Forty Acres Insider: June 17

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Chris Del Conte head shot

Greetings Longhorn Nation,

I want to begin this week's Forty Acres Insider by saying thank you to the many student-athletes, letterwinners, coaches, alumni and fans I've talked with in recent days. I've received countless emails, texts and phone calls, and I do apologize that I haven't gotten back to all of you at this point. It's going to take me some time to return them all, but please know you will hear from me personally. As you can imagine, the conversations are at times very emotional. But, every one of them provides tremendous insight, and I am so encouraged by our Longhorn family's openness and willingness to help. Y'all truly love the Burnt Orange and White, and we all know it's critical that we unify as one. This is a challenging time and one that we must take on with a loving heart and open mind, as well as understanding and empathy. Most importantly, it's crucial that we work together, listen, trust each other and remain united.

Some of our student-athletes spoke out last week and they are passionate about their desire for change. They want to have their voices heard and we are here to listen. We love our student-athletes, care so much, and what's important to them is important for me to hear, even when it's a difficult conversation. We will begin meeting with them very soon and will have meaningful discussions. We understand they will not be easy nor are the solutions simple. But it's imperative that we take time to listen, talk with one another and develop plans of action in order to continue to make the experience better for the entire Longhorn Family going forward.

I echo the sentiments of President Jay Hartzell in his letter to the UT Community on Monday. I look forward to joining him in listening, learning and developing a plan that ensures our Black community, students and student-athletes are fully supported.

Juneteenth Virtual Celebration
Over the last several years, student-athletes and staff from our department have had the tremendous opportunity of being a part of the annual Juneteenth Parade in East Austin to commemorate the end of formal slavery in Texas on June 19, 1865. It's one of the highlights of the year, and we want to thank our Community Engagement Committee for always organizing our participation. Unfortunately, this year due to COVID-19, the parade itself won't be able to take place, however there will be a virtual celebration on Friday from 6-10 p.m. Thanks to The Austin Parks and Recreation Department's George Washington Carver Museum, Cultural and Genealogy Center in collaboration with Six Square, Greater East Austin Youth Association, Jump On it, District 1 City Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison, and the Austin Public Library for hosting this wonderful event. You can learn more and follow along at Juneteenthatx.com. We also will be joining in across our social media platforms, sharing memories from our previous participation and engaging with everyone once again. We all look forward to commemorating this very important day.

Return to the 40 Update
Progress continues towards the 2020 Football season with most of our team now on campus and voluntary workouts underway. The first phase on-boarding program for Football student-athletes who live off-campus (upperclassmen) began on June 8, and voluntary workouts for that group started Monday. Mandatory physicals, testing and COVID-19 safety education/training conducted by Athletics Sports Medicine staff were required to be completed before student-athletes could begin the second phase workout programs, which will include daily screening and safety protocols. We did have some student-athletes test positive for COVID-19 and are following all of our protocols, policies and procedures for self-isolation, contact tracing and management of those affected. We will continue to report the number of cases as we receive confirmation and clearance to do so.

For those beginning voluntary workouts this week, they are being conducted outside at the Frank Denius Practice Complex three days a week in small groups. No other athletics facilities will be used at this time. All activity will be closely monitored by the Sports Medicine and Strength & Conditioning staffs and follow a stringent set of health and safety guidelines. The second group of football student-athletes who live on-campus (underclassmen) will be on-boarded this week and are slated to begin workouts on June 22.

The Student-Athlete and Staff Return to Campus task forces are continuing the process of developing policies and procedures to safely support voluntary activities for Basketball and Volleyball. We will be establishing plans and guidelines for the return of all student-athletes during this time, as well, and also reviewing each of our department-wide support units to identify those who will return to campus and those who will continue to work remotely.

Meanwhile, we continue to monitor COVID-19 developments and plan for events on our campus. The Facilities & Game Day Logistics and Donor & Fan Experiences task forces are developing policies and procedures for hosting Football games and other Athletics events this fall pursuant to campus, state, local and NCAA and Big 12 Conference health and safety guidelines.

As always, health and safety are the number one priority, and all processes continue to be monitored closely and evaluated regularly with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control, state and local health and safety guidelines, as well as campus and athletics medical staff.

NFF College Football Hall of Fame Ballot
Congrats to Dan Neil and Kenneth Sims, our Longhorn Legends who earned a spot on National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame ballot for the class of 2021. Everything is bigger in Texas, and these dominant, All-American linemen definitely epitomize that. It's truly a great honor to be on a ballot that celebrates the greatest players in College Football history, and we're thrilled to see Dan and Kenneth among that group. Both are already in our Texas Athletics Hall of Honor, and they are certainly worthy of a spot in the College Football Hall of Fame in our book. We wish them the best as the selection process begins and hope to see a Longhorn among the Class of 2021.

