The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
01.29.2020 | 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,
What a wonderful time of year it is in what was recently voted America's Best College Town! Winter break is in the rearview mirror, spring is on the horizon and campus is bustling with students once again. It's so awesome to be a Longhorn, and this weekend brings many fun opportunities to come Celebrate Texas with us, as both Men's and Women's Basketball are in action at the Erwin Center, and Baseball and Softball are hosting events around those games.
Speaking of events, be sure to join us at our Second Annual Texas Athletics Town Hall on Tuesday, Feb. 4 at 6:30 p.m. in the LBJ Auditorium. Our annual "stakeholders meeting" was a blast last year. We're looking forward to sharing the latest in Texas Athletics once again, but just as eager to hear from you! Your feedback is critical to our growth, so please come on out to let us know what you think has worked, where we can keep getting better and any other thoughts and ideas you have. We are so grateful for you, your Longhorn pride, passion and spirit, and all of your input is absolutely critical to our success.
That support was very evident over the Holidays and thanks to our friends at the Valero Alamo Bowl, we have some terrific numbers that reflect that. With 6.2 million viewers locked in on our victory over No. 11 Utah, it was the eighth-largest television audience in Alamo Bowl history and the second-highest among the 33 non-CFP bowl games this season. Game attendance was 60,147 as well, the third-highest among non-CFP games and also surpassing two of the CFP contests. And how about this for added attention for Texas – outside of the actual game television broadcast the Alamo Bowl reported 217 Longhorn broadcast mentions on game day, covering 1:44.38 with an estimated exposure value of nearly $20.7 million. That's a lot of eyeballs on the Horns!
This week the Eyes of Texas will be on several events on campus, and we look forward to seeing everyone there. Our Women's and Men's Basketball squads will be in action at the Erwin Center Friday and Saturday with Softball's Meet the Horns event prior to Friday's Women's game, and Baseball's Fan Appreciation Day and Alumni Game around Saturday's Men's Basketball game.
Coach Aston and Women's Basketball extended their season-long winning streak to five games, including three in-a-row on the road, with a 70-53 Red River Showdown victory over Oklahoma Tuesday night. Now it's back to Austin for a huge Big 12 matchup with No. 1 Baylor on Friday night (6 p.m./FS1). Let's pack the Drum and cheer our Horns to victory! Though Coach Smart and Men's Basketball came up just short in a 69-67 defeat to now-No. 22 LSU on Saturday, it was a spirited effort and positive response to a very difficult defeat last Monday In Morgantown. Now it's back to Big 12 play with a key trio of upcoming contests – traveling to TCU on Wednesday (7 p.m./Big 12 Now/ESPN+), hosting Iowa State on Saturday (1 p.m./LHN), and a quick turnaround trip to Lawrence to face No. 3 Kansas on Monday (8 p.m./ESPN).
Friday night will bring a special treat as Coach White and our Softball team will host Meet the Horns from 4:30-5:30 p.m. at the Erwin Center prior to Texas-Baylor game. The Horns enter the season ranked No. 6 nationally, our highest ranking in more than a decade (since 2006), so here's your chance to meet them all! In addition to the meet and greet with Longhorn Softball, you will also be able to pose for photos and take selfies with Bevo XV and Smokey the Cannon from 4:30-6 p.m. on the North plaza located by Gate C.
Coach Pierce and Texas Baseball are set to host our Annual Fan Appreciation Day and Alumni Game on Saturday at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. Fan Appreciation festivities get started at 10:30 a.m., and the Alumni Game follows with a 3:30 p.m. first pitch. Gates will open at 10 a.m. and you'll begin lining up for the autograph session inside the newly-opened J. Dan Brown Player Development Center. Following the autograph session, the youngsters will have the opportunity to run the bases starting at 11:30 a.m. Fans can make the short walk over to the Erwin Center then head on back to baseball for the Alumni Game for a full day of Longhorn Sports.
Coach Floréal and our Track & Field squad are off and running in the 2020 Indoor campaign. With split teams traveling to Albuquerque and Boston last weekend, the Longhorns had strong performances across the board, winning five individual events, one relay and breaking three school records. Kudos to sprinters Julien Alfred and Micaiah Harris who broke our school's indoor 60-meter and 200-meter records in Albuquerque, respectively. Alfred's 7.10 clocking was the seventh-fastest women's 60 meters in NCAA history, while Harris, who broke a 32-year old UT record in the 200 (20.09) outdoors last spring, now holds UT's men's indoor and outdoor 200-meter all-time bests. Kathryn Gillespie also broke our women's indoor mile record by more than four seconds with her 4:34.64 in Boston. Further congrats to Julien as she was named the USTFCCCA Women's National Athlete of the Week. Our Longhorns will travel to Fayetteville this week, as the Horns continue to zero in on the Big 12 Indoor Championships from Feb. 28-Mar. 1 in Ames.
Congratulations to both of our tennis teams who each kicked off their home seasons with two 4-0 sweeps to advance to the ITA National Indoor Championships later in February. Coach Berque and the Men will be off to Madison, Wisc., and Coach Joffe and the Women will head to Chicago to compete for those titles. We had a great three days of tennis at Texas Tennis Center and want to give a big thank you to all of you who came out and supported your Longhorns. If you didn't make it out, hopefully you caught Sunday's match on Longhorn Network and be sure to get out to the home matches this spring to watch two top-10 programs!
Super Bowl Sunday will be a special one for four Longhorns4Life as a Texas Ex will be participating in the game for the 15th-straight year. Good luck to 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and special teams coordinator Richard Hightower, and though they are on injured reserve, both Marquise Goodwin (49ers) and Alex Okafor (Chiefs) will have a chance to earn a Super Bowl ring as well. A Longhorn has been a part of a team that hoisted the Lombardi Trophy in 12 of the last 15 Super Bowls, who will it be this year?
Speaking of NFL greats, congratulations are in order for another Longhorn Legend as Derrick Johnson was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame on Sunday. His 13-year run in Kansas City was truly spectacular as he played in four Pro Bowls and finished as the Chiefs' all-time leading tackler. D.J. also was a pillar of the community, and as he did in Austin, represented the Longhorns as a Hall of Famer in every way!
In closing, Sunday's tragic news from Los Angeles shocked our nation. Hearing of the helicopter accident was devastating and following the stories of the passengers and families involved, just heartbreaking. Our Longhorn family was personally impacted as Coach Pierce lost dear friends in his college roommate and teammate John Altobelli and John's wife, Keri, and daughter, Alyssa. Our heart goes out to Coach Pierce, his teammates and Coach Altobelli's family and friends. It all happened so abruptly, is an incredibly sad time, and we send our deepest condolences to everyone affected.
It is a very difficult reminder that none of us are promised tomorrow and how important it is to hug your loved ones and to support your friends, families and all of those you come in contact with. The stories of the nine extraordinary people we lost on Sunday illustrate how they all spent a great deal of time and energy helping and caring for their families and so many others. It's a message we can carry on through their loss. We can always do better, and in this tragedy, we can all continue to strive to do that while having a greater impact in everything we do.
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Hook 'em, Horns!
