The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Longhorn Legend James Means Jr. passes away
07.23.2026 | T-Association, Track & Field / Cross Country
Means was the first African American student-athlete to participate in athletics as well as earn a scholarship at The University of Texas.
A celebration of the life of Mr. James Horatio Means Jr. will be held on Monday, July 27, at King Tears Mortuary Chapel (1300 E. 12th Street; Austin, TX 78702). Visitation will be available beginning at 9:30 a.m., followed by funeral services at 11 a.m.
AUSTIN, Texas — The first African American student-athlete to participate in athletics as well as earn a scholarship at The University of Texas, James H. Means Jr. passed away last Saturday (July 18) at the age of 80. Means also was the first African American competitor in any sport in Southwest Conference history and was inducted into the Texas Athletics Hall of Honor in 2023.
"When you think about the pride and winning tradition of Texas Athletics, it's always centered around people who make a lasting impact," said Chris Del Conte, Vice President and Lois and Richard Folger Athletics Director at The University of Texas. "James Means Jr. was a true trailblazer who created opportunity for so many others. He is and forever will be a Longhorn Legend."
Born July 30, 1945, Means Jr. was an Austin native and graduate of Austin High School. He enrolled at The University of Texas in the fall of 1963 and began his collegiate career competing as a walk-on with the Longhorns' freshman track & field squad during the 1963-64 academic year (freshmen were not yet eligible for the varsity at that time), becoming the first African American student-athlete to participate in athletics at UT.
On February 29, 1964, in the Fort Worth Recreation Meet at Amon Carter Stadium, Means competed in the 100 and 220-yard dashes, as well as the first leg of the freshman 440-yard relay, establishing himself as the first-ever African American competitor in any sport in Southwest Conference history. He went on to run legs on the second-place 440 relay (41.3) and fourth-place mile relay (3:20.3), as well as finishing fifth in the 220 (22.4) at the SWC Freshman Meet later that year.
"James Means Jr. was one of the great pioneers in Texas Athletics and helped lay the foundation for the program we know today," said Texas Track & Field head coach Edrick Floréal. "His courage and determination broke barriers and opened doors for generations of Longhorn student-athletes. He will always be remembered as a trailblazer whose legacy extends far beyond the track."
Means took the 1965 season off before returning as UT's first African American student-athlete to earn a scholarship in the 1965-66 academic year. He would go on to earn a varsity letter in the spring of 1966, becoming Texas' first African American letterwinner. As a sophomore that year, he helped the Longhorns snap a four-year conference title drought, providing points as the lead leg on the fifth-place 440 relay that aided UT's efforts in edging Rice, 58-55, for the SWC Championship. He posted a season-best time of 9.8 in the 100 and career-best 22.2 in the 220, making the finals of the 100 at the prestigious Drake Relays.
As a junior in 1967, his 9.6-second 100 was tops on the team, while his 220 best that year (22.3) ranked second. A member of the Longhorns' 440 and 880-yard relays throughout his career, he ran the opening leg on the 440 relay that finished fifth at the 1967 SWC Championship.
The 5-10, 150-pound sprinter steadily improved his 100 time from 10.2-seconds to a blistering 9.5 in his final season of competition in 1968. His 9.5 clocking in the 100 finals at the 1968 SWC Championships was good for second place, where he was just edged at the tape by Jimmy Jasper of Baylor who also ran 9.5. His 100 dash runner-up finish in addition to running the opening leg on the fifth-place 440 relay provided key points in Texas winning its second SWC team title in three years that season. He won the 100 (9.7) and ran the opening leg on the victorious 440 relay at the Texas Triangular meet with Baylor and Texas Tech earlier in his senior year. Means Jr. was a 1968 graduate of the School of Business at The University of Texas.
Means' parents were impactful figures in the city of Austin and pioneers themselves. The Means family acquired and operated a prominent taxi company, Austin Cab (Harlem Cab), for decades with James Jr., his mother, and brother Ron managing daily operations.
Bertha Sadler Means, who passed away in 2021 at the age of 100, was well known for her work as a businesswoman, educator, and civil rights activist. She was a 1945 graduate of Tillotson College (now Huston-Tillotson University) and earned a master's degree in education (educational psychology) from UT. She held several positions with Austin Independent School District over the course of her career in both elementary and secondary education, and she was a pioneer in reading education. She taught for 10 years at Prairie View A&M College and at UT (spring and summers, 1972-73), as well as delivering workshops in teacher education at Huston Tillotson. The Bertha Sadler Means Young Women's Leadership Academy, formerly Pearce Middle School, was renamed in her honor in 2014, while The Bertha Sadler Means African American Resource Center at Huston-Tillotson was named in her honor in 2012.
His father, James H. Means Sr., who passed away in 2008 at the age of 98, was an educator, business leader and active part of the Austin community, as well. He spent many years as a distinguished professor of mathematics at what is now Huston-Tillotson. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Arkansas A&M (now Arkansas at Pine Bluff) in 1933 and earned a degree in mathematics from the University of Iowa in 1937. In 1958, he was awarded a doctorate of education in mathematics by Oklahoma State University. Before Samuel Huston College and Tillotson College merged, Means Sr., coached football, basketball, and track. He was elected president of the Gulf States Athletic Conference and vice president of the Big States Athletic Conference. In 1991, Means was inducted into Huston-Tillotson University's Hall of Fame. He became the first African-American precinct chairman in Travis County in 1946, chairing precinct 125. Huston-Tillotson's Alumni Association honored him for Outstanding Achievements in Mathematics in 1998. In the fall of 2006, the College of Education at Oklahoma State honored Means, Sr., with the Distinguished Alumnus Award as one of the first African Americans to earn a doctorate there.
Means Jr.'s wife, Carol Adams-Means, earned her master's and Ph.D. in journalism from UT and has a post-doctorate in business from the University of Florida. Before entering education, she worked in broadcasting. A retired educator, she began her teaching career in 1981 at Prairie View A&M in communication. In 2009, she was recruited by Huston-Tillotson as an associate professor to reestablish and coordinate their communication degree program. In 2023, she was selected as an honorary board member of the Austin History Center Association and works with various historic preservation projects.
Means Jr. is survived by his wife, Dr. Carol Adams-Means; his daughter, Alyssa Anne; and his son, James III.
