Forty Acres Insider: April 5

Longhorn Nation,

Spring is in the air and Horns are held high as we stampede into April, my friends. So what better time for this month’s Forty Acres Insider? We’ve got pretty much all of our teams in the heat of their seasons, the Tower is once again lighting up to celebrate championships on the regular, and there are many more on the line in the weeks and months to come. The spring seasons is off and running with three of our sports currently sitting at Numero Uno, a total of eight programs among the top-10, and every team currently competing is ranked in the top-25. That coupled with all the success we’ve had already to this point, I’d say that that LEARFIELD Director’s three-peat is in our sights!

This week, we’ll be filled with Texas Fight once again, and as you bring that patented pride and passion to the stands, here’s hoping everyone has a fantastic, family-filled Easter Weekend, as well.

But before we look forward, let’s take a moment to relish and reflect on what a ride it was in March. I’ll start with that breathtaking March Madness run our Men’s Basketball team made to the Elite Eight and an oh-so-close trip to Houston for the Final Four. When I think about all that team went through and overcame to finish the year as Big 12 Tournament Champions, matching an all-time school-best No. 5 AP final ranking, an Elite Eight appearance and the third-most wins (29) in school history, I can’t help but beam from ear to ear. The Texas Fight they steadfastly displayed was extraordinary, the pride they brought to Longhorn Nation was phenomenal, and the leadership of Coach Terry and our staff was just incredible. Our players truly were rock-star representatives of our great University throughout the entire year and especially during March Madness. Everything about the season made us oh-so proud in every way possible. I saw how they responded to Coach Terry from day one way back in December, and that continued throughout the season. But as is traditionally the case, we waited until the end of the season to evaluate everything, and with the counsel and support of Chairman Eltife and President Hartzell, it was clear that RT was our guy! So, it was our honor last Tuesday to host the introductory press conference for Coach Terry, and if you haven’t had a chance to see that, you can watch it right here. It was truly a great day to be a Longhorn, and we are so excited to have Coach Terry — a Texas guy through and through — leading our Men’s Basketball program!

Women’s Basketball made some history this season and lit the tower as well, winning the Big 12 Championship for the first time in the regular season since 2003-04. Coach Schaefer was tabbed Big 12 Coach of the Year, while our point guard extraordinaire Rori Harmon’s sophomore campaign featured Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honors and All-America recognition once again. It was a team that overcame so many injuries and adversities all season long but dug deep to rally with 26 wins and a No. 15 final regular season ranking in the AP Poll. The NCAA Tourney didn’t turn out the way any of us had hoped, but the energy and enthusiasm around our program was on full display as y’all raised the roof for our postseason games right here at Moody Center. As a matter of fact, year one in our new home for Texas Basketball was a sight to behold with record-setting crowds, passion, pride and many a victory. We now have the best homecourt in college basketball, and we can’t thank you enough for all you do to make it one raucous environment. It’s just beginning, and we can’t wait to do it again next year!

Speaking of energy and enthusiasm, it was one electrifying weekend at Mike A. Myers Stadium for the 95th running of the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays presented by Truist. It was four sensational days, spectacular weather, and 51,481 fans packing the track, including a who’s-who of Longhorn greats. With the charged-up crowd as added motivation, there were record-setting performances aplenty for Coach Flo and our Longhorns, with the Women claiming the prestigious Most Outstanding Team award. Led by the co-Most Outstanding Female Performers – Rhasidat Adeleke and Julien Alfred – our Women were burnin’ up the track in setting collegiate records in the 4x100m (42.0), 4x200m (1:28.05) and sprint medley (3:36.10) relays. And for the Men, our multi-event superstar Leo Neugebauer claimed the meet’s Outstanding Male Performer honor after setting UT and Texas Relays records in the decathlon with 8,475 points, while Jeremiah Nubbe broke a 22-year-old program record in the hammer throw (228-6). Leo’s effort topped the 17-year-old record set by our Olympic silver medalist Trey Hardee (8,465) at the 2006 Texas Relays, and is the fifth-best collegiate decathlon score EVER! All totaled, our Horns set three collegiate records, five school records and claimed 11 Texas Relays individual or relay crowns. What a weekend it was indeed! As icing on the cake, I must say it was so cool to have Longhorn Legend, two-time Olympic gold medalist and world record holder Ryan Crouser in the house as our Honorary Referee! He’s a guy that epitomizes our school motto of “what starts here changes the world,” as he just achieves greatness in everything he does, and it was so awesome celebrating the greatest shot putter of all-time!!

