Forty Acres Insider: February 14

Chris Del Conte head shot

Longhorn Nation,

This week got off to an extra special start with our Sixth Annual Texas Athletics Town Hall on Tuesday night. It sure was a blast! Thank you so much to everyone who came out to celebrate, discuss and share your thoughts about all the great things we have going on here in athletics. Your involvement and input are critical to our success and our yearly "stakeholders meeting" is a valuable tool for us to hear from you in our quest to continue to grow and get better at everything we do. And, I must say, it was such a joy to be back in person for the event and a thrill to have some awesome Longhorn fellowship with y'all!

We'll break down a lot of what we presented and talked about later in the notes, but before we get to that, here's hoping everyone enjoyed a festive Super Bowl Sunday, got their week off to a productive start and will have a chance to celebrate with their significant other, family and friends for Valentine's Day today. The Super Bowl sure did deliver big-time with an overtime thriller and garnered a ring for our very own Kansas City Chief Charles Omenihu — congrats to you on a dream come true, my friend!

Meanwhile, our current Horns had another week filled with a whole bunch of victories. We know how the west was won as our Softball squad opened their season by traveling to Cali and returning with five victories, including a pair of W's against the hometown top-10 UCLA Bruins. That moved our Horns all the way up to the No. 3 spot nationally, and now they look to conquer the east with a trip to the always competitive Shriners Children's Clearwater Invitational this week — beginning with a Friday night game against No. 2 Tennessee (5 p.m. CT/LHN). And now it's time for our No. 16 Baseball squad to gets its season underway, as well, hosting San Diego at UFCU Disch-Falk Field for a Friday-Sunday series. We know y'all will have the place jumpin' for the much-anticipated 2024 campaign, so we can't wait to see you there.

Women's Basketball took it to TCU (65-43) in Fort Worth on Saturday, improving to 22-3 on the season and climbing up to No. 5 in this week's AP Poll. Next up is a road tilt down I-10 to Houston tonight (7 p.m. CT/ESPN+), before returning to the friendly confines of Moody Center on Saturday vs. Iowa State (3 p.m. CT/ESPN2). The men bounced back from a hard-fought home loss to No. 14 Iowa State last Tuesday — it's sixth-straight top-25 opponent — to register a convincing win over West Virginia (94-58) Saturday. They'll get a much-needed week to rest up a little before the stretch run that starts at No. 3 Houston on Saturday (Noon CT/CBS). Then it's back to Moody for a Big Monday matchup with Kansas State (8 p.m. CT/ESPN), and I know y'all will be ready and riled up for that one. Y'all have been incredible all year at Moody, and we're so grateful for the support you've given our Men's and Women's Basketball programs. You're providing an invaluable homecourt advantage, and we love the energy at The Mood and how y'all bring that Texas Fight each and every time out!

With a victory over our longtime rivals No. 9 Texas A&M last Friday, No. 10 Women's Tennis advanced to the quarterfinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Seattle for the fourth-straight year. We lost a 4-3 heartbreaker to eventual champion No. 3 Oklahoma State on Saturday that came down to a tiebreaker in the final match to just miss out on advancing to the semifinals, but then bounced back with a gusty 4-3 consolation round win over No. 12 Ohio State on Sunday. It was such a valiant effort and solid overall weekend for sure. Now it's the men's team's turn as our No. 3-ranked Horns head to the Big Apple for their ITA National Team Indoor Championships beginning on Friday. And a shoutout to them for a great win over an always tough Florida team out at Weller this past Saturday!

The Texas Fight continued as Track and Field spent the weekend in Boston. Our team's efforts were highlighted by the men's 4x400m relay breaking our indoor record with a 3:03.93 clocking in that event. The No. 3-ranked men and No. 6-ranked women will continue to compete this week while taking dead aim on the Big 12 Championships which will be held on Feb. 23-24 in Lubbock. No. 9 Men's and No. 2 Women's Swimming and Diving got wins at SMU on Friday, and both programs have their sights set on the Big 12 Championships in Morgantown at the end of this month (Feb. 27-Mar. 2).

