Forty Acres Insider: January 21

Chris Del Conte head shot 2025

Longhorn Nation,

I must say, we couldn't do it without you — the loud, passionate, and proud, UNRIVALED LONGHORN FAITHFUL! What a joy it was seeing so many of you at our events last weekend — from the raucous, sellout crowds for a pair of Cotton Holdings Lone Star Showdowns at Moody Center to basking in sun-soaked, early season top-25 matches at the Texas Tennis Center. Y'all always cheer your hearts out, give your best Texas Fight, and bring it from The Eyes to The Eyes wherever and wherever our teams compete. Longhorn Nation truly is the absolute best, and we're here to remind you we appreciate you more than you know! With winter seasons stampeding ahead and spring sports getting underway, we're right back at it this week with more Basketball and Tennis — plus an exciting Friday and Saturday at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center for the Second Annual Eddie Reese Texas Showdown. Be there or be square, y'all!

experienced some true Moody Magic today 🤘✨#HookEm pic.twitter.com/Pe6NU5MfdD
— Texas Women's Basketball (@TexasWBB) January 19, 2026

And speaking of being there, it's that time of year again — so be sure y'all mark those calendars and make plans for the TEXAS ATHLETICS TOWN HALL on Wednesday, Feb. 4 (6 p.m. CT). The event will take place right here inside the Touchdown Club at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium, and for those who can't join us in person, it will be live streamed on the FREE LHN app. It's always a great night — a chance to gather (or tune in), hear updates, plans, and visions for the future, and for us to hear from you, our stakeholders. Stay tuned to TexasLonghorns.com and our social media platforms for the full details and join us for a night dedicated to you and your never-ending support!

hear straight from the boss himself 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/mKOBLqH6Gr
— Texas Longhorns (@TexasLonghorns) January 21, 2026

It was an emphatic rivalry rout on Sunday at Moody Center as Coach Schaefer and No. 4 Women's Basketball dominated Texas A&M, 80-35. With the Eyes of Texas upon them — and all of us celebrating as one — our Longhorn heroes RAISED THAT COTTON HOLDINGS LONE STAR TROPHY TRIUMPHANTLY to improve to 19-2 on the season. After a rugged stretch of three games in seven days — including road contests at No. 2 South Carolina and No. 12 LSU — our Horns will enjoy a well-earned one-week break from games before returning to the court at Arkansas on Sunday (3 p.m. CT/SEC Network). On the Men's side, following a rousing 80-64 win over top-10 and previously undefeated Vanderbilt last Wednesday — its second-straight top-15 victory — Coach Miller and the squad dropped a tough one Saturday against the Aggies. We know they'll bounce-back and they'll look to do that starting tonight at Rupp Arena against Kentucky tonight (6 p.m. CT/SEC Network), before returning to The Mood on Saturday to take on a top-25 Georgia team (Noon CT/SEC Network). Can't wait to see y'all there in your Burnt Orange & White best, bringing that awesome home-court advantage once again!

another perfect day in The Mood with y'all 🤘🫶#HookEm pic.twitter.com/NPE4GbbTBS
— Texas Women's Basketball (@TexasWBB) January 19, 2026

And while I've got you — how cool is it that WE'RE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL … AGAIN!? Well, not quite yet, folks — but with a nation's-best 13 Longhorns still alive heading into this weekend's AFC and NFC Championship Games, and at least one on EACH of the four remaining teams, we're guaranteed to have Longhorns on both sidelines of The Big Game. And yes — we're also assured that a Longhorn will be raising that Lombardi Trophy for the third-straight year in a few weeks! That makes it 20 times in the last 21 years that a former Horn will be part of the Super Bowl — this time SB LX (60) on Feb. 8 in Santa Clara — and it will be multiple players to boot. The Denver Broncos lead the way with six Longhorns, while the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks featuring three each, and Brandon Schooler continues to shine on special teams for the New England Patriots. In all, 10 of Longhorns are active with their teams (two on practice squad and one injured), the most of any college program. How about that for the pride and winning tradition of The University of Texas!? No matter what team you're pulling for, it's going to be a blast cheering on our guys as they chase a dream come true. What Starts Here, my friends! Best of luck, fellas!

