Texas Longhorns football under Mack Brown
Encyclopedia
William Mack Brown
(born August 27, 1951) is head coach
of the University of Texas
Longhorn
football
team. Through 2008 the Texas Longhorns football team under Mack Brown have had a winning season for all eleven seasons since Brown took over the program for the 1998 season. As of 2008, they have won at least ten games in each of the past eight seasons; that is the longest active streak in the nation.
Brown's Longhorns won the 2005 National Championship
and seven of their ten bowl games. In 2006 he was awarded the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award for "Coach of the Year".
Prior to coaching at Texas, Brown coached at Appalachian State
, Tulane
, and North Carolina
. Brown is credited with revitalizing the Texas and North Carolina football programs.
) by the Texas search committee as one of only two men they were interested in hiring. At the time, the Tar Heels had just completed their most successful season in years. The 1997 Tar Heels notched a 10–1 record—only the third 10-win regular season in school history. They were slated to appear in the Gator Bowl
for the second year in a row—only their second (or third) New Year's Day bowl game since the Justice era. They were also all but assured of their highest final ranking in the AP Poll in half a century.
On December 2, 1997, Brown was contacted while at the ACC's football banquet in Atlanta. He agreed to meet with the hiring committee, which included Dodds, Texas coaching legend Darrell Royal
, several former Texas players, and several important boosters, most notably Tom Hicks
(owner of the Dallas Stars
and Texas Rangers
), who donated time, energy and the use of his private jet corps to the coaching search that also included an exploratory meeting with Northwestern
's Gary Barnett
in Chicago
.
Brown met the committee on December 3 in the Four Seasons
hotel
in Atlanta.
The committee was impressed with Brown and Dodds offered him the job on the spot. The offer included a sizable pay raise to about $750,000 a year (which could climb to as high as $1 million with incentives), and a similar amount to recruit assistant coaches.
Brown tentatively accepted, but wanted to speak with North Carolina athletics director Dick Baddour and the North Carolina football team before making an official decision. The following day Brown met with Baddour, who had been told by the Chancellor to offer Brown a ten-year contract, as Brown relates in his autobiography:
Brown called Deloss Dodds to officially accept the head coaching position at the University of Texas on December 4, 1997 at 2:30 PM, then informed Dick Baddour of his decision fifteen minutes later. At 3:00 PM, Brown held a meeting with the Tar Heel players to inform them of his decision.
That Thursday night, Brown flew to Austin
. He was introduced to an enthusiastic Longhorn crowd on Friday.
As a consequence of taking the Texas post, Brown was not on the sidelines during the Tar Heel's 42–3 rout of Virginia Tech in the 1998 Gator Bowl, having been replaced as head coach by defensive coordinator Carl Torbush
. North Carolina credits the 1997 regular season to Brown and the Gator Bowl to Torbush.
or Cotton Bowl Classic. They felt that he should be playing for Big 12 titles or even National Championships instead.
In five of the first eight seasons under Brown, the Longhorns were all but eliminated from either of these two goals due to losses in October to Big 12 rival Oklahoma
. Since the two teams play in the same division of the Big 12, a loss by Texas to Oklahoma means that Texas cannot win the south half of the conference unless Oklahoma loses at least two conference games. Brown did however lead the University of Texas to its second Big 12 Conference Championship game only to lose to a higher ranked Nebraska team which they had beaten earlier in the year.He also took the Longhorns to the 2001 Big 12 title game. In that year's campaign, the Longhorns lost to the Sooners
but were given another chance when the Sooners lost to both Nebraska and Oklahoma State. Texas made it to the Big 12 Conference Championship Game, losing to Colorado
, a school they had beaten by a substantial margin earlier in the year. Many felt that Texas would have played in the BCS Championship game had they beaten Colorado. A similar opportunity presented itself in 2002. After Oklahoma beat Texas, they lost to Texas A&M
and Oklahoma State. However, Texas had suffered a loss to Texas Tech
so they did not make the championship game.
In 2003, Texas finished the regular season with a 10-2 regular season record and most observers felt they had the resume to reach their first BCS bowl under Brown. However, when South Champion (and #1 ranked) Oklahoma lost to North Champion Kansas State in the Big 12 championship game, Kansas State received the Big 12 conference's automatic BCS bid as conference champion and joined Oklahoma in the BCS. The BCS rules specified that no more than 2 teams from a single conference could go. Texas was frozen out.
