Forty Acres Insider: Nov. 16 - University of Texas Athletics

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Longhorn Nation,

We head into a full week of Longhorn sports with the Erwin Center, Gregory Gym and the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center all firing up to host home events. No. 12 Women's Basketball makes a triumphant mid-week return to the Drum for the annual Forty Acres Field Trip game after a thrilling victory at No. 2 Stanford, and our No. 8 Men's Basketball squad hosts home games Wednesday and Saturday. No. 2 Volleyball hits the stretch run of Big 12 play with two matches at The Greg, and the Texas Diving Invitational is one of that sport's premier fall competitions once again. We'll be taking the action on the road too with Football heading to Morgantown to face West Virginia (11 a.m. CT/ESPN2) and Cross Country hitting the trails Saturday at the NCAA Championship in Tallahassee, Fla.

Last week had its ups and downs for our Longhorns, and we're certainly ready to move forward and get right back at it this week. Saturday was just a heartbreaking 57-56 overtime loss to Kansas at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium. Coach Sark said it after the game and reiterated the message at his weekly press conference on Monday: "The first half of that game was not the competitive football that I know we're capable of playing. The four turnovers — three in the second quarter — were killers, and our inability to stop the run on defense and our inability to get off the field on third down were big issues that did us in. I will say I was proud of the guys in their effort fighting back to get to overtime, but until we figure that out that it takes discipline, commitment, toughness and accountability all of the time, we're going to be swimming upstream. That's the message to the guys. It's about being a true competitor and competing with that mindset. We didn't do that on Saturday."

At Texas Athletics, we all know it was a devastating way to lose. You all are so passionate about your Longhorns and feel frustrated about how things have gone for five games. Trust me, we're so disappointed and frustrated, too, but no one is more upset than Coach Sark and the team. As Coach Sark said, "They put in a lot of time, a lot of effort, a lot of hard work to not be playing the type of football that is the standard here at Texas." Coach Sark knew when he took the job that it's not always going to be smooth sailing, that there would be bumps in the road and — at times — choppy waters that he has to navigate through. None of us expected what we're up against now, but that's why we hired him and a tremendous staff to allow us to build a foundation for long-term success. Our Longhorns need to continue to learn and grow from these challenging times. We can be there by their side to help pull them through.

With all that said, it's important that we discuss the reality of the situation facing Coach Sark and our Football program. It came up in Monday's press conference and is something we've talked about. This isn't to cast any blame or make excuses; it's just factual that we have some real depth issues. As injuries mount, it's even more glaring. When you look at it, 52% of our 2018 signing class and 46% of the 2019 class are no longer here. That's nearly half of the student-athletes from two classes that were ranked as the third-best in the nation and should be making up the juniors and seniors on our roster today. Overall since 2018, we've lost 33 percent of the last four classes. That's a lot of attrition to manage. And when it rains, it pours. We had 25 guys miss practice last week due to a flu bug and virus and missed three others who were out due to COVID-19 protocols.

I say that to help everyone understand the real challenges we're facing. Coach Sark is building a culture, he has a tremendous group of coaches with him, and we are providing every ounce of support we can muster to help them redirect our program. We have a group of coaches who are proven and have a wealth of experience. They have all succeeded at the highest level. They will help us do that here, too. The guys are fighting their butts off on the field, and we have a really good group of student-athletes giving it all they have. We've been dealt a tough hand with more injuries to players this week. Two young men who are among the best in the Big 12 at their positions, Bijan Robinson and Josh Thompson are out. We know we're up against even more challenges and going through a difficult stretch. That being said, our Texas Fight and resolve never wavers.

Right now, we need to focus on moving forward, staying behind our team and cheering like heck to get a win at West Virginia. We then can welcome our Horns home for Senior Day on the Friday after Thanksgiving at 11 a.m. CT versus K-State. I know we're all really disappointed, and there's a lot being said, but this is not a time to splinter or pull apart in any way. We need to stay positive and remain united as a Longhorn Family. We know there are better days ahead, and I know y'all will continue to be the wind beneath our wings to help lead us there. That was obvious with how you turned out and turned up the volume on Saturday as our team fought and came back at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium. I would be remiss if I didn't give y'all a huge thank you for the incredible support on gameday. From Bevo Blvd, Smokey's Midway, Longhorn City Limits and all the pregame festivities until the final whistle, you came out in full force, and brought your patented passion, pride and Texas Fight. You hung in there and gave us all you had until the bitter end, and we are so grateful for each and every one of you.

I also want to send a huge shoutout to our game operations staff members, who have done an incredible job the last few games. Saturday was truly the best yet. We had some glitches and challenges early in the season, but they addressed everything, responded to your concerns and made improvements. I'm so thankful for how we were able to support you, our awesome fans, last weekend.