Longhorn Nation, thank you for your pride, passion, love and support. We couldn't do it without you. Have a great week and let's keep the good times rollin'! Together, we got this!!

let's have a great week, y'all🤘#HookEm | @seatgeek pic.twitter.com/ztNTmSjjDm
— Texas Longhorns (@TexasLonghorns) February 12, 2024

Annual Town Hall recap

After several years, it felt great to be back in person for the annual Town Hall last night. Whether you were able to join us at historic Hogg Auditorium or virtually, we hope you enjoyed our "stakeholders meeting" for Longhorn Nation. What an incredible year it has been and so much to look forward to as we embark on a new era for Texas Athletics when we join the Southeastern Conference on July 1. It really is a great time to be a Longhorn y'all! If you didn't have a chance to join us, you can view the entire discussion right here including the full Q&A session.

The 2022-23 athletics season was another incredible year featuring two national championships (Volleyball, Women's Outdoor Track & Field), two NCAA Runner-ups and 13 Top-10 finishes. We nearly completed a three-peat in the LEARFIELD Directors' Cup and fell short by just a few points to Stanford. Our student-athletes, coaches, and staff continue to amaze me every day with their drive and determination, putting us in position to compete for championships in every sport.

The start of the 2023-24 campaign has already produced outstanding finishes, resulting in our best fall overall as a program highlighted by our back-to-back Volleyball National Champions, Football's Big 12 Championship and College Football Playoff run, Soccer's Big 12 Tournament Championship, and Men's Cross Country's seventh-place NCAA finish. Currently, we have 11 teams ranked with nine of them amongst the Top 10 in their respective sports. And we've seen several Longhorns rack up national awards! Julien Alfred took home the prestigious Bowerman award, Volleyball legend Logan Eggleston was named our first ever NCAA Woman of the Year, Lexi Missimo was recognized as the Top Drawer Soccer National Player of the Year, Madisen Skinner won almost every award including the prestigious CWSA Honda Sport Award for Volleyball, and T'Vondre Sweat became the fourth Longhorn to win the Outland Award. Our coaches continue to be recognized at the highest levels as well, as Jerritt Elliott was named the VolleyballMag.com National Coach of the Year and Coach Sark was a National Coach of the Year finalist by several outlets. We are primed for another incredible spring and are determined to bring the Directors' Cup back to the Forty Acres!

Each season, one of the things I love to do the most is brag on our student-athletes in the classroom. This past fall, our teams registered a cumulative GPA of over 3.2 for all sports combined with over 100 student-athletes graduating and 72% of our athletes holding a 3.0 or higher cumulative GPA. Our outstanding student services team, led by Dr. Marnie Binfield and Kat Hastings, continue to provide the best support for our student-athletes and help them develop into leaders, both on and off campus.

Keeping with tradition, last night's Town Hall triggered one of the most exciting times of the year for our loyal season ticket holders … the 2024 Texas Football season ticket renewal launch! After another record-setting year where we sold out season tickets, Longhorn Nation continues to make gamedays at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium one of the most formidable environments in the nation by once again averaging over 100,000 fans a game. Our season opener against Colorado State on August 31 can't come soon enough, and I can't wait to have you join us in our first year in the SEC with a schedule that features home games against Georgia, Florida, Mississippi State, and Kentucky. And as always, we will continue to work on enhancing the entire gameday experience including Bevo Blvd, Longhorn City Limits, Smokey's Midway, and Hook 'Em Hangout. Y'all make it the best college football experience in the nation!

And Texas isn't just an area on the map. It's a mindset. A state of being. A sense of belonging. Texas lives in the hearts of everyone who's worn the Burnt Orange and White. When you're a Longhorns fan, wherever you are, or wherever you go … Texas always lives HERE!

