Forty Acres Insider: March 19

Chris Del Conte head shot

Longhorn Nation,

WE ARE IN, let the MARCH MADNESS begin! The college sports world is abuzz, it's NCAA Basketball Tourney time, and I know y'all are fired up that both our men's and women's programs made the field once again. What a joy it was at Sunday evening's hoops gatherings, taking in the scenes, the smiles, high fives, and Hook 'Ems as our squads watched the bracket unveiling to see how and where our road in the NCAA Championship Tourneys would begin. It started at our basketball practice facility where the men cheered for their selection as a No. 7 seed headed to Charlotte and followed with the Carpenter-Winkel Centennial Room erupting to the news our Horns earned a coveted No. 1 seed on the women's side. It was quite a night to launch another exciting week of Texas Athletics! In addition to the arrival of March Madness, the NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships are getting underway soon, Spring Football practices kicked off today, Beach Volleyball is making its home debut Wednesday, and there's Baseball, Softball and Tennis galore!

Texas two steppin' 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/DvLEPukZO0
— Texas Longhorns (@TexasLonghorns) March 18, 2024

We'll keep it going with NCAA Hoops, and first our top-seeded Longhorn women are tipping off their March Madness right here at Moody Center. On the heels of a thrilling stampede to the Big 12 Tourney Championship, Coach Schaefer and our No. 4-ranked Longhorns will begin their path in the NCAA Tourney as a No. 1 seed for the first time since 2004. Our first-round game is against 16th-seeded Drexel on Friday (2 p.m. CT/ESPNU), with the victor of that one facing that day's winner of No. 8 Alabama versus No. 9 Florida State (4:30 p.m. CT/ESPN2) in the round of 32 on Sunday. Stay tuned for all the details, and Longhorn Nation, mark those calendars, this is a must-see event, so let's get those tickets stat, pack Moody, and have grand ol' family reunion this weekend. WE NEED YOU (the best fans in the land!), can't wait to see you in your Burnt Orange best and cheering your hearts out as we bring the homecourt advantage and help our Horns survive and advance!

WE'RE DANCING AS A 1 SEED 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/MsYmVNxkig
— Texas Women's Basketball (@TexasWBB) March 18, 2024

Coach Terry and our men garnered a No. 7 seed and will head to Charlotte to face the winner of tonight's First Four contest between No. 10 seeds Virginia and Colorado State. Our game is set for Thursday and will tipoff at 5:50 p.m. CT (TNT). It's our fourth-straight NCAA Tourney appearance, our longest streak in a decade, and we all enjoyed the thrilling ride they took us on to the Elite Eight last year, so let's get ready to get our Horns Up and pull for another great run.

we're dancin' y'all 🤘#HookEm | #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/6Z85oC0dnu
— Texas Men's Basketball (@TexasMBB) March 17, 2024

A National Championship is on the line for our No. 3-ranked Women's Swimming and Diving team, as well, as they head to Athens, Ga., for the NCAA meet beginning on Wednesday! Coach Capitani led our squad to a runner-up finish at last year's NCAA Championships, our Horns have finished in the top-three in the team standings for the last three years, and we'll be right in the thick of the team race again. We've got a ton of individual titles in our sights with 19 qualifiers (15 swimmers/4 divers) and all five relay teams in action. It promises to be another exciting week in the water, so be sure to stay tuned to our swimmers and divers. If you can't be there in person, you can catch all the action and cheer on your Horns on ESPN+ Wednesday-Saturday. Let's Go Horns!