Although Brown consistently led the Longhorns to a bowl game to cap off each season, his first six years he was not able to lead them to a Bowl Championship Series
game, having to settle each year for the Holiday Bowl
or Cotton Bowl Classic. His record in these games was 3 and 3, with two of the 3 losses coming at the hands of supposedly inferior teams as judged by the rankings headed into the games.
, setting several UT school records in the process. This was followed by a narrow 22-20 win against unranked Arkansas
. They defeated Rice
and Baylor
35-13 and 44-14 respectively.
This left them ranked fifth coming into the annual matchup with then #2 Oklahoma in the Red River Shootout. Oklahoma shut-out the Longhorns 12-0. Texas dropped to #9, before rebounding with wins over #24 Missouri
28-20, at #24 Texas Tech 51-21, and at Colorado 31-7.
Then Texas set a record for the largest come from-behind-win in school history, beating #19 Oklahoma State 56-35 after falling behind 7-35. After this performance, Texas again fell behind against Kansas
but squeaked out a win 27-23. Kansas head coach Mark Mangino
stirred up controversy by claiming that the officials were biased in favor of Texas.
The series of victories brought Texas back up to #5 in the rankings as they welcomed arch-rival Texas A&M to Austin and won 26-13. However, Oklahoma stood undefeated, which meant the Sooners would represent the Big 12 South in the Championship game against a much lower ranked team from the North Division. Once again, the loss to Oklahoma had kept Texas out of playing for a National or Conference Title, and had seemingly destined them to non-Bowl Championship Series bowl as well.
However, Brown began lobbying the voters in the two polls based on human voters (one on college football coaches, the other on Associated Press
writers) to place the Longhorns high enough in the rankings to ensure they received a Bowl Championship Series
(BCS) bowl-bid. The arcane rules of the BCS were such that Texas might get left out of the 8 chosen teams even though they ranked 5th nationally. Lobbying by Brown and his brother, et al., gave the Longhorns the sufficient swing votes they needed to make it into the Rose Bowl
, one of the four BCS bowls. This lobbying effort and ensuing result led to criticism of Brown for playing politics to get his team into a top bowl.
The appearance in the "Grand-daddy" of all bowl games was the first visit by the Longhorns, due mainly to the fact that the Rose Bowl traditionally pitted the winner of the Pac 10 against the winner of the Big Ten
. Texas' opponent was Michigan
, whom Texas was playing for the very first time. Texas won the game 38-37 on a last second field goal kick by Longhorn Dusty Mangum
in what had been called one of the greatest Rose Bowl games of all time.
Ironically, Brown followed up a strong 2004 season on the field with a less successful 2005 recruiting season. Brown, who long had been criticized for recruiting top talent but not achieving the highest possible results, began to receive criticism for missing out on top recruits, especially for missing out on quarterback Ryan Perrilloux
, who ended up not following through on his verbal commitment to sign with Texas.
Despite the success of the 2004 season, Coach Brown's resume was still lacking a conference championship, let alone a national championship. The 2005 season offered an opportunity to add those credentials.
, many of Texas' key players from the previous season, including running back Cedric Benson
, linebacker Derrick Johnson
and tight end Bo Scaife
, did not return for the 2005 season. However, Texas was given a pre-season #2 ranking (behind defending National Champions University of Southern California
) by Sports Illustrated
magazine, and was also ranked second in the AP
and USA Today
coaches pre-season polls.
Texas scored a decisive 45-12 victory over Oklahoma. That marked the 6th time the Longhorns have entered the contest ranked 2nd nationally, and they have won all six times. With the win, Texas started the season 5-0 for the first time since 1983. That was the last time UT had national title hopes, ending the regular season 11-0 before losing to Georgia in the Cotton Bowl Classic.
After the win over previously undefeated Texas Tech, Texas moved into first place in the Bowl Championship Series
(BCS) standings for the first time since the BCS creation. The BCS formula, which takes into account strength of schedule, allowed Texas to advance in the rankings since they defeated a previously unbeaten team, while University of Southern California
beat Washington, a 1-6 team.