Fresh off claiming Big 12 Championships and lighting the tower again, our Swimming & Diving programs both brought home hardware from the NCAA Championships in March. Coach Capitani and the Women finished as runners-up for the second year in a row, while a gutsy effort and surge to the finish from Coach Reese and the Men’s squad secured a third-place trophy. The back-to-back second-place finishes were the best in consecutive seasons for the Women since 1991-92. Individually, they featured multiple national champion swimmers for the first time since 2001 with freshman Lydia Jacoby winning the 100-yard breaststroke and junior Emma Sticklen touching in first in the 200-yard butterfly. On the Men’s side, Luke Hobson led the way winning NCAA titles in the 200 and 500-yard freestyles, as well as the opening leg on the winning 800-yard free relay (6:03.42) that set an American, NCAA meet and UT record to boot. And talk about all-around program success, our Longhorns were the only swimming & diving program in the nation to see both the men and women finish in the top-three of both team championships. That deserves and emphatic Hook ‘Em Horns!

Marching along and taking dead aim on titles continues as a theme in all of our sports as we surge into April. Coach O’Neill and our two-time defending National Championship Rowing squad got their spring season off to a fantastic start last weekend, sweeping all eight races, including four victories in grand finales at the San Diego Crew Classic. All of our Golf and Tennis programs are rollin’ right along as they close in on Big 12 titles and are national title contenders once again, Beach Volleyball took to the sand for our inaugural season, while Soccer and Volleyball are prepping for their upcoming seasons with spring season action. And as our Longhorns get ready for a spring match with Baylor tonight, I’d be remiss if I didn’t send a Texas-sized congratulations to Jerritt Elliott for his USA Volleyball Hall of Fame recognition. Well-deserved honor for a truly amazing coach and person!

No. 21 Baseball and top-10 Softball are off to tremendous seasons, once again. Y’all have been showing up and showing out all year at UFCU Disch-Falk Field and Red & Charline McCombs Field, and we can’t thank you enough for that wonderful support. Fresh off a victory over Air Force on Tuesday night, you can help Coach Pierce and Baseball as we look to extend our 15-game home winning streak in a series this Thursday-Saturday versus Kansas State. Meanwhile, Coach White and Softball are on the road at Iowa State this week but will look forward to improving on a 22-3 record at home and seeing y’all at McCombs Field next weekend for a series with Kansas.

Speaking of next weekend, we can’t wait to see Longhorn Nation back at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium next Saturday, April 15, for the annual Texas Football Orange-White Game presented by Texas One Fund! It’s part of what we dub ‘Made in Austin’ Weekend with a variety of fan experiences that celebrates what makes Austin so unique: live music, specialty food and beverage offerings, live art installations, and most importantly, the Texas Longhorns! Fan activities will ramp up on the Forty Acres at 9 a.m. with Football team autographs on Bevo Blvd. presented by H-E-B, Longhorn City Limits presented by Still Austin Whiskey, Smokey’s Midway, and Hook ‘Em Hangout all in full swing before we kick off at 1 p.m.

It’s gonna be a weekend full of Burnt Orange and White on the Forty Acres, as we welcome all of UT’s Family Weekend’s guests, and admission to all festivities is F-R-E-E! Visit the official Made in Austin Weekend page for updates as we get closer, including LCL artist announcements, as well as a full slate of action involving Softball, Men’s and Women’s Tennis, and Soccer.

The week of action ahead on The 40 and beyond

Wednesday

• Volleyball vs. Baylor (Gregory Gym/7:30 p.m. CT/LHN)

Thursday

• Baseball vs. Kansas State (UFCU Disch-Falk Field/6:30 p.m. CT/LHN)

• Softball at Iowa State (Ames/4 p.m. CT/ESPN+)

• Men’s Tennis at Texas Tech (Lubbock/5 p.m. CT)

Friday

• Baseball vs. Kansas State (UFCU Disch-Falk Field/6:30 p.m. CT/LHN)

• Women’s Golf at Big 12 Match Play (Scottsdale, Ariz.)

• Softball at Iowa State (Ames/4 p.m. CT/ESPN+)

Saturday

• Baseball vs. Kansas State (UFCU Disch-Falk Field/6:30 p.m. CT/LHN)

• Women’s Golf at Big 12 Match Play (Scottsdale, Ariz.)

• Softball at Iowa State (Ames/1 p.m. CT/ESPN+)

• Men’s Tennis at Baylor (Waco/6 p.m. CT)

Sunday

• Women’s Golf at Big 12 Match Play (Scottsdale, Ariz.)

And in closing, this story on a recent trip for some of our student-athletes to Washington, D.C. just warms my heart. The opportunities our folks with the 4EVER TEXAS program come up with to provide our student-athletes chances to learn, grow and connect with Texas Alumni here in Austin and around the country are just so awesome!

There’s so much going on, and we look forward to seeing all of you. Let’s have a great week, come on out to cheer on your Horns, and enjoy your Easter Holiday. Horns Up, and we’ll see you soon!

Hook ‘Em Horns,

Chris Del Conte