The Longhorns have 1️⃣9️⃣ qualifiers for the NCAA Championships! 🤘 #HookEm pic.twitter.com/Lv6b3s5YW8
— Texas Women's Swimming & Diving (@TexasWSD) March 15, 2024

No. 3 Softball has been en fuego from the opening pitch this season. We're fresh off a sweep of BYU at McCombs Field last week – a three up and three down victory march that due to weather got compressed into an expeditious 24 hours. Our Horns were relentless, scoring 30 (YES, 3-0, THIRTY!) runs in the three outings, and now takes a 24-3 record eastbound to the Sunshine State for a top-25 midweek road tilt at No. 16 Florida State on Wednesday (7 p.m. CT/ACC Network). They'll follow that by traveling further south to UCF for a Big 12 series Friday-Sunday.

had a series 🤘#HookEm | @TexasLonghorns pic.twitter.com/fFkLxymQwZ
— Texas Softball (@TexasSoftball) March 17, 2024

After a pair of tough losses to Washington last weekend at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, Baseball rallied Sunday to take the final game of the series, 4-3. The non-conference stretch continues as we'll look to bounce back with a a pair of midweek home games against Air Force tonight (6:30 p.m. CT/LHN) and tomorrow (4 p.m. CT/LHN). That's followed by a return to Big 12 action and a weekend series against Baylor right here at home.

IT'S TIME TO HIT THE BEACH, well, the sand at the Wright-Whitaker Sports Complex (4901 Guadalupe Street). Beach Volleyball is making it home debut on Wednesday! It's year two of our program — and the first under Stein Metzger — and we got things underway with a trip to Cali for the LBSU Tournament last weekend. We put on a great show for our upstart program, getting the Coach Metzger era underway by knocking off Nebraska for his first win at Texas. We also played highly competitive volleyball in three other matches, including a thrilling finale against No. 11 Arizona State that came up just short, 3-2. There's so much promise and excitement in this program, and now it's time to welcome them home for Wednesday's pair of first-ever home matches against Houston Christian (1:30 p.m. CT) and Washington (4 p.m. CT). Beach Volleyball is a ton of fun, ADMISSION IS FREE, and there will be activities galore around all the livelong day. Check out all the details, come on out, have a blast, and support your newest Longhorn program!

Can't wait to see y'all next week! 🤘

🔗 https://t.co/Lbsnd6Ocfl #HookEm pic.twitter.com/XQOuAWvPqW
— Texas Beach Volleyball (@TexasBeachVB) March 15, 2024

Fresh off a pair of road wins from both the Men's and Women's Tennis programs this past week, we'll have a spectacular weekend of top-ranked home tennis action at the Texas Tennis Center this weekend with doubleheader matches on Friday and Sunday! Our No. 7 Women look to take down No. 1 Oklahoma State on Friday (3:30 p.m. CT/LHN) followed by our No. 9 Men facing UCF (7 p.m. CT) on Friday. Sunday's doubleheader then begins with the women taking on Kansas State (11 a.m. CT/LHN) followed by the men's matchup with No. 2 TCU (4 p.m. CT/LHN).

A huge shoutout is in order for our guy Leo Neugebauer, who on Monday was tabbed the USTFCCCA National Indoor Field Athlete of the Year. Of course he was! My man Leo steamrolled the competition in the seven-event heptathlon at the NCAA Championships a couple of weeks ago — just like he did in the 10-event decathlon last spring. And he broke his own school heptathlon record in the process. Pretty much every time he steps on the track, he's breaking records and we're so lucky to have him in the Burnt Orange & White. Kudos, Hook 'Em, and a loud round of applause for a sensational athlete and champion with much more greatness on the horizon!

.@le0thegerman is that guy 🤘#FloKnows x #HookEm pic.twitter.com/Tue254LKcx
— Texas T&F/XC (@TexasTFXC) March 18, 2024

And before we get to all this week's notes, here's to another tournament and another title for our guy Scottie Scheffler, who on Sunday became the first player to ever win THE PLAYERS Championship in back-to-back years. It was a thrilling Sunday stampede, with his gem of an eagle shot from 92 yards out on the fourth hole paving the way to victory. Horns Up for Scottie and his eighth career PGA TOUR title! And double Horns Up as that now makes it an incredible 100 all-time TOUR wins for our Longhorns. You read that right – ONE HUNDRED PGA TOUR titles have gone to Texas Exes. All totaled, 17 different individuals have brought home the hardware in the 98 years of the TOUR. How 'bout that for the pride and winning tradition of The University of Texas?!