Texas' place at the top of the BCS rankings lasted only one week. On October 29, Texas beat an Oklahoma State University Cowboys team that had struggled so far that season. Despite OSU's 0-5 start to conference play, Texas found themselves behind early in the game and for the third straight year, Texas found themselves trailing a lower-ranked Oklahoma State team at half-time. For the third straight year, Texas came from behind to win by a sizable margin. Vince Young
set a school record for rushing yards in a game by a quarterback with 267, and accounted for 506 total yards of offense to lead the team to victory. Over the past 3 meetings between the two schools, the Longhorns outscored the Cowboys by a combined second-half score of 118 to 0.
Texas retained the top spot in the computer rankings, but not by enough to stay ahead of USC overall. After both teams won all their remaining games, USC and Texas were ranked 1 and 2, respectively; Texas then defeated USC 41-38 in the Rose Bowl
, winning the National Championship.
Perhaps, it is the "LIVE THE DREAM 2006" campaign that excites the Longhorn community throughout Austin, Texas that sums up Coach Mack Brown's post Rose Bowl words to the BCS National Champions:
When Brown was introduced as the new head football coach at University of Texas at Austin, it was said to begin "The Brown Era" at The Burnt Orange University. On January 11, 2006 the Brown Era became legend as Coach Mack Brown was named the Paul "Bear" Bryant College Football Coach of the Year. Not since Darrell Royal's victory in 1963 has a coach from The University of Texas at Austin been given this honor. Voted by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, this award not only affirms the talent, skills and vision of Coach Mack Brown but strengthens the athletic and academic record achieved during his UT tenure. Eighteen players on the 2006 Rose Bowl roster entered the game with the coursework for their college degree complete.
As the defending national champions, Texas began the season ranked #2 in the polls, but having to replace the NFL-departed quarterback Vince Young with freshman Colt McCoy. After winning their opener, the Longhorns in game two lost convincingly to #1 ranked Ohio State in Austin. The Horns rebounded to win seven straight (including a second straight win over nemesis Oklahoma) to climb into the Big 12 South driver's seat and entertain thoughts of a rematch with Ohio State in the national championship. However, in the season's 10th game, McCoy was injured and Texas was shocked on the road by Kansas State. After the loss, the Horns returned home still needing just one win to clinch the Big 12 South. However, even though McCoy returned Texas was again shocked, losing 12-7 to intrastate rival Texas A&M. The loss snapped UT's 6 game winning streak over the Aggies. Settling for the Alamo Bowl, Texas defeated a 6–6 Iowa team in a close game.
As Mack Brown entered his 10th season as the head coach of the Texas Longhorns he had a won/loss record of 93 22 and he had the best winning percentage (.809) of any coach in Longhorn history. The 2007 Texas Longhorn football team
began play on September 1, 2007. Texas entered the 2007 season ranked third in the all-time list of both total wins and winning percentage. They are ranked in the Top 10 by numerous pre-season polls. For instance, a pre-season ranking by ESPN
writer Mark Schlabach
has the Longhorns ranked eighth; Rivals.com has them at ninth. College Football News
and Real Football 365 both have the Longhorns ranked third. The Longhorns come into the season ranked fourth in both the Coaches Poll
and AP Poll
.
Prior to the season, two Longhorns were arrested for driving while intoxicated and will serve three-game suspensions; two other players were arrested on armed robbery charges and were removed from the team. Brown said “I am extremely disappointed that four of our student-athletes have had issues with the law this summer. That is not reflective of the high standard of class, character and integrity we have established at Texas for many years. It’s a shame that these recent events have generated a great deal of negative attention, because I do think that overall, this is as good of a group of kids that I’ve ever coached. I think that will show over time.”
For the second straight year, UT merchandise were the top-selling products among clients of Collegiate Licensing Company
. UT is using part of the money to give Mack Brown a raise. The University of Texas Board of Regents
voted unanimously to raise Brown's salary by $300,000. This brings his annual compensation to $2.81 million and keeps him among the five highest paid coaches in the sport. The package also includes up to $3 million dollars in bonuses, including "$100,000 if he wins the Big 12 Championship and $450,000 if he wins this year's national championship, as well as bonuses based on the percent of players who graduate." Brown's contract is good through the 2016 season and includes buy-out clauses should another school attempt to hire Brown.
