Texas clinches consecutive Director’s Cup Championships

For the second straight season Texas stands above other institutions as the model of excellence.

For the second consecutive year, The University of Texas has won the Director’s Cup. The Director’s Cup is awarded to the Athletic Department that performs best across all sports. Continue reading “Texas clinches consecutive Director’s Cup Championships”

WATCH: Matthew McConaughey speaks at Moody Center grand opening

The Moody Center is officially open for business.

The future home of Texas men’s and women’s basketball programs opened its doors to the city of Austin with a ribbon-cutting celebration on Tuesday.

The opening event featured many prominent speakers such as Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte, Texas chairman of the board of regents Kevin Eltife, woman’s basketball coach Vic Schaefer, men’s basketball coach Chris Beard and the Minister of Culture himself, Matthew McConaughey.

McConaughey stole the show with his burnt orange suit and strong charisma. He played a major role in the development of the Moody Center project and its funding.

John Mayer will have the honor of being the first to perform at the new arena on April 20 and 21.

Take a look at a few images from inside Moody Center and some of its exciting features from Monday’s media tour.

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LOOK: Sneak peeks from inside Texas’ new Moody Center

Early looks from the Moody Center are stunning.

The $375 million dollar Moody Center is just days away from its grand opening on April 20. The future home of Texas basketball holds upwards of 15,000 people and will be one of the top-end arenas in college basketball.

The University of Texas announced the project in 2018, partnering up with Oak View Group. The Moody Center is set to replace the historic, 45-year-old Frank Erwin Center.

It is located on campus right off highway I-35 near Darrell K Royal-Memorial Stadium and Mike A. Myers Stadium.

The Moody Center has already scheduled to host an exciting list of performers in 2022. John Mayer, Bon Jovi and Justin Bieber are among the notables coming to Austin in the near future.

Before the official ribbon cutting session takes place on Tuesday, the media got a first look at the completed Moody Center during a tour on Monday afternoon. Here are some of the cool new features fans can look forward to seeing:

Can Hudson Card still win the quarterback competition at Texas?

While Hudson Card continues to put up a good fight, we likely know how the story will end.

The Longhorns held their first spring scrimmage over the weekend.

Former five-star quarterback Quinn Ewers, the heralded signal-caller from Southlake Carroll, reportedly put on quite a show. Although it was closed to the public, several of his highlights were released by Texas via social media.

Everyone has had their eyes on Ewers since he arrived in Austin, and with good reason. Only one perfectly rated quarterback has come to the Forty Acres (Vince Young), and we know how that story ended. It only heightens the excitement surrounding Ewers becoming the second.

For Ewers to have only been in town for a few weeks and already look comfortable in the offense has to have Longhorns fans extremely giddy (I did not don a blonde wig for nothing folks).

However, in his media availability this week, second-year head coach Steve Sarkisian noted that both Ewers and returning quarterback Hudson Card completed 70% of their passes in the scrimmage. It appears that Card is not going away quietly, and that is what you want to hear.

But can Card still emerge victoriously?

All the evidence at this point says no. There were several factors against Card coming in. One, his pocket presence was shaky. Two, his deep ball accuracy (which is critical in Sarkisian’s offense) was not his strong suit. And third, he was not Sarkisian’s chosen quarterback, whereas Ewers is the guy that Sark is basically putting his career on the line for.

Card needed/needs to be head and shoulders above Ewers to win the job. The fact that he is either neck and neck or behind Ewers slightly suggests that this is Ewers’ team now.

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Is Texas QB Quinn Ewers separating from Hudson Card already?

This appears to be a fantastic quarterback battle.

With the exception of Vince Young, no other player, and certainly no other quarterback, has been as heralded coming to Texas as has Quinn Ewers.

With a golden arm and golden mullet to match, Ewers received a perfect rating according 247Sports, something Texas target Arch Manning also recently achieved. Steve Sarkisian has a thing for perfection, apparently.

However, no matter how talented a player is, there will always be a learning curve, especially at quarterback and offensive line. There is a reason that most players at these positions redshirt their first years. For quarterbacks, the systems are far more complex than when they were in high school, and for offensive linemen the game is much more physical.

So, it is no surprise that for the past several weeks Hudson Card has looked like the more solid quarterback of the two. Given that he is a very talented player himself and has now been in the system for two years, this should be the expectation.

However, there is evidence that the tide may be turning.

Several national media outlets have suggested that both quarterbacks are neck and neck, but a recent report from Horns247’s Hudson Standish had Ewers as the MVP of the scrimmage on Saturday, and that is significant. What will give Sarkisian the best information on players will likely come from the scrimmages, which are as close to a real game as you can make it.

If Ewers was the MVP this early on, then continues to build on it in the coming weeks, it is likely he will lead the Longhorns as the starting quarterback against ULM on Sept. 3.

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Texas Alumni: The Longhorns most famous graduates and attendees

Who are the most famous UT Alumni and how many can you name?

When it comes to the Texas Longhorns and the Burnt Orange, there have been plenty of high-profile athletes such as Cat Osterman, Vince Young, Ricky Williams, and Huston Street.

However, it isn’t only the athletes as far as the most notable alumni and attendees at UT. The list of famous graduates includes a pair of First Lady’s, actors, singers, and astronauts.

There might not be a bigger name when it comes to the Longhorns than the Minister of Culture, Matthew McConaughey. He can be seen at sporting events, on the set of College Gameday, and even in his film class on the Forty Acres.

We comprised a list of the 15 most famous attendees and graduates of the University of Texas.

Austin-based Tito’s Vodka invests $20 million to UT athletics

Tito’s Vodka is giving back to the University of Texas.

The famous Austin-based Vodka company, Tito’s, has pledged a $20 million leadership gift to University of Texas athletics.

The university issued a statement regarding what the money will help fund:

The impact of this $20 million investment reaches across multiple sports by assisting with the construction of new practice facilities for men’s and women’s basketball, rowing, and football. These new facilities will elevate the experience of UT student-athletes, providing them with world-class training environments necessary to achieve at the highest level. Tito’s investment also allows Texas Athletics to remain highly competitive in the recruitment of elite student-athletes, coaches, and staff.

The founder of Tito’s Vodka, Bert “Tito” Beveridge, is a University of Texas alumni. His donation will continue the massive facilities upgrades Texas has done since the arrival of Athletic Director Chris Del Conte in 2017.

Texas has upgraded its football stadium, added new baseball and softball indoor practice areas and it is in the process of finishing the Moody Center.

The athletic facilities at Texas are becoming some of the best in the country.

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The University of Texas launches LEVERAGE program to assist in NIL

The University of Texas announced that they have launched a program to assist with NIL. The LEVERAGE program will assist student athletes.

According to a press release from the University of Texas, they are launching a new program called ‘LEVERAGE.’ This program will focus on four key areas to help student athletes maximize their brand and platform. With the new NIL rules, student athletes will be able to earn income off of their own name, image and likeness.

LEVERAGE, which is part of the new the new 4EVER TEXAS program, is composed of four main areas of focus: Personal Branding & Brand Management, Business Formation & Entrepreneurship, Opportunity Management and Financial Literacy.

“When it comes to exposure, visibility, valuable connections and a broad and far-reaching network, Texas has all of that,” said Texas Football head coach Tom Herman. “With the NIL opportunities coming in the near future, the establishment of the LEVERAGE program is a personal development area where we will provide unmatched resources when it comes to building our players’ brands. The people they will meet, opportunities at their disposal and the resources our first-class Football and Athletics programs will provide are second to none, and this program is just another great reason to be a Texas Longhorn.”

This will help give the Longhorns the leg up on recruiting. In the ever evolving world of college athletics, one of the key issues revolves paying players their worth. For years it has been an ongoing argument about if and how student athletes should be allowed to receive financial compensation for their efforts.

According to the USA TODAY Sports database, no university generates more revenue than the University of Texas. In the 2018-2019 school calendar year, the Longhorns generated over $223 million worth of revenue. With the NIL, student athletes could tap into that brand.

The University of Texas launching LEVERAGE will not only help the university, but it helps the student athletes who want to build their brand. Athletes who want a huge platform and being able to earn their worth according to NIL rules.

The University of Texas reveals return to campus plans

The interim Univeristy of Texas President Jay Hartzell released the plans for a return to campus for the fall of 2020.

The return of sports at the collegiate level has been ever-changing conversation. The situation surround the pandemic or COVID-19 outbreak has been a fluid one. For the University of Texas it has been no different than anyone else.

Related: Positive cases among the football team

On Monday, the office of the University’s Presidents office release plans for the return to campus for athletes and students.

Every person in our community has unique circumstances and concerns to contend with during this difficult time. Our faculty and staff members have stepped up to adapt courses and develop an innovative range of formats for teaching and learning, including adding additional online courses in recent weeks, and their efforts will continue throughout the summer. For students and families, we want you to have the ability to make informed choices about how you experience the fall semester, while keeping in mind that COVID-19 and its spread in Texas will continue to shape the exact ways we teach, learn, work and conduct research on and off campus. We are also reimagining student life activities, to hold them either fully or partially online or in outdoor spaces.

  • The dates for the semester outlined in the release show that the fall semester will begin on August 26, 2020 and run through November 25th. Final exams will take place online from December 7-10th.
  • Students may choose whether to attend classes in person or online.
  • Classes will take place between 8 am and 8 pm with no classrooms to reach more than 40% capacity
  • Online, in-person and hybrid classes will be the three options available. Hybrid will have a mix of online and in person classes.

The release goes on to detail how cloth masks are mandatory on campus for in person classes or when out on the campus grounds. They are not mandatory when in the dorm. The school and Big 12 Conference are still putting together a plan for the athletic departments.

  • The university is developing policies and procedures for hosting football games and other athletics events this fall pursuant to state, local and Big 12 Conference health and safety guidelines. UT expects to narrow the scenarios under consideration by the first week of August.
  • We are also implementing policies and procedures to return essential coaches, athletics staff and all student-athletes to campus in the fall for practice/competition pursuant to guidance by the CDC, state and local officials and athletics and campus medical staff.
  • For more information, please read the Athletics COVID-19 Policies and Procedures Manuals. – per the release

You can read the full release from the University using the following link;

Reopening plans

 

Texas president Greg Fenves to leave for Emory

Texas president Greg Fenves will be leaving UT for Emory at the end of June. Fenves has been the school’s president for the past five years.

First reported by Horns247, University of Texas president Greg Fenves will be leaving the 40 acres at the end of June. Fenves has been at UT for 12 years and has been the president of the university for the past five.

Fenves has also accepted a new position at Emory University in Atlanta, where he will be their president. He is expected to take his new job on August 1.

Until then, Fenves’ goal is “completing the semester and getting our community back to normal before my presidency ends.”

From an athletics standpoint, Fenves was the president who hired current athletic director Chris Del Conte. The former TCU AD has seen success throughout all Olympic sports and started to turn the football program around with Tom Herman.

Texas will be naming an interim president later this week. According to 247Sports, McCombs School of Business dean Jay Hartzell is the leading candidate to take over as president.

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