The first player ever to win @THEPLAYERS back-to-back! 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/OJ7gdaEOcL
— Texas Men's Golf (@TexasMGolf) March 17, 2024

Oh, and by the way, as large of a contingent of Longhorn NFL prospects as we've had in a long time will be doing their thing for coaches, scouts, and GMs at Wednesday's Pro Day. Stay tuned to TexasSports.com and all our social media platforms for the highlights of our guys chasing their NFL dreams! What an incredible time it is to be a Longhorn!!

Women's Basketball dancin' as No. 1 seed

Here. We. Go. Is there anything better than getting to experience March Madness right here in the ATX? Coach Schaefer and our ladies earned a No. 1 seed in the Big Dance, and we are honored to serve as a host site for the NCAA Tournament First and Second Rounds. Our Big 12 Tournament Champions open play against No. 16 seed Drexel on Friday (2 p.m. CT/ESPNU). With a win in the first round, we'll be back in the friendly confines of Moody Center on Sunday in the Round of 32 to face the winner of the Alabama-Florida State (tip time and TV to be announced). Longhorn Nation, I'm counting on you to pack The Mood with 10,000-plus fans in your Burnt Orange-best on BOTH Friday and Sunday to support this outstanding team! Let's get two wins and move on to the Sweet 16!

2 PM. FRIDAY. MOODY CENTER. 🤘

🎟️ https://t.co/s44V4QkCTg #HookEm pic.twitter.com/Zo5oxRWtBd
— Texas Women's Basketball (@TexasWBB) March 19, 2024

Men's Basketball opens NCAA Tournament action on Thursday in Charlotte

Well folks, it's that time of the year where it's all about Survivin' and Advancin'! RT and our guys have certainly persevered through the regular season, and their efforts were rewarded with a No. 7 seed in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament. This marks the fourth-straight trip to the Big Dance and the 38th all-time appearance in March Madness for the Men's Basketball program. Texas is one of just seven schools nationally to appear in at least 22 of the last 25 NCAA tourneys and one of just six schools to appear in at least 30 of the last 35 NCAA Tournaments. Now it's on to Charlotte for the NCAA First and Second Rounds! We won't find out our opponent until later tonight, when Virginia and Colorado State square off in the First Four. But we do know that we'll play the winner of that game on Thursday (5:50 p.m. CT/6:50 p.m. ET, TNT). Our group will be attempting to win a NCAA First-Round contest for the third consecutive season, which would mark the longest such streak for the Longhorns since we won at least one NCAA Tournament contest in four-straight years from 2006-09. If we can get that done, we'll advance and play the winner of Tennessee-Saint Peter's on Saturday (time and TV to be announced). So stay tuned to our social platforms for all the info and some great behind-the-scenes content, and let's get ready to make another deep run in the Dance!

the Horns are heading to Charlotte! 🤘#HookEm | #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/N01VYAEjNL
— Texas Men's Basketball (@TexasMBB) March 17, 2024

Baseball continues homestand at UFCU Disch-Falk Field

Baseball closed out a tough weekend with a 4-3 win against Washington on Sunday. Despite the weather, our dedicated fans showed up in great numbers on all three days to support the Longhorns. We've got five more opportunities this week to get out to UFCU Disch-Falk Field and root on our team. The Longhorns welcome Air Force back to Austin for games late tonight (6:30 p.m. CT/LHN) and Wednesday (4 p.m. CT/LHN). We'll then turn our attention back to Big 12 play with a three-game series against Baylor starting on Friday (6:30 p.m. CT/LHN).

Softball responds in dominating fashion

The pitching whisperer also known as Coach White was up to his old tricks last week as third-ranked Softball held the potent BYU offense to just one earned run and a .136 batting average as Texas earned a three-game sweep over the Cougars on Thursday and Friday. During the series, our ladies outscored BYU 30-3, highlighted by a pair of five-inning wins. And how about this nugget?! We currently own the nation's top offense, as we're the only team hitting .400-or-better at this point in the season. Next up is another top-25 matchup as we'll trek to the Sunshine State to take on No. 16/18 Florida State on Wednesday (7 p.m. CT/ACC Network). From there, we'll continue on to Orlando and a three-game Big 12 series at UCF with games on Friday (5 p.m. CT/6 p.m. ET, ESPN+), Saturday (1 p.m. CT/2 p.m. ET, ESPN+) and Sunday (11 a.m. CT/Noon ET, ESPN+).

288' 😳#HookEm | @rybrown2504 https://t.co/b1zGbqLFHK pic.twitter.com/ntvIFvvuVX
— Texas Softball (@TexasSoftball) March 15, 2024

Coast-to-coast Texas Tennis

It was coast-to-coast Texas Tennis across our great nation this past week as our men's and women's squads took to the road and then took to the courts while covering three different time zones in just four matches. For Coach Berque and the men, they closed out the non-conference part of the regular season with a pair of top-50 wins over two of the most iconic programs in the history of college tennis. First, they traveled east to Athens, Ga., and came away with a 4-3 win over our future conference foe No. 38 Georgia on Thursday, and then set out all the way to the opposite side of the country and swept No. 44 USC, 6-0, on Sunday. Talk about getting your miles in! Whoa! But they were victorious all the way around, just like Coach Joffe and our women were as they took their brooms with them for a pair of 4-0 sweeps in Big 12 play, starting out a little closer to home just down the road in Houston and then heading to one of our favorite tennis locales in the nation in sunny Orlando against UCF. You can't help but have flashbacks to our recent national titles every time you see a match played at the USTA National Campus. Such sweet memories! Back to the now, even without top-line player Sabina Zeynalova, our ladies have put together four-straight sweeps in conference action to the tune of a combined 22-0 score, and along with their opening win against Oklahoma, they're now 5-0 in the league! That sets up one of their biggest challenges of the season as No. 1 Oklahoma State will come to the Texas Tennis Center on Friday at 3:30 p.m. CT, and we need every one of your passionate voices there chanting Texas Fight! If by chance you just can't make it no matter how hard you try, the match will be live on Longhorn Network! As will Sunday's home match against Kansas State at 11 a.m. CT. And it gets better! Both of those days are doubleheaders with the men, who open Big 12 play by hosting No. 33 UCF at 7 p.m. CT on Friday, and then it's time for more top-10 tennis with No. 2 TCU coming to town at 4 p.m. CT, which I'm sounding like a broken record, but that will also be on Longhorn Network! Last year, y'all helped lift our guys to a Big 12 title against the Horned Frogs by setting an attendance record, and we need you to do it again! Obviously, the action between all of our sports will be overflowing on the 40 this weekend, but there's time to get to everything, and every minute of your schedule you can turn Burnt Orange will make a difference, so see you at the TTC!

Diving dominates at Zones ahead of NCAA Championships

Head Diving Coach Matt Scoggin and his crew put on a show in Houston last week at the NCAA Zone D Diving Championships, winning three of the six events as a whopping 10 Longhorns qualified for the NCAA Championship meet, including all six divers from the men's team! Texas swept the 1-meter springboard competition with Hailey Hernandez capturing the women's title and Nick Harris winning it for the men, while Jordan Skilken picked up the win in the women's platform competition! Our third-ranked Women's Swim & Dive squad is in Athens, Ga. for the national meet that kicks off tomorrow, while the No. 8 Men's team will travel to Indianapolis the following week. Let's go get some hardware at Nationals!