For those who are renewing their season tickets, here are some key points:

While the total cost of season tickets is higher to reflect the addition of a seventh home game, the per-game ticket cost has decreased, and per seat-related gift, if applicable, remains exactly the same.
Longhorn Foundation members should view the new Benefits Chart for new enhancements including increased membership value at several levels, year-round benefits and experiences, and enhanced priority football ticket limits. Benefits vary at designated membership levels.
Longhorn Foundation members must continue to make a minimum gift of $200 for guaranteed football parking access and a minimum gift of $500 to have guaranteed priority for Oklahoma tickets.
Requests for tickets to the Allstate Red River Rivalry game versus Oklahoma game and away games for Longhorn Foundation members at designated levels will begin in April with a deadline of June 3.
All fans who renew their season tickets will have the opportunity to participate in the Online Seat Selection and Parking Process in late April/May.
Texas Athletics is enforcing its policy for the maximum number of season tickets any season ticket holder can have. Current fans who already have more season tickets than the limits will not lose any of their existing seats.
NEW! Parking passes for fans who select garage parking will be mobile parking passes. Surface parking permits will continue to be printed this season while our friends at PTS continue to evaluate future mobile parking options.
Also new this season…fans who select parking permits in the state garages will be able to choose parking in one of the three state garage options (B, Q, and R). Each garage will have its own individual permit color, and this will alleviate traffic congestion by providing a guaranteed option.
When you renew your season tickets, you can also purchase seatbacks for your seats at DKR-TMS at the same time.
Renewing season ticket holders will receive their mobile season tickets in late July.

The deadline to renew your season tickets is March 14, and you can do so online at TexasSports.com/Renewals or by calling us at 512-471-3333 (Monday through Friday 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Central). Keep an eye on your mailboxes this week for more information.

Interested in season tickets? Join the waitlist TODAY!
The excitement around Texas Football is off the charts. Any fans who are interested in joining us as season ticket holders this fall can join the Texas Football Waitlist TODAY! It doesn't cost anything to join but in order to come off the waitlist and have the opportunity to purchase season tickets later this spring, you must be a 2024 Longhorn Foundation donor by the football season ticket deadline on March 14 (minimum of $50 annual gift).

Enhancing our facilities and the gameday experience!

I had the opportunity to share some of the exciting upgrades and additions we are making to our facilities. Starting with Football, we are thrilled to announce the future Football Indoor Training Complex facility that will replace the Bubble. This project is located where the current Steve Hicks School of Social Work building lives and will begin as soon as they move into their new home. At Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, we will be putting in a brand-new videoboard that will replace the existing one and be ready in time for this season! On the back of the videoboard, we are adding a giant LED Longhorn that will light up the sky. Everyone driving down the freeway will know that Texas Lives HERE!

This fall, fans can enjoy significant upgrades to our concession stands on the lower east concourse including additional grab 'n' go stands that will alleviate wait times and get you back to your seats faster. We are proud to also announce that Fletcher's Original Corny Dogs, the same ones you enjoy every October at the State Fair, will be served at DKR-TMS! Our partners at 1883 Provisions Co. will continue to offer Fan First pricing on core products. It is paramount for our team that we offer good, affordable food and beverage options for all of our fans attending our events.

There will also be significant renovations and enhancements made to the University of Texas Club on the east side of the stadium. That project will begin shortly after commencement and be ready for the football season. Our suiteholders on the east and north ends will enjoy updates to the suite corridors, and ticketholders in the Touchdown Club will experience a complete refurbishment of the space.

To our letterwinners, I sincerely thank you for your patience as we had to close the old T-Room several years ago for ongoing construction projects. Beginning this fall, there will be a new gameday club for letterwinners on the east side of the stadium on the sixth floor. This is also where the T-Association offices will be housed moving forward.

Baseball season is only a few days away. And I am fired up about announcing the Yeti Yard, the newest addition to UFCU Disch-Falk Field. This area will be located outside the ballpark and is a GA non-ticketed area where fans can enjoy the game. Food and beverage will be available for purchase and fans can also bring their own into this area. More details will come very soon!

Our Beach Volleyball program will be playing an abbreviated season this spring before becoming playing their first full NCAA season in 2025. We are in the process of building out a permanent locker room facility for them.

Save the date! SEC Celebration planned for June 30.

We invite all of Longhorn Nation to join us at the UT Tower on June 30 for the official SEC Celebration. The event will feature FREE admission and is going to be one heck of party y'all. More information will be coming later this spring.

Men's Basketball gearing up for stretch run in Big 12 play

How fun was Saturday afternoon in Moody Center?! RT and our guys took to the court with an extreme sense of urgency and dominated from the tip en route to an impressive 94-58 victory over West Virginia. Dylan Disu was EN FUEGO, recording a game-high 27 points while hitting a career-best 7-of-10 (that's right, SEVEN) three-pointers. Congrats to Double-D (as his teammates call him) for earning both Big 12 Player of the Week and Oscar Robertson Trophy National Player of the Week honors! And speaking of the legendary Oscar Robertson, how about our guy Mid-Court Max passing the Big-O to move into the No. 12 spot on the NCAA Division I men's all-time scoring list. Max is now 13 points away from becoming just the 12th player in NCAA Division I men's history to reach the 3,000-point milestone! All five starters reached double figures in scoring and we set a school record for most assists (28) in a Big 12 game, so it was definitely a complete TEAM victory. We have a mid-week bye in the league schedule, before our Longhorns gear up for a big one on Saturday at No. 3 Houston (Noon CT/CBS). And mark your calendars for Monday, as we'll have a quick turnaround and will need Longhorn Nation in a frenzy as we welcome K-State to The Mood for a Big Monday showdown (8 p.m. CT/ESPN).

team win 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/815QMcocjk
— Texas Men's Basketball (@TexasMBB) February 10, 2024

Women's Basketball cruises past TCU and climbs to No. 5 in The AP poll

Our now No. 5 Women's Basketball team outscored TCU 26-12 in the third quarter on its way to a 65-43 win in Fort Worth on Saturday. The Longhorns have won four straight games and now head to Houston to take on the Cougars on Wednesday (7 p.m. CT/ESPN+). We had an excellent crowd up in Fort Worth, so let's make it another great road turnout down in H-Town on Wednesday night! Our ladies return home to the friendly confines of Moody Center to face nationally-ranked Iowa State on Saturday (3 p.m. CT/ESPN2), so order those tickets and make plans now to pack The Mood. Saturday will be our pink game in support of breast cancer awareness, so be sure to wear your pink!

shoutout Longhorn Nation 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/qx4QDLK3fM
— Texas Women's Basketball (@TexasWBB) February 11, 2024

Baseball's Opening Day is Friday!

Opening Day is finally here! Coach David Pierce and our Baseball team will take the field at UFCU Disch-Falk Field against San Diego on Friday (7 p.m. CT/LHN) to kick off the 2024 season. The Longhorns and Toreros will square off again on Saturday (2:30 p.m. CT/LHN) and Sunday (1 p.m. CT/LHN). Mark your calendars because the Longhorns play their first eight games at home and 19 of the first 25 at the friendly confines of UFCU Disch-Falk Field. When our guys take the field for Friday's season opener, they'll be led out by Lebarron Johnson Jr., who was named to the Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List. LBJ was outstanding last year and is primed for even more success this season.

In elite company 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/kbCPfp7GHZ
— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) February 9, 2024

Softball begins season with dominant showing

The name of the game is to score more runs than your opponent, and Coach Mike White and his Softball team did just that in California by outscoring the opposition 64-5 in five games over the weekend! It began with a 19-0 win over San Diego in five innings on Friday, added a 16-1 victory over the Toreros again on Saturday, and included an impressive 16-0 five-inning feast over No. 10/8 UCLA on Saturday night. In between the 10-2 six-inning win at Loyola Marymount to cap the weekend on Sunday was an impressive 3-2 victory at UCLA on Friday night in front of a national television audience on ESPN. I even heard that 16-run beatdown of UCLA on Saturday was the worst loss suffered by the Bruins in their program's history! This weekend is another opportunity to continue adding to the win column with a trip to Florida. While in Clearwater, Texas will face No. 2/2 Tennessee (5 p.m. CT/LHN) and No. 9/9 Stanford (8 p.m. CT/ESPN2) on Friday before squaring off on Saturday against North Carolina (1 p.m. CT/ESPN+) and No. 18/18 Kentucky (6 p.m. CT/LHN). The weekend will wrap up with breakfast against No. 22/RV Northwestern (8:30 a.m. CT/ESPN2) on Sunday morning. To put a feather in the cap that was last weekend's festivities, Reese Atwood was named the Big 12 and NFCA Player of the Week while hitting an astonishing .733 at the dish in five games. What a feat! Keep it up, Reese!