Longhorn MLB Draft Streak Continues
Thanks to our talented pitcher Bryce Elder, an impressive Texas Baseball streak remains alive and well. Going all the way back to 1965, at least one Longhorn has been selected every year in the Major League Baseball draft. That's 56 straight years! Bryce was picked by the Atlanta Braves with the 156th overall pick in the fifth round. It's unfortunate our Baseball season got cut short this year because Bryce, who was named a second-team shortened-season All-American, was en fuego. He was leading the pitching staff with a 2.08 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 26 innings. For his career, he made 39 appearances (18 starts), logged 144.2 total innings pitched and posted a 10-6 record, 3.42 ERA and 149 strikeouts. We're so grateful for everything Bryce did for Texas Baseball and wish him the best. Coach Pierce and the staff also saw four members of their top-ranked signing class drafted, which is a tribute to their ability to find and recruit terrific talent.

Student-Athletes Combine for Outstanding Academic Semester
The spring academic report cards are in and a huge congratulations and Hook 'Em are in order to our student-athletes, coaches and Student Services staff for a spectacular semester. Dr. LaToya Smith provided a report on Monday, and despite all of the challenges that resulted from the COVID-19 health crisis and the immediate adjustment to on-line learning, our 500-plus student-athletes combined for a 3.56 grade point average. We are so proud of each and every one of them, impressed by their resilience and response to all of the obstacles thrown their way and so grateful for Dr. Smith and our Student Services staff. Following on the heels of the announcement of our conference-leading 217 Academic All-Big 12 honorees across all sports last month, the spring semester academic success certainly was great news and something we knew you'd all enjoy hearing about.

Bittersweet Farewell to Yuya Ito and Christian Sigsgaard
Speaking of wishing the best, I want to do that both personally and on behalf of Longhorn Nation to Yuya Ito and Christian Sigsgaard and say how much we appreciate everything they've done for our Men's Tennis program. They both announced this past week that they've decided not to use the extra year of eligibility they were granted by the NCAA, which is bittersweet for us, because as much as we would love to have them back, it makes you proud to see them advancing down the paths they've chosen, and doing so as Texas Exes with their degrees in hand. From arriving here when there was no tennis facility and they were practicing out at the intramural courts, to leaving having delivered the program's first National Championship, they're two of our all-time greats, both on the court and as people. Despite missing over half of a season, they're both in the top 10 all-time in singles wins at Texas, and without missing that time, they would have assuredly both been in the top five with Yuya might very well having left as the all-time leader. I'll never forget that championship day in Orlando – Christian teed it up with our first point, and Yuya knocked it down with the clincher to complete that storybook season. We'll never know if they might have repeated, but we do know that as of this moment, they're still the defending National Champions, so they're going out on top! Way to go guys, and even though you live in Japan and Denmark, you'll always have a home on the 40! Here's a big Hook 'Em to Yuya and Christian!.

Mark Your Calendars as Next Week We Celebrate the Anniversary of Title IX
June 23 is the 48th Anniversary of Title IX, a critical date in College Athletics and one that we proudly celebrate as it provides such great opportunities for so many outstanding female student-athletes. Our friends at LHN will be partnering that day with espnW to air "When We Play," a series of 24 consecutive hours of women's sports coverage. One of the great highlights of the event will be LHN's first airing of Coach Conradt and our Longhorns' 1986 NCAA Women's Basketball Championship. That team was a perfect 34-0 and will forever be remembered as one of the greatest in college basketball history. And as an added bonus, Coach Conradt will be watching along with you and live Tweeting on the LHN Twitter account (@LonghornNetwork) during the broadcast. Mark your calendar and plan your day around all of the awesome programming. A full list of details is available right HERE.

Longhorn Nation, thank you for your support. We are facing challenging times, but with that, we have a great opportunity to unify and continue to grow.

Stay safe, be healthy and Hook 'Em Horns,

Chris del Conte signature

P.S. - Oh, and by the way, Wednesday was National Mascot Day so a huge shoutout to the absolute best ever, Bevo!

HEADLINES

2020 Top Track and Field Performers: Kynnedy Flannel
The sophomore sprinter earned All-America honors in the 200m for the second-straight year.

Track and Field signs All-American hurdler Chanel Brissett
Brissett was a five-time All-American in the hurdles and relays at USC.

Governor Abbott Announces Intent To Appoint University Student Regents And Student Representative To The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
Patrick Ojeaga appointed as the next UT System student regent.

UT researchers find success treating severe coronavirus cases with blood from recovered patients
The publication marks the country's first peer-reviewed study of convalescent plasma transfusion therapy for COVID-19.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
Cosmi named Walter Camp Preseason All-American

Rowing receives five CRCA All-America nominations

INTERVIEWS
Video: Football media teleconference Head coach Tom Herman, QB Sam Ehlinger and DB Caden Sterns talked to media on Thursday.

Video: Celeste Taylor interview with Craig Way

The University of Texas at Austin Athletics

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