The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
What it means to be a Longhorn: Denise LaKeisha Backus
08.23.2019 | T-Association, Track & Field / Cross Country
Read the eighth in a 14-part series on the Hall of Honor class of 2019.
This is the eighth of a 14-part series celebrating the Hall of Honor class of 2019. In these first-person vignettes, each inductee shares his/her thoughts on 'What it means to be a Longhorn.' Thirteen former University of Texas student-athletes and one former UT System administrator will be inducted on Friday, Aug. 30 into the Hall of Honor. Tickets for the Hall of Honor banquet are available at TexasSports.com/tickets.
Denise LaKeisha Backus Hall of Honor bio
I was in 10th grade, while I was researching different schools, when I first started to think about The University of Texas. I was performing well in high school, and I knew I had an opportunity to compete at a high level in college. What got me started to focus in on UT was when my school came to Austin for the Texas Relays. I saw how big the event was and it was phenomenal. The Longhorns did great and I was like, "Man, this is somewhere I want to be if I ever have the opportunity."
So that was the start of it. I knew I wanted to go to UT. My family and friends would ask why I'd leave Southern California, with two big schools right there in UCLA and USC near my hometown in Long Beach. But I've always been a traveler. I've always wanted to venture out. I competed in Europe in 10th and 11th grade and I knew that I wanted to get out of California, so I kind of had my eyes set on someplace outside of California.
When I started to take my recruiting visits, I had the opportunity to go to pretty much any school I wanted to from a track and field perspective. I went to LSU. I went to Chapel Hill. I went to Tennessee, and of course I went to USC and UCLA. And I went to Texas.
I was amazed by UT – the culture, the school, the coach – and that's what landed me at Texas. The student-athlete center was amazing, the facilities were great and there was an excellent support system in place for not just being an athlete, but being a student-athlete. Everything was pretty much geared for you to be successful. Plus, I meshed really well with the team. It was warm and welcoming, and I didn't feel like an outsider. I felt included immediately during my visit, so that was what pretty much sold me. It was everything I wanted. It was a great academic school, but also a very good track school. I wanted both worlds, and I was able to get that at UT.
The team was absolutely great. We worked as a collaborative unit even though we had our own individual events, and we often did things away from the track as a team. When we went to different meets, we moved as a team. When we arrived, others would say, "Here comes Texas." It was great to be able to have that team spirit and those great moments. As a student-athlete, I had a group of women that I could speak with and talk with. If I had a problem, concerns with classes or something else, it was having that family-oriented group there that was just very rewarding.
It was with this group that I had my most memorable moments as a Longhorn, like winning the 200-meter indoor championship from the B Heat in 1998. I was not selected to win at all. I knew I could do it, but you have your doubts. We came together as a team to win the championship, and we had several individuals come away with individual titles, so that whole meet is just a wonderful memory.
It means everything to be a Longhorn. I still live in Texas and I'm very much involved with a lot of the former UT athletes. We still hang out together, and that's helped me grow, not just as a track athlete, but also in my career outside of track.
Texas has allowed me to be a role model for young women. Coming from Long Beach, a young African-American girl, and being able to go to a university that a lot of people can't get into, it shows young girls what they can do. I think that has been the impact as well. I do a lot of community service and speak about my path, how I was able to obtain a full scholarship and what that did for me. The stereotype that, "You're only an athlete, and you can only do that." Well, being an athlete helped me get a full scholarship to an excellent university. I tell young girls to use their talents for their benefit, because I'm no longer an athlete and I'm doing okay. It helped push me, it leveraged me, and that has been very impactful in my life.