.733/.632/1.467

yeah, that'll do, 1⃣4⃣🤘

📰: https://t.co/4Dmph1IjKO #HookEm | @atwood_reese pic.twitter.com/PkHi5E4Dhy
— Texas Softball (@TexasSoftball) February 13, 2024

headed back to Austin 5-0 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/DlOTkZY2GC
— Texas Softball (@TexasSoftball) February 11, 2024

Coast-to-coast Tennis

Well folks, what Texas Fight we saw from Coach Joffe and our Women's Tennis team as they went to the ITA National Indoor Championships for the seventh-straight year, this time in Seattle, and came home with two wins for the fifth-straight time. For those of you who aren't familiar, the ITA Indoors is a 16-team tournament of the nation's best with all teams playing three matches, plus a title match. First, it was a Texas rivalry transported to the Pacific Northwest against a top-10 Aggies team, and our Horns did us all proud with a 4-2 victory to get to the quarterfinals. Then it was another familiar foe in No. 3 Oklahoma State, and although our squad initially trailed, 3-0, they came roaring back, tied it up and took the final match all the way to a tiebreaker in the third set before the eventual champion was able to just slide past. That left a consolation match against No. 12 Ohio State, which if you didn't know, always has especially tough indoor teams, and our ladies responded with a clutch 4-3 victory for that second W. So, well done to them, and now they'll turn right back around for another top-15 foe in Auburn, which comes to the Texas Tennis Center for a Sunday morning match (11 a.m. CT), so throw on your Burnt Orange best, grab your coffee and donuts and get to the 40 to cheer them on! And if by chance you can't make it, the good news is it will also be the season debut for tennis on Longhorn Network, so you can tune in live or set your DVR! That leads us to Coach Berque and the men, who this weekend head to the opposite coast for their version of the ITA Indoors in the Big Apple. The draws were just announced yesterday, and we'll be facing 14 seed Arizona on Friday (2:30 p.m. CT), so check out our social channels for all the ways you can follow along! Also, a giant Hook 'Em to our lads for their big-time 4-3 win over Florida this past Saturday indoors at Weller. Even though the Gators got the doubles point, our squad fought back and still clinched at 4-1, and what a special moment it had to be for Jonah Braswell to get his first clinch as a Longhorn against his former team. So, kudos to Bruce and the boys!

Indoor Track and Field competes at NCAA host site

Our No. 4 Men's and Women's Indoor Track and Field teams got a glimpse of the NCAA host site over the weekend, and boy did they put on a show! Our men's 4x400-meter relay broke the UT record with a time of 3:03.93, the 16th-fastest time in NCAA history. We can't wait to see what they do at the Big 12 Championships in two weeks. The throwers were led by freshman Nina Ndubuisi in shot put, recording yet another all-time mark in UT history, Kiana Lowery, who posted two PBs over the weekend, and Jeremiah Nubbe in the weight throw. Jumpers made their marks too, as Kelsey Daniel leaped to a distance of 16.07m in the triple jump and moved to No. 8 on the UT all-time list. Our DMR guys are headed back to Boston to put on a show, while Olivia Howell makes her way to Arkansas for an 800-meter race to the finish.

Logan Popelka, Elijah Mosley, @JohnRutledge_ & @BrianHerron400m set the Texas 4x400 relay record with their time of 3:03.93‼️#FloKnows x #HookEm pic.twitter.com/DTudjN9U2u
— Texas T&F/XC (@TexasTFXC) February 10, 2024

men's triple jump 🤘

Kelsey Daniel moves to No. 8 on the UT All-Time performer list with his winning jump of 16.07m (52-8.75). Currently ranks 7th in the NCAA this season 🤘

3. Solomon Washington - 14.86m (48-9) #FloKnows x #HookEm pic.twitter.com/2voAMZUF83
— Texas T&F/XC (@TexasTFXC) February 10, 2024

Swim & Dive takes care of business in regular season finales

Out at the pool, our Swimming & Diving teams wrapped up their regular-season schedules with impressive wins at SMU. The second-ranked Women racked up a pair of pool records in Dallas on the way to a 153-118 victory over the Mustangs, while the No. 9 Men took down SMU 162-137 in legendary coach Eddie Reese's final dual meet. Both teams will now get set for the Big 12 Championships, with the women and coach Carol Capitani looking for a 12th-straight title and the men seeking a 28TH consecutive crown! On the global stage, huge congrats to Luke Hobson, who won his first individual world championship medal on Tuesday with his bronze-medal swim in the 200-meter free at the World Aquatics Championships! Not a bad week for him, as he and former Longhorn Carson Foster won bronze in the 4x100-meter free relay on Sunday. Hat tip to Noah Duperre and Bridget O'Neil as well, as the pair finished seventh in mixed 3-meter synchronized springboard.