Texas won their first four games although three of them were closer than analysts had expected. Following that, Texas was upset
by the Kansas State Wildcats 41–21. Kansas State had no turnovers and scored 21 points on defense and special teams. They scored one touchdown on a punt return, one on a kick return, and one on an interception. Previously, Texas had never allowed all three types of scores in a single season. The 41 points were the most scored against Texas in Austin since UCLA handed the Longhorns a 66–3 loss in 1997, and it was the worst home defeat in the Mack Brown era at Texas. Texas lost again the following week in the 2007 Red River Shootout, 28–21. With that loss, Texas opened conference play 0–2 for the first time since 1956, when they were in the Southwest Conference and one year before Darrell Royal
became head coach of the Longhorns. In their ninth regular season game, Texas outscored Nebraska
28-25, marking Brown's 100th win at Texas. In their next two games, the Longhorns would defeat Oklahoma State
and Texas Tech
, but in their final matchup against archrival Texas A&M
, the Longhorns lost 30–38. This marked the Longhorns' second straight loss to the Aggies. Despite the loss, Texas went to the Holiday Bowl
to defeat 11th-ranked Arizona State
52–34. The Longhorns finished the season 10–3, marking their seventh consecutive 10-win season. This streak became the third highest in FBS history, trailing Florida State
's 14 from 1987–00 and Miami
's 8 from 1985–92.
entered the season ranked 10th in the USA Today Coaches Poll
. They won their first four games to rise to number 5 in the national rankings. Texas began Big 12 Conference
play on October 4, 2008 with a trip to Boulder, Colorado
and a win over the Colorado Buffaloes
. On October 11, 2008 they defeated the number-one ranked Oklahoma Sooners
in the 103rd Red River Shootout
. It was the third UT win in four seasons, and the first time in Brown's tenure for either team to upset the other in the Red River Shootout.
Following the victory over OU, the Longhorns vaulted up the standings to first place in the AP, ESPN/USA Today, and Harris Polls. In their next game they secured a win over #11 Missouri in Austin, setting a new school, state, and conference attendance record in the process. It was the first time since 1977 for the Longhorns to play a home football game as the #1 team in the AP. They were ranked #1 in the first BCS standings of 2008. Texas defending the first place ranking by beating another top-ten team, the Oklahoma State Cowboys. They lost to Texas Tech in the final second of the game and fell to #4 in the BCS rankings.
The Longhorns entered 2008 as the third most victorious program in college football history, in terms of both total wins and win percentage. Only Notre Dame
and the University of Michigan
had won more games and a greater percentage of games played than Texas, On November 8, 2008, Texas' 45–21 victory over Baylor was the 829th win for the UT football program, which tied Notre Dame for 2nd in the list of total wins. Notre Dame lost later the same day, leaving the two teams tied. Texas pulled ahead of Notre Dame at the end of the regular season, to take sole possession of #2 on the list.
Texas won a road game against Kansas 35–7; ensuring their eighth consecutive season with ten or more wins per season. That is the longest active streak in the nation and it ties them with Miami (1985–92) for the second-longest streak of all-time.
Texas finished the 2008 regular season with a win over Texas A&M, the Longhorns longest running-rivalry oppoenent. The biggest margin of victory in the history of the series occurred when Texas beat A&M 48–0 in 1898. Texas nearly equaled that record this year by producing a 49–9 victory, the second-largest margin of victory for this rivalry series. It was also the 200th career win for Mack Brown, and it set a new attendance record for UT, the State of Texas, the Big 12 Conference, and the southwest region. This left Texas in a three-way tie (with Oklahoma and Texas Tech) for the Big 12 South championship, which created a controversy over BCS rankings and conference tie-breaking procedures.
Texas defeated Ohio State 24-21 in the 2009 Fiesta Bowl
to finish the season 12-1.
would eventually succeed Mack Brown as head football coach. They agreed in principle to increase Muschamp’s salary to $900,000. There was no timetable set for Brown’s departure, and both Brown and UT said they expected Brown to stay a long time. Following the Longhorns' 5-7 season in 2010, Muschamp accepted the head coaching position at the University of Florida and it is currently unknown if the school is willing to designate a new "head coach in waiting."