Huge week at Zones for Texas with 🔟 divers qualifying for the NCAA Championships! 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/Iq2oxCjjmh
— Texas Men's Swimming & Diving (@TexasMSD) March 14, 2024

More recognition for Track & Field's Leo Neugebauer

The accolades just keep rolling in for our guy Leo Neugebauer! After winning his second NCAA title at the Indoor Championships in the heptathlon, Neugebauer was named the USTFCCCA South Central Region Field Athlete of the Year. Earlier this week, Leo added USTFCCCA Indoor National Field Athlete of the Year recognition to his name, too. Neugebauer broke his own UT record and German National record en route to capturing his second NCAA title. His national honor marks just the fourth time in school history a Texas men's athlete has won the prestigious award, joining Longhorn Legends Ryan Crouser, Donovan Kilmartin and Trey Hardee.

Chris Plonsky to serve as Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays Honorary Referee

This year's Honorary Referee for the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays is none other than our very own chief of staff extraordinaire, Chris Plonsky. In her 36 years at Texas, CP has worn many hats (and very well I might add!), been a huge advocate of our student-athletes and coaches, and she is so worthy of this prestigious award. Her support of the Texas Relays goes all the way back to when she worked the event as our women's sports information director in the early 1980s. CP deserves the huge round of applause and Hook 'Em, Horns she'll get when she's recognized on Saturday, March 30 at Mike A. Myers Stadium. Her selfless efforts in support of Texas Athletics and The University of Texas are immense, she's just the absolute best, and I can't wait to raise my Horns for her when she receives this tremendous, well-deserved honor!

Longhorn Foundation members, it's time for Donor Appreciate Month!

We love our Longhorn Foundation members, and we are so grateful for all you do to help us strive for greatness in every facet of Texas Athletics! It's our pleasure to set aside a special each year to celebrate our Longhorn Foundation members by hosting a month-long period of unique benefits and events dedicated to recognizing you for your generosity. This year, Donor Appreciation Month will run from March 24 through April 24! The annual celebration kicks off with the Donor Appreciation Month Opening Day Tailgate on March 24, which will take place on the lawn between Texas Tennis Center, UFCU-Disch Falk Field and Red & Charline McCombs Field amid a full day of Texas home competitions. There will be free food and select non-alcoholic beverages, a bar for purchase, lawn games, face painters, TVs airing the softball game and March Madness, balloon artists, bounce houses, Bevo and other family-friendly fun and activities! Every Longhorn Foundation donor received an invitation to the event, so be sure to check your email inbox for the RSVP form to let us know you'll be there.

Hook 'Em Horns,

Chris Del Conte

P.S. — Thank You Shay, and gracias Longhorn Foundation Donors

BIG 12 CHAMPS‼️@TexasWBB took down Iowa State last night to secure their 12th Big 12 tournament title 🏆

LF Donors - Enjoy this message of gratitude from Shay Holle 🏀#HookEm 🤘 pic.twitter.com/0wAnsKLWtV
— Longhorn Foundation (@UTLF) March 13, 2024

P.S. — Rocky Mountain Longhorns!

Reunited 🤘 @Broncos https://t.co/WgVCtiZVsZ pic.twitter.com/AnYJjMmeCC
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) March 15, 2024

P.S. — All right rowers, we see y'all putting in that stadium work!

Us 🤝 @TexasFootball

Putting in work in DKR-TMS pic.twitter.com/PdFuUblAyn
— Texas Rowing (@TexasRowing) March 15, 2024

P.S. — What Starts Here, love this from our guy Jordan Spieth!

The best thing you'll watch today.

Thank you @JordanSpieth for making Cayden's day. 😊#THEPLAYERS pic.twitter.com/Szu1BjeYBR
— THE PLAYERS (@THEPLAYERS) March 15, 2024

P.S. — Lots to cheer for in the meantime, but always ready for our football!