Luke Hobson wins World Championship bronze in the 200-meter free!🤘🙌🇺🇸#HookEm | #AQUADoha2024 pic.twitter.com/cxyRqQgX9p
— Texas Men's Swimming & Diving (@TexasMSD) February 13, 2024

Noah Duperre and Bridget O'Neil finish 7th in mixed 3m synchro at the World Aquatics Championships! 🌎 🇺🇸🤘#HookEm | #AQUADoha2024 pic.twitter.com/enqaQyp0vn
— Texas Men's Swimming & Diving (@TexasMSD) February 10, 2024

Men's Golf concludes spring-opening tourney in Hawaii

Our No. 16 Men's Golf team competed at its opening tournament of the spring season last week at the Amer Ari Invitational. Sophomore All-American Christiaan Maas recorded his collegiate-best 18-hole score relative to par with an 8-under 64 in Saturday's final round. The Longhorns will be back on the course when they travel to Las Vegas to compete in the Southern Highlands Collegiate on Feb. 25-27.

Have yourself a day, @christiaanmaas1 !!
Clean sheet with 8⃣ birdies 🤘

Collegiate-best 18-hole score relative to par of 8⃣-under 64 in today's final round. #TakeDeadAim pic.twitter.com/hfzYqePlMd
— Texas Men's Golf (@TexasMGolf) February 10, 2024

Hook 'Em Horns,

Chris Del Conte

P.S. – Today and everyday we celebrate these amazing women!

Today and everyday we celebrate these amazing women 🤘

Happy National Girls & Women in Sports Day 🫶#HookEm | #NGWSD pic.twitter.com/qhlxLcciNi
— Texas Longhorns (@TexasLonghorns) February 7, 2024

P.S. – Check these out!

The road (gray) to Omaha starts now. 😮‍💨🤘 pic.twitter.com/ouAc6Loxge
— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) February 12, 2024

P.S. – There's no talent like Longhorn talent!

There's no talent like Longhorn talent! @UTAustin is once again recognized by @StateDept for being one of the colleges and universities with the highest number of students selected for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program: https://t.co/7AvrBS6wjn #WhatStartsHere
— Jay Hartzell (@JCHartzell) February 14, 2024

P.S. - Julien Alfred is still lighting the track up and setting more world-leading times!

Julien Alfred runs sub-7 seconds for the fourth time in her career after winning the 60m-dash at the @MillroseGames today at 6.99 🤘

Previous sub-7 times:
6.94
6.96
6.97 #FloKnows x #HookEm pic.twitter.com/2o5sik8TRZ
— Texas T&F/XC (@TexasTFXC) February 11, 2024

P.S. – Building a NIL class to help UT students learn more about personal branding!

In 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that college athletes could earn money off their name, image and likeness. Prof. James Dalthorp saw it as a perfect opportunity for #TEXASMoody to build the #NIL class to help students learn more about personal branding.

https://t.co/PSqeOdWnux pic.twitter.com/sUQIJHUr75
— TEXAS Moody (@UTexasMoody) February 11, 2024

HEADLINES

Longi, Wilson collect weekly Big 12 honors for No. 2 Women's Swim

No. 9 Men's Swim & Dive collects weekly Big 12 awards

Eleven Longhorns invited to NFL Combine

Men's Basketball's Disu named Oscar Robertson Trophy National Player of the Week

Robertson set to join Kelly's Soccer coaching staff

Softball's Atwood named Big 12 and NFCA Player of the Week

Women's Basketball's Booker named to Naismith Trophy Player of the Year Midseason Team

Video: Women's Basketball's Booker appears on LHN's "Game Plan"

Video: No. 5 Women's Basketball media availability (Feb. 12)

Video: Men's Basketball highlights vs. West Virginia

Corbeau ties for seventh in 100m breaststroke at World Aquatics Championships