1998-2010 standings: Big 12 South
2011-present standings: Big 12 Conference
"We appreciate the contributions of the athletic staff and, especially, the student-athletes, to the community of the University of Texas at Austin. However, at a time when students are facing a deteriorating academic environment in the form of declining class offerings and increasing class sizes, and lecturers, teaching assistants, and staff are facing job terminations, we believe a permanent raise of $2 million (a sum greater than the entire career earnings of a typical university employee) offered to any member of the university community is unseemly and inappropriate."
In Austin, the Browns continue to be active in community affairs, serving as honorary co-chairpersons of the Capital Campaign for the Helping Hands of Austin. The Brown's have been instrumental in the opening of The Rise School of Austin (an early childhood education program that integrates children who have disabilities with their typically developing peers) and serve on the schools Board of Directors. They lent their name along with legendary UT QB James Street to the First Annual James Street/Mack Brown Golf Tournament benefiting The Rise School.
The Browns' have endorsed [a] new Texas license plate, which is designed to raise public awareness for child abuse
and neglect
and the need for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) volunteers. After the Aggie Bonfire
tragedy at Texas A&M
in 1999, the couple initiated a blood drive on the UT campus that attracted more than 250 blood donors."
In October 2006, Mack Brown made a cameo appearance in the television pilot for Friday Night Lights
. Early in the show, a resident is heard to say "Who does he think he is? He ain't no Mack Brown." Later in the pilot, the real Mack Brown plays the role of a local football booster quizzing high-school coach Eric Taylor on his pre-game preparation.
Mack Brown
William Mack Brown is head coach of The University of Texas at Austin Longhorn football team.Prior to his head coach position at Texas, Brown was head coach at Appalachian State, Tulane, and North Carolina. Brown is credited with revitalizing the Texas and North Carolina football programs...
(born August 27, 1951) is head coach
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
of the University of Texas
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
Longhorn
Texas Longhorn Athletics
Texas Longhorns athletics programs include the extramural and intramural sports teams of The University of Texas at Austin. These teams are referred to as the Texas Longhorns , taking their name from the Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and are now the...
football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
team. Through 2008 the Texas Longhorns football team under Mack Brown have had a winning season for all eleven seasons since Brown took over the program for the 1998 season. As of 2008, they have won at least ten games in each of the past eight seasons; that is the longest active streak in the nation.
Brown's Longhorns won the 2005 National Championship
2005 Texas Longhorn football team
The 2005 Texas Longhorn football team represented the University of Texas at Austin during the 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season, winning the Big 12 Conference championship and the national championship. The team was coached by Mack Brown, led on offense by quarterback Vince Young, and played...
and seven of their ten bowl games. In 2006 he was awarded the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award for "Coach of the Year".
Prior to coaching at Texas, Brown coached at Appalachian State
Appalachian State University
Appalachian State University is a comprehensive , public, coeducational university located in Boone, North Carolina, United States. Appalachian State, also referred to as Appalachian, App State, or simply App, is the sixth largest institution in the University of North Carolina system...
, Tulane
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
, and North Carolina
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
. Brown is credited with revitalizing the Texas and North Carolina football programs.
Brown's move to Texas
While Brown informed his North Carolina team and the media that he had no plans to leave North Carolina for the recently-vacated job at the University of Texas, he was soon identified (over the objections of Longhorn Athletic Director DeLoss DoddsDeLoss Dodds
DeLoss Dodds is the current men's athletic director of The University of Texas at Austin. During his tenure beginning in the fall of 1981, Texas has claimed 13 National Championships and 103 conference titles through September 29, 2011....
) by the Texas search committee as one of only two men they were interested in hiring. At the time, the Tar Heels had just completed their most successful season in years. The 1997 Tar Heels notched a 10–1 record—only the third 10-win regular season in school history. They were slated to appear in the Gator Bowl
Gator Bowl
The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. Held continuously since 1946, it is the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised nationally...
for the second year in a row—only their second (or third) New Year's Day bowl game since the Justice era. They were also all but assured of their highest final ranking in the AP Poll in half a century.
On December 2, 1997, Brown was contacted while at the ACC's football banquet in Atlanta. He agreed to meet with the hiring committee, which included Dodds, Texas coaching legend Darrell Royal
Darrell Royal
Darrell K Royal is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Mississippi State University , the University of Washington , and the University of Texas at Austin , compiling a career college football record of 184–60–5...
