The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
03.25.2020 | Forty Acres Insider
Important news 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,
We're in a fight that is taking all we have – our pride, passion, determination, total commitment and, most importantly, teamwork. The COVID-19 (coronavirus) continues to spread, and the crisis has the full attention of our campus, city, state, nation and world. On Tuesday, our city and surrounding counties issued a Shelter in Place directive, and with this new information, President Fenves has asked our campus to stay home and work safe. Our lives have been changed dramatically over the last two weeks as we first cancelled games, matches, meets and seasons, and now we're attacking it with all of our vigor by following the directives to stay home, avoid crowds and quarantine with our loved ones.
We continue to hurt for our student-athletes and coaches, while the challenges of social distancing and remote working leave a huge void in the daily personal interactions and teamwork that Longhorn Nation thrives on. It's not easy for any of us, but we're taking our role and responsibility in this very seriously, understand its importance and are being great teammates. We are laser-focused on doing our part in slowing the spread of this virus!
We realize that young people may struggle to truly understand the challenge we're facing, so our coaches and staff are continuing to communicate, reinforce and inform our student-athletes on best practices and what we see ahead in a very fluid situation. This crisis is not about me or you, it's about all of us. Our job is to do our due diligence, be responsible and protect ourselves so we can protect those around us. Like any great team, we are unifying as one to beat this! The Eyes of Texas are Upon You … and all of us!
As we all continue with video meetings, conference calls and virtual discussions from our remote locations, this is a significant week of planning and preparation for the future of our student-athletes with extended spring break ending on Sunday, March 29. With that time winding down and most of our student-athletes either at home or returning there, the safety and welfare of all those young people remains our top priority. Their educational needs are paramount, as well, as this is a critical time of readying them for the new online-only model that President Fenves has instituted. We're blessed with an outstanding student services staff and they're doing a yeoman's job of communicating with every one of our 500-plus student-athletes and ensuring they are ready for the challenges ahead and have the resources they need in place to be successful before classes begin on Monday and for the remainder of this semester. Though the face-to-face communication will be dearly missed, we will all help our Longhorns continue to be in a position to benefit from the tremendous education that The University of Texas provides them.
This week will also include many more continued discussions among our conference partners and college athletics leaders across the country in regards to the future plans and parameters for athletics activities, coaching and training in the coming days, weeks and months. There will be virtual models on the table for training, coaching and meeting, as well as the many tools schools will be allowed to share with our student-athletes during this unique time in their development. We also expect to hear something soon on the NCAA's decision on the eligibility status of spring sports student-athletes whose seasons were cut very short by the pandemic. That will be a critical next step for planning and preparing for the future of all of those sports programs.
One thing we know is our student-athletes have a powerful nation of Longhorns behind them. I can honestly say you don't really understand the power of the Longhorn Nation until you're immersed in it, and seeing the selfless attitude of all of these people at an unprecedented time like this is just amazing to me. We're all hurting, but they're a major factor in everything we do, and their continued support has been awesome. Rest assured, we will follow closely the effect of current events and how it is impacting all of our constituents as we look to the future. We are in constant conversation about how best to manage everything we do in light of that. But our fans and supporters have been just phenomenal! Thank you to all of you who continue to support, reach out and have our backs. We are beyond grateful and lucky to have every one of you! The Pride and Winning Tradition of the Texas Longhorns will not be entrusted to the weak nor the timid! Our Longhorn supporters play a huge part in that.
For our unbelievable Texas Athletics staff, the mantra of "we not me" has never been more fitting. Like all of you, we're a group that is so used to coming together in cheering for and celebrating our teams and everyone's success in competition, the classroom, the community and beyond. We love being around our student-athletes, coaches and fans and reveling in their pride, passion and spirit. Now our new normal has become working from our homes, and I'll tell you what, I've never been prouder of our team and how they're uniting as one and supporting one another for the greater good during these difficult times. Coach Royal used to say "adversity doesn't build character, it reveals it," and boy, does this group have strong character and keeps responding to our everchanging list of challenges. Watching them banding together, adapting, finding new ways to do things, turning crisis situations into positives and uniting around Team Texas during this time has been wonderful. They inspire me and make me so proud to be working side-by-side — virtually of course — with all of them.
I'm also truly inspired by the leadership of President Fenves. When you think about the challenge he faces — navigating the needs of 52,000 students, faculty, staff, alumni and constituents worldwide — he has been remarkable in how he's handled everything. I've learned so much from him, watching how he takes in an immense amount of information, thoughts, opinions and advice from so many people and finds a way to evaluate every circumstance and continually make thorough and sound decisions in such an efficient fashion – it's incredible. We are so fortunate to have him leading our great University and are even more grateful at this time than ever before!
While I've got you, if you haven't had a chance to see the powerful and inspirational messages our coaches have been posting on their programs and in support of everyone in recent days, take a minute to watch. Click here for video. We continue to generate a ton of great content on all of our platforms and hope to keep you engaged and entertained during these trying times. So, if you haven't already, give us a follow, click on TexasSports.com, check-in with FaceBook or whatever platform you use. We want to share our stories, celebrate the Longhorns and connect with you!
In closing, we must take a moment to send out a huge thank you to all of those doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals, including those at our very own Dell Medical School, for their selfless, caring and tireless efforts. Many are working around the clock as are our first responders, police officers and all of those who keep us secure and safe. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for all you do!
Longhorns, be safe, healthy and stay home, and let's get the spread of this virus under control. Stay engaged, connected and active, and please, take care of your families and support one another. We can all be a driving force in bringing our communities together, be Texas Tough and look forward to brighter days ahead when we'll be together again!
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Hook 'em, Horns!
