The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Forty Acres Insider: December 16
12.16.2025 | Forty Acres Insider
Important news happening in and around Texas Athletics compiled by Vice President and Athletics Director Chris Del Conte
Longhorn Nation,
HERE'S TO THE HOLIDAY SEASON AND A PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR, my friends! We've had an exciting fall, winter seasons are now underway, and we've had a blast sharing it all with you — the best fans in the land. Now it's time to take a brief break for the holidays, and this will be our final Forty Acres Insider of 2025. Our teams will continue to train, prepare, and compete at the highest level, giving you plenty to cheer for alongside the eggnog, candy canes, and family fun and festivities. Be sure to catch some Longhorn Hoops and get ready to ring in the New Year after Coach Sark and our Horns take on Michigan in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl in Orlando on New Year's Eve (2 p.m. CT/ABC). It's truly a wonderful time to be a Longhorn and to deck the halls with that Burnt Orange and White! We have so much to be thankful for — let's get those Horns Up high and Hook 'Em!
see y'all again soon 👋🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/s2i7INbSss
— Texas Longhorns (@TexasLonghorns) December 7, 2025
First of all, y'all were incredible for our NCAA Volleyball Tournament matches at Gregory Gym last weekend. THE PLACE WAS ABSOLUTELY ROCKIN' and we can't thank you enough for pouring your heart, lungs, and Texas Fight into our team. It didn't end the way we'd hoped — and there's nothing tougher than the harsh, abrupt conclusion to an NCAA Tournament run. Only one team is still standing at the end, and unfortunately this year that's not us. But make no mistake, there is plenty to be proud of. I want to applaud Coach Elliott and our Longhorns on another outstanding season, including Friday's sweep of Indiana in the Sweet Sixteen. This group advanced to the SEC Tourney Final, posted a stellar 26-4 record, and reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament for the 18th time in the last 20 seasons — something no other program can claim. We were on the cusp of the Final Four before running into a Wisconsin team that played at an incredibly high level in an intense match on Sunday. Coach Elliott says all the time, the Final Four is our standard, and we were oh-so-close to getting back there again — which we've now done 11 times in the last 18 seasons, the most of any program in the nation during this time. We are beyond grateful for all the joy this team brought us this year. They are all amazing and talented women – a unified group that played for each other and the pride and winning tradition of The University of Texas. If you want to know what it means to be a Longhorn, check out this emotional take after Sunday's match from our amazing libero, Emma Halter. And the great news is we're not going anywhere. This team returns a ton of talent and adds a top-ranked recruiting class, so the future remains bright. With y'all bringing the heat behind us, we know we'll be right back in the thick of things next year. Thank you for your never-ending support night after night at The Greg. You make a huge difference, and you create the best volleyball environment in the country! Hook 'Em to that, ya'll!
GREG IS ABSOLUTELY ROCKIN' 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/FPsdqPpKqZ
— Texas Longhorns (@TexasLonghorns) December 15, 2025
Coach Schaefer and No. 2 Women's Basketball KEPT THE GOOD TIMES ROLLIN', traveling to Fort Worth and stampeding longtime rival Baylor on Sunday at Dickies Arena. On the heels of a 35-point victory over the Bears (89-54) — powered by a ferocious defensive effort that produced 19 steals and outstanding performances from Madison Booker (27 points) and Jordan Lee (19 points) — our Horns remain perfect at 12-0 on the season. Next up, the women launch a full slate of holiday hoops: hosting Northwestern State on Wednesday at Moody Center (8 p.m. CT/SEC Network), traveling to South Dakota State on Sunday (1 p.m. CT/CBS Sports Network), welcoming Southeastern Louisiana on Dec. 28 (1 p.m. CT/SEC Network), before opening SEC play at Missouri on New Year's Day (6:30 p.m. CT/SEC Network+). Meanwhile, Coach Miller and Men's Basketball put together a hard-fought showing on the road at No. 5 UConn on Friday, coming up short 71-63. Now it's back to the friendly confines of Moody Center as we host Le Moyne later tonight (7 p.m. CT/SEC Network+) and Maryland Eastern Shore on Monday (7 p.m. CT/SEC Network+), before breaking for the holidays. Between our men's and women's programs, that's a whole lot of HOOPS ACTION TO FILL YOUR HOLIDAYS — can't wait to see you at The Mood!
