seven in the top five; and 11 in the top 10. We also claimed a league-best nine Big 12 Championships. It was a tremendous year. Now we turn the page and it's on to new beginnings.
So what better time to unveil The Frank Denius Family University of Texas Athletics Hall of Fame. We will share the details on the grand opening later this week, but mark your calendars and plan on joining us Friday, Aug. 30 at 1 p.m. at the Red McCombs Red Zone in the north end of the DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium. You're going to be blown away by the Hall of Fame, and it's going to be a festive time when we open the doors and welcome everyone in. Please RSVP here to let us know you'll be joining us.
I would be remiss if I didn't take a moment to thank all of you for your support and commitment to The University of Texas. It's an exciting time, and we're closing in on selling 63,000 football season tickets, which will break our all-time record of 62,737. Your response to our gameday activities last year was awesome, and we've been announcing all of the new and improved plans for an expanded Bevo Blvd. presented by H-E-B and Longhorn City Limits presented by ATX Web Designs with the addition of Smokey's Midway. We're also thrilled to offer you additional reduced pricing on concessions. We're less than two weeks away from kickoff against Louisiana Tech, and I can't wait to convene with all of you in and around DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium.
All of our fall sports teams are on campus and working hard to prepare for the 2019 season. (See below.) Soccer began the year with an exhibition match last Friday at Mike A. Myers Stadium, and officially opens the season hosting Gonzaga on Thursday, Aug. 22 at 7 p.m. Volleyball hosted the annual Orange-White Scrimmage last Saturday, and first serve on their 2019 season is Friday, Aug. 30 at 7 p.m. against Northern Iowa at Gregory Gym. Cross Country starts off its year at the Bear Twilight Invitational also on Aug. 30. And of course, Football kicks off the very next day at 7 p.m. against Louisiana Tech (presented by Southwest Airlines). Bevo Blvd. and all of our stadium festivities open five hours before kickoff at 2 p.m.
We're so excited to be beginning a new year and looking forward to seeing everyone on the Forty Acres!
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Hook 'em, Horns!
Football
Fresh off a thrilling 28-21 victory over No. 5 Georgia in the Allstate Sugar Bowl, third-year coach Tom Herman's Longhorns posted their first 10-win season and Top 10 ranking (No. 9) since 2009. Sugar Bowl MVP QB Sam Ehlinger returns as a Heisman Trophy candidate after accounting for the second-most touchdowns (41) in a season in school history last year. Texas also has a representative on nearly all of the national awards preseason watch lists led by a group of seniors who passed on entering the NFL Draft to return to school, including WR Collin Johnson (Biletnikoff Award), S Brandon Jones (Nagurski Trophy), DE Malcolm Roach (Lott Trophy) and C Zach Shackelford (Rimington Trophy). Returning freshman All-American S Caden Sterns (Thorpe/Nagurski) and OT Sam Cosmi are also recognized among the Big 12's most prominent players. Texas enters the 2019 season No. 10 in the Amway Coaches Poll preseason rankings, its first preseason top-10 ranking since 2010. The Longhorns open the season on Aug. 31 hosting Louisiana Tech (7 p.m./LHN) before one of the nation's most anticipated early-season clashes as LSU comes to town on Sept. 7 (6:30 p.m./ABC). View 2019 Football schedule.
Cross Country
Second-year coach Edrick Floréal's Cross Country teams, both of which are coming off top-five finishes in the Big 12 Conference last season, enter the 2019 season with plenty of promise. The Longhorns return three All-Big 12 honorees in Destiny Collins, John Rice and Sam Worley, and all figure to play a key role in the men's and women's success this season. UT's 2019 schedule features four races in the state of Texas, including the Texas Invitational on Sept. 13 and the Concordia Cross Country Classic on Sept. 27, both of which will be held at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock. The Horns also compete outside of the Lone Star State twice, running in both the Bill Dellinger Invitational (Sept. 28; Springfield, Oregon) and the Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival (Oct. 5; Fayetteville, Arkansas) before postseason action begins in November. View 2019 Cross Country schedule.
Soccer
Texas Soccer preps for what should be an exciting 2019 season, Angela Kelly's eighth at the helm, by welcoming back 24 letterwinners from last season's 13-5-3 squad that made the Big 12 Championship semifinals and the NCAA Tournament. Back for the No. 19-ranked Horns this year are MAC Hermann Trophy preseason watch list selections in senior All-American forward Cyera Hintzen and junior midfielder Haley Berg, as well as preseason All-Big 12 Team inclusions and Canadian Women's Senior National Team members sophomore midfielder Julia Grosso and sophomore defender Emma Regan. In all, the Texas returnees combined to account for 24-of-39 goals (62%), 24-of-42 assists (57%) and 72-of-120 total points (60%) during the 2018 campaign, as well as all 13 goalkeeping wins and seven shutouts between the pipes. View 2019 Soccer schedule.
Volleyball
Coming off a 23-5 record and an NCAA Regional Finals finish, Texas Volleyball enters the 2019 season at No. 4 in the AVCA Preseason Coaches' Poll, and No. 1 in the Big 12 Preseason rankings. For head coach Jerritt Elliott's 18th season, the Longhorns return 2018 Big 12 Player of the Year and 2019 Preseason Player of the Year Micaya White and Big 12 Freshman of the Year Logan Eggleston, while bringing in 2019 Big 12 Preseason Freshman of the Year Skylar Fields. They take on a challenging slate in 2019 as they open with Northern Iowa, No. 14 USC and No. 3 Minnesota. The non-conference schedule also features match-ups with No. 1 Stanford, No. 9 BYU and Rice, while the daunting Big 12 schedule helps prepare the Longhorns for a run in the postseason. View 2019 Volleyball schedule.