With Divisional Round complete, 13 Longhorns have advanced to AFC & NFC Championship Games. Texas is represented on all 4 remaining teams, guaranteeing a Longhorn will reach the Super Bowl for 20th time in last 21 years — that included a UT all-time best 17-straight (2006-2022)🤘🏼 pic.twitter.com/rtjX3I7grp
— John Bianco (@UT_Bianco) January 19, 2026

And as we roll into the second half of January, it continues to be such an AWESOME TIME TO BE A LONGHORN. We've got more hoops action coming up, Tennis back on the courts, Track and Field in the midst of indoor season, the Baseball Alumni Game right around the corner (Saturday, Jan. 31/2 p.m. CT/live streamed on the FREE LHN app) — and this weekend we'll honor a true legend in every way with a big-time swimming and diving meet celebrating the legacy of Eddie Reese. Come on out y'all and support your Horns!

looking forward to it 🤘#HookEm | @seatgeek pic.twitter.com/QwuiA1Vew8
— Texas Longhorns (@TexasLonghorns) January 19, 2026

Longhorn Legend Eddie Reese earns Lifetime Achievement Award from CSCAA
Let's raise our Horns and send a huge congratulations to our Longhorn Legend Eddie Reese — the man I affectionately call Yoda for his incredible wisdom. The Collegiate Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) announced this week that Coach Reese will receive its prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award. As we all know so well, his accomplishments in 46 seasons at Texas are unprecedented, and his impact on the swimming and diving community — and the athletics world as a whole — is immeasurable. The records are endless but just consider this: 16-time National Coach of the Year, 15 NCAA Championships, 13 NCAA runner-up finishes, 36 NCAA top-three finishes, and an astounding 45-straight conference titles. I'd say that more than qualifies as a lifetime achievement. And when it comes to student-athlete development, Coach Reese's legacy is just as remarkable. He coached 76 NCAA individual champions, 55 NCAA championship relay teams, hundreds of conference individual winners, and 35 Olympians who combined to win 68 medals (44 gold, 16 silver, 8 bronze). A richly deserved honor for an incredible coach, an even better person, and quite possibly the greatest to ever do it — in any sport!

congrats coach 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/2QqdbJlXoL
— Texas Men's Swimming & Diving (@TexasMSD) January 20, 2026

Swimming & Diving hosts action-packed Eddie Reese Texas Showdown this Friday!
The Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center will be the place to be this Friday night as our Texas Swimming & Diving programs host the second annual Eddie Reese Texas Showdown. It's the premier meet of the season as our Horns welcome nationally-ranked Ohio State and Louisville featuring an all-finals format. Admission is FREE for all fans and doors will open at 5 p.m.

We've got fan activities galore including pre-meet autographs with Olympians and professional athletes including Léon Marchand, Luke Hobson, Carson Foster, Shaine Casas, Chris Guiliano, Jack Kelly, Summer McIntosh, Regan Smith, Simone Manuel, and Lindsay Looney. Come out and wish Bevo XV a "Happy Birthday" as the Big Guy will be setup at Santa Rita off San Jacinto Blvd. to get fans hyped up for the meet. In addition, the first 500 fans will get thundersticks and we'll have "Lappy Hour Pricing" on beer and wine during the meet. It's going to be an incredible event that you don't want to miss.

Hook 'Em Horns,

Chris Del Conte

P.S. — What Starts Here!

31,562 points and he's not done yet... 🐐#HookEm | #AlwaysCompete pic.twitter.com/AWPSPpsyZJ
— Texas Men's Basketball (@TexasMBB) January 19, 2026

P.S. — A couple of phenomenal Longhorns for Life right here!

just a couple of Longhorn Legends 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/axSYGehLhE
— Texas T&F/XC (@TexasTFXC) January 16, 2026

P.S. — It's great to have Coach Gideon back on the Forty!

Fired up to have @Coach_Gideon back on the Forty Acres🤘🏼https://t.co/cO0bml1FBi
— John Bianco (@UT_Bianco) January 16, 2026

P.S. — History Made for our Defending National Champs!

Highest preseason ranking in program history 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/0gGZWxsxsu
— Texas Softball (@TexasSoftball) January 20, 2026

P.S. — All for one and one for all! Thanks for coming out, Coach!!

thanks for coming out, coach 🤘#HookEm | @TexasVolleyball pic.twitter.com/ZVBpdjjY7K
— Texas Women's Basketball (@TexasWBB) January 18, 2026

P.S. — Hey there, great to see ya Shay!

glad to have our girl back in the building 🫶💍#HookEm pic.twitter.com/dMe6HcX2BH
— Texas Women's Basketball (@TexasWBB) January 18, 2026

P.S. — Our students always bring the heat, thanks for the support y'all!

Students lined up today for our game. So appreciate their love and support of our program. You make a big difference. Thank you!!!🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼#HookEm pic.twitter.com/tGf9NETq0A
— Vic Schaefer (@CoachVic_UT) January 18, 2026

P.S. — Thank You, Longhorn Nation!