BYE BYE, BEARS 🤘🐻#HookEm pic.twitter.com/vDG4Xyhmvl
— Texas Women's Basketball (@TexasWBB) December 14, 2025
Before we get to the notes, I'm sure y'all saw it — our 2026 SEC FOOTBALL SCHEDULE was announced last Thursday. We already knew about the non-conference slate that includes Ohio State coming to Austin on September 12, and now we have all the dates for our SEC matchups. The schedule features four home games at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium (Florida, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and Arkansas), our traditional Red River Rivalry tilt with Oklahoma in Big D, and road trips to Tennessee, Missouri, LSU and — of course — the annual Cotton Holdings Lone Star Showdown in College Station the day after Thanksgiving. We've still got one more game to cheer for this year, but we can't wait to get back to DKR and get fired up for another season with y'all next year! You know we'll take things up a notch with the game day fun and festivities, and we'll be looking forward to coming up with all the new gadgets & toys during the offseason!
Our 2026 schedule is HERE 🤘 pic.twitter.com/NLVowMb2r3
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) December 12, 2025
Purchase your tickets TODAY for the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl!
We're looking forward to seeing Longhorn Nation in Orlando for our Cheez-It Citrus Bowl matchup versus Michigan on December 31. With its rich history and tradition that has been a New Year's Eve or New Year's Day tradition for 80 years (dating all the way back to 1947), the Citrus Bowl is a game we believe is the best of the bowls outside of the CFP. It will be our 63rd all-time bowl game — the second-most of any FBS program — and feature two of college football's top-five all-time winningest programs (meeting on the gridiron for just the third time EVER!). There's a lot on the line as Coach Sark and our Horns will be looking to post a third-straight 10-win season for the first time since 2007-09 and hopefully crack the top-10 for the third year in a row, too. Although tickets are sold out through Texas Athletics, you can purchase tickets directly through the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl here. As the designated home team, we will occupy the East sideline of Camping World Stadium. Help us turn Central Florida burnt orange and ring in the New Year in style!
Had a great time talking ball with @CoachSark and @BiffPoggi last night! pic.twitter.com/ZABxC2M4gG
— Cheez-It Citrus Bowl (@CitrusBowl) December 16, 2025
Taaffe Awards Tour
It was quite the week for our guy Mookie Taaffe, who started out heading to Arkansas for the Burlsworth Trophy dinner where he was honored as one of three finalists for the nation's top player who began his career as a walk-on. It was a great tribute that tells such a key part of his story from where he started to the heights he's reached in college football. Those heights from an individual standpoint culminated in New York City later in the week where he traveled to not only participate in a number of great activities for the Wuerffel Trophy, but oh by the way while he was there, he also appeared on the ESPN College Football Awards show where he was announced as the winner! No one could be more deserving of an award that exemplifies the combination of being an amazing football player, and more importantly, an amazing person, as it celebrates outstanding achievement on the field, in the community and in the classroom. That puts his name in the history books as a national award winner to be seen for all-time alongside our only other Wuerffel Trophy winner in the awesome Sam Acho! Not bad company to have your name permanently next to! Plus, after having already being selected as part of the AFCA Good Works Team earlier in the year, winning the Wuerffel means he has the distinction of being the captain of that team! Then Friday also marked the beginning of the week the All-America honors started rolling out, and after he officially became a two-time All-American with third-team recognition from The Associated Press, he took that leap we all know he deserves by being named to the first team of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) that was announced this morning! So although we'll miss not getting a chance to see him suit up in the Burnt Orange one more time in the bowl, what he's done on the Forty Acres and love he put into this university and this program will never be forgotten as he completed that full circle from walk-on to national award winner and first-team All-American! Congrats, my friend!
And then more congrats are in order for our other All-Americans to be announced so far – Colin Simmons and Anthony Hill – who have both picked up second-team accolades with Colin's from the Walter Camp Football Foundation and AFCA, while Anthony's are from the AFCA and The Associated Press! And that's with more to come!
Our 2025 Wuerffel Trophy winner 🤘 pic.twitter.com/4MFiAuHWYv
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) December 13, 2025
Women's Basketball continues impressive start!
How about that 12-0 start for Coach Schaefer and our No. 2 Women's Basketball team?! This team is so fun to watch, as they truly play at an elite level together on both ends of the floor. The ladies are averaging 93 points per game while shooting better than 52-percent from the floor, we are limiting our opponents to just 54 points per contest and holding them to just over 35-percent from the floor, and we're outrebounding our opponents by almost 10 boards per game. Our domination continued this past week, when Texas made a trip to the Rio Grande Valley on Wednesday night and came away with a 110-45 victory over UTRGV. Do-it-all superstar Madison Booker led the charge with her first collegiate triple-double, as she recorded 28 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds, while point guard extraordinaire Rori Harmon dished out 14 assists and topped the 800-assist mark in her career. The Longhorns continued the in-state road trip with a trip to Fort Worth and Dickies Arena for the inaugural espnW Invitational on Sunday, and they produced an 89-54 win against No. 13 Baylor. Booker again led the way with 27 points, while Jordan Lee added 19 points and Harmon posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists. Coach Schaefer and the ladies have a busy upcoming stretch over the holidays, and you can catch them in The Mood against Northwestern State on Wednesday (8 p.m. CT/SEC Network) before they head out to play at South Dakota State on Sunday (1 p.m. CT/CBS Sports Network). After a break for Christmas, the Horns are back in Moody Center to host Southeastern Louisiana on Sunday, Dec. 28 (1 p.m. CT/SEC Network) and then will open SEC action at Missouri on New Year's Day (6:30 p.m. CT/SEC Network+).
the 5th in Texas history to record a triple-double 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/QxvCpAQmtV
— Texas Women's Basketball (@TexasWBB) December 11, 2025
Hook 'Em Horns,
P.S. — Welcome to the family, Coach Juluke!
Welcome to the Forty, Jabbar Juluke 🤘 pic.twitter.com/Mkiw7T9woo
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) December 12, 2025
P.S. — We see ya, Coach!
our leader 🤘#HookEm | @ArnoldPalmerCup pic.twitter.com/PfKaIuW3um
— Texas Women's Golf (@TexasWGolf) December 12, 2025
P.S. — Your gonna love this!
lookin' fly for our latest video 👀#HookEm | @TexasLonghorns pic.twitter.com/2XbFUPDmUb
— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) December 11, 2025
P.S. — Kudos to our Elite Eight Longhorns!
makin' moves🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/UazIY21dUv
— Texas Volleyball (@TexasVolleyball) December 12, 2025
P.S. — Congrats to our guy Scottie Scheffler again (for the fourth-straight year)!
FOUR-PEAT COMPLETE 🏆🏆🏆🏆
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) December 15, 2025
Scottie Scheffler joins Tiger Woods as the only two players to win PGA TOUR Player of the Year for at least four consecutive seasons. pic.twitter.com/PoXQgmX7lS
HEADLINES:
Scottie Scheffler named 2025 PGA TOUR Player of the Year:
No. 1/2 Men's and Women's Diving conclude USA Winter Nationals event:
Women's Tennis signs international standout Anastasia Abbagnato:
Video: Vic Schaefer appears on Stephen A. Smith Show:
Video: No. 3 Volleyball NCAA press conference (Dec. 13):
No. 14/14/13 Football's Taaffe wins 2025 Allstate Wuerffel Trophy:
Women's Golf head coach Laura Ianello named co-head coach for Palmer Cup:
Video: Vic Schaefer media availability (Dec. 12):
Football names Jabbar Juluke as associate head coach (offense)/running backs coach:
Video: Longhorn Weekly with Sean Miller (Dec. 10):
Video: No. 3 Volleyball NCAA press conference (Dec. 11):
No. 14/14/13 Football's Jackson earns spot on 2025 SEC All-Freshman Team:
No. 14/14/13 Football's Moore honored as Campbell Trophy finalist:
Video: Sean Miller media availability (Dec. 10):