There were some great things happening for our Horns last week, as well. First and foremost, we had National Signing Day for all of our sports other than Football. It was such fun to watch the exciting news of all of the bright and talented future Longhorns coming in. It's always such a joyous time, and I can't wait to get them all on campus. The future is so, so bright for all of our teams!

Exciting start for Women's Basketball
What an opening week for Coach Schaefer and the Women's Basketball team as they tipped off the season with a pair of exciting victories. When I say the Longhorns rolled through New Orleans in dominant fashion, they truly did with a 131-36 victory in their season opener at the Erwin Center last Tuesday. Talk about lighting it up! It was the second-highest scoring output in program history! On Sunday, it was a clash of the titans and we put the women's college basketball world on notice! Our Horns traveled to Palo Alto and upset defending National Champion and No. 3-ranked Stanford in a 61-56 thriller on ESPN. Freshman point guard Rori Harmon was outstanding in her first two collegiate games, averaging 14 points and 4.5 rebounds to earn Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Week honors. Aliyah Matharu was terrific off of the bench as she led the team in scoring, averaging 17.5 points over the two-game stretch. In Sunday's victory over the Cardinal, Aliyah erupted in the fourth quarter, scoring 17 points to help us pull away late and complete the upset. Coach Schaefer's squad climbed all the way up to No. 12, was tabbed National Team of the Week, and now returns to the friendly confines of the Erwin Center on Wednesday for an 11 a.m. tilt against Southeast Missouri. Then, it's back to being road warriors for another epic early-season game Sunday at No. 16 Tennessee. It's on ESPN, so get out that Burnt Orange and White, tune in and let's Hook 'Em Horns!

Gettin' ready for Women's Basketball's annual Forty Acres Field Trip
Speaking of that Wednesday game against Southeast Missouri, we are welcoming more than 3,000 fourth through seventh graders to campus for the 10th annual Forty Acres Field Trip at the Erwin Center! This is a wonderful opportunity for us to expose attendees to college athletics and bring them to The University of Texas campus to promote the pursuit of higher education. For our season ticket holders and single-game purchasers, seating is general admission on a first-come, first-served basis in Sections 20, 21 (lower rows) and 35. We didn't have an opportunity to provide this experience to the Central Texas community last season, so we're extra excited to bring this event back and provide a raucous home court advantage for our student-athletes. So when you hear those boisterous cheers raising the roof at the Drum, be forewarned! That's just a bunch of rowdy young fans and future Longhorns!

Men's Basketball opens five-game homestand Wednesday
Coach Beard and our No. 8-ranked Men's Basketball team opened the year with an impressive 92-48 victory in their opener against Houston Baptist before falling Saturday, 86-74, at No. 1 Gonzaga. Longhorn Nation is definitely in full support of our team, as our attendance of 14,683 versus HBU marked the fourth-largest home-opening crowd in the 45-year history of the Erwin Center and the largest home-opening crowd since 2001. We have set a single season record for most season tickets distributed, as the total has topped the 9,100 mark. Now, we need you to make sure those seats are filled every game with fans cheering on the Horns! You'll have plenty of opportunities to do just that as we begin a five-game homestand Wednesday against Northern Colorado (7:30 p.m. CT, LHN). The next three games are part of the Abe Lemons Classic, as we pay tribute to the legendary former coach who guided the Longhorns to the 1978 NIT Championship and back-to-back Southwest Conference titles in 1978 and 1979. And kudos to our UT students! You met Coach Beard's challenge of filling the student section for the opener, so stay tuned for updates on the "Party at the Tower" that we'll be hosting.

Volleyball sweeps Sooners, back at Gregory this week
Coach Elliott and our No. 2-ranked Volleyball team took down our Red River Rivals in back-to-back sweeps last week, and The Greg was rockin'. The two sellout crowds were electric, and Friday night's attendance of 4,737 was the third-largest we've ever had at Gregory Gym. Logan Eggleston remains en fuego, going back-to-back as the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week. And fresh off that rout of the Sooners, our Longhorns are back at Gregory to host Kansas State Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m. CT. As always, both matches are on LHN, as our Horns look to keep the good times rollin' through the final four matches of Big 12 play!

Cross Country headed to NCAA Championships
Fresh off defending their 2019 NCAA Regional Championship victory last Friday, No. 13 Men's Cross Country clinched an automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA Championships in Tallahassee, Fla., this Saturday. Led by standout Haftu Knight who won the regionals 10k event, our Longhorns finished among the top-two teams at that event for the eighth-straight season. For the women, Beth Ramos, who continued to be the top scorer and finisher for the Longhorns, earned an individual spot at the Championships, finishing seventh overall in the regionals 6K. The top-25 finishers outside of the qualifying teams earned a spot at the Championships, so congrats to Beth!

Longhorns to host Texas Diving Invitational
The No. 1 Men's and No. 5 Women's Swimming and Diving programs will be bringing big-time action to the three-day Texas Diving Invitational this weekend at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center. The Horns will host four Top 25 teams (No. 10 Stanford & No. 16 Texas A&M on the men's side and No. 2 Stanford & No. 21 Texas A&M in women's action), along with Utah, Arizona and LSU. Jordan Windle and Hailey Hernandez have dominated the boards this season, earning three Big 12 Diver of the Week awards each. The weekend's invitational will also feature the platform events, the first time the Longhorns will compete in them this season. Windle and Paola Pineda swept those events last season, while also winning the 3-meter in the days prior. It's going to be a great few days of diving!

Soccer season ends with NCAA First-Round loss at SMU
It was a heart-breaking way to finish a really good season for Coach Kelly and our Soccer squad with last Sunday's NCAA First Round loss at SMU. While the postseason run may have ended sooner than hoped, an incredible future looks to be in store for our Soccer program with all the experience gained throughout the year by a deep and talented group of returnees. During the 2021 campaign, our Burnt Orange and White registered the first unbeaten Big 12 campaign in school history, managed a program-record 14-match unbeaten streak and made an memorable run all the way to the Big 12 Championship Final. Former No. 1-ranked recruits Lexi Missimo and Trinity Byars proved to be as advertised as freshmen phenoms, rating among the NCAA and Big 12 leaders all season in goals, assists and points. Missimo ended up breaking the Texas rookie single-season record for assists with 14, while Byars threatened the program's single-season goal-scoring record with 12. With that foundational duo back on the Forty next season, plus an exciting core of young players such as standout defenders EmJ Cox and Lauren Lapomarda, forwards Holly Ward and Tati Fung and midfielder Ashlyn Miller, our soccer future looks very bright.

Thank You for Your Support
As we approach Thanksgiving and take time to pause and give thanks for all that we're grateful for, I can't help but reflect on how thankful I am for our performance nutrition staff and the resources available to them to manage our student-athletes nutritional needs, day in and out. Because of what your generous support affords Texas Athletics, we can provide our teams with one-on-one individual and team education around proper fueling techniques. Access to the Texas Athletics Nutrition Center, and our nutrition stations throughout our facilities, fuels our student-athletes pre- and post-workout. The combination of education and access results in improved sport performance in competition, decreased illness and injury, and optimal long-term health. As you plan out your end of year philanthropy, I ask that you consider making a gift to Longhorn Excellence which supports our student-athletes across their greatest areas of need, including the nutritional resources that provide the margin of excellence that makes Texas great.

You can still get your tickets to help us celebrate Senior Day with our Football team vs. Kansas State
We will celebrate all of our senior student-athletes when we host Kansas State on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Tickets are still available for that game, and to join us, you can be purchase them online at TexasSports.com or by calling 512-471-3333 (Monday through Friday 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Central).

LHN and LRN Football programming update
While I've got you, I know many of you tune into all of Coach Sark's press conferences and shows on Longhorn Network and the Longhorn Radio Network every week during the season. Just as a heads up, with the many events going on, we're at the point in the season where the radio/TV simulcast of the Thursday night Longhorn Weekly with Coach Sark show will be carried only by the radio network. You can hear that Thursday on LRN stations at 7 p.m. CT, and with next week being Thanksgiving, check your local listings, but that will air locally on Wednesday on our flagship radio station, 104.9 The Horn, after the Men's Basketball game with California Baptist that tips off at 7:30 p.m. CT.

There's so much to cheer for not only this week, but as we close out November with the Thanksgiving Holiday. We are so grateful for you Longhorn Nation, and we can't thank you enough for being by our side through thick and thin. You are the wind beneath our wings, and together, I know we've got this! Let's keep those Horns up and Hook 'Em!

Hook 'Em Horns,

Chris Del Conte

Chris Del Conte signature
Chris Del Conte

P.S. — Fun time with Coach Vic making a visit on the LHN broadcast of Texas Volleyball. One big, happy family we are here!

P.S. — The events around last week's Veterans Day and Veterans Recognition Game were so special to be a part of. This is a must-read on DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium from the great Bill Little.

P.S. II – What a joy it was honoring our Longhorn Legends Cat Osterman and Huston Street while officially celebrating their retired jersey numbers at Saturday's Football game. Hook 'Em to two great ones!