, several former Texas players, and several important boosters, most notably Tom Hicks
Tom Hicks
Thomas Ollis Hicks, Sr. , is an American 'leveraged buyout' businessman living in Dallas, Texas. Despite Forbes Magazine estimating Hicks' wealth at USD 1 billion in 2009, Hicks was unable to pay off joint loans of circa £200 million the following year...
(owner of the Dallas Stars
Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The team was founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minnesota North Stars, based in Bloomington, Minnesota. The...
and Texas Rangers
Texas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...
), who donated time, energy and the use of his private jet corps to the coaching search that also included an exploratory meeting with Northwestern
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
's Gary Barnett
Gary Barnett
Gary Barnett is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Fort Lewis College , Northwestern University , and the University of Colorado at Boulder , compiling a career college football record of 92–94–2...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
.
Brown met the committee on December 3 in the Four Seasons
Four Seasons Hotels
Four Seasons Hotels, Inc. is a Canadian-based international ultra-luxury, five-star hotel management company. Travel + Leisure magazine and Zagat Survey rank the hotel chain's 84 properties among the top luxury hotels worldwide...
hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
in Atlanta.
The committee was impressed with Brown and Dodds offered him the job on the spot. The offer included a sizable pay raise to about $750,000 a year (which could climb to as high as $1 million with incentives), and a similar amount to recruit assistant coaches.
Brown tentatively accepted, but wanted to speak with North Carolina athletics director Dick Baddour and the North Carolina football team before making an official decision. The following day Brown met with Baddour, who had been told by the Chancellor to offer Brown a ten-year contract, as Brown relates in his autobiography:
- [Baddour] came over to our house... The university offered me [a salary equal to the basketball head coach's], but Baddour made it clear that it would create a real hardship on the department if I took it. He also said, "If you want football to be equal to basketball, you should go to Texas." ... [Baddour] told us the chancellor had said to offer a ten-year contract.... He did add that he didn't feel the Board of Trustees would approve the long-term deal.
Brown called Deloss Dodds to officially accept the head coaching position at the University of Texas on December 4, 1997 at 2:30 PM, then informed Dick Baddour of his decision fifteen minutes later. At 3:00 PM, Brown held a meeting with the Tar Heel players to inform them of his decision.
That Thursday night, Brown flew to Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
. He was introduced to an enthusiastic Longhorn crowd on Friday.
As a consequence of taking the Texas post, Brown was not on the sidelines during the Tar Heel's 42–3 rout of Virginia Tech in the 1998 Gator Bowl, having been replaced as head coach by defensive coordinator Carl Torbush
Carl Torbush
Carl William Torbush Jr. was the college football Defensive Coordinator for the Kansas Jayhawks in Lawrence, KS...
. North Carolina credits the 1997 regular season to Brown and the Gator Bowl to Torbush.
Early seasons
In his early years at UT, Mack Brown was sometimes referred to as "Coach February", a nickname that indicated he performed well during the important recruiting season, but failed to follow up with equally impressive wins on the field. His detractors felt that with all the resources at his disposal at Texas, combined with the talent he was recruiting from high school programs, that he should have more to show for it than appearances in the Holiday BowlHoliday Bowl
The Holiday Bowl is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I-A college football bowl game that has been played annually at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California, since 1978. Beginning with the 2010 playing the bowl will officially be known as the Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl after...
or Cotton Bowl Classic. They felt that he should be playing for Big 12 titles or even National Championships instead.
In five of the first eight seasons under Brown, the Longhorns were all but eliminated from either of these two goals due to losses in October to Big 12 rival Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
. Since the two teams play in the same division of the Big 12, a loss by Texas to Oklahoma means that Texas cannot win the south half of the conference unless Oklahoma loses at least two conference games. Brown did however lead the University of Texas to its second Big 12 Conference Championship game only to lose to a higher ranked Nebraska team which they had beaten earlier in the year.He also took the Longhorns to the 2001 Big 12 title game. In that year's campaign, the Longhorns lost to the Sooners
Sooners
Sooners is the name given to settlers in the midwest of the United States who entered the Unassigned Lands in what is now the state of Oklahoma before President Grover Cleveland officially proclaimed them open to settlement on March 2, 1889 with the Indian Appropriations Act of 1889...
but were given another chance when the Sooners lost to both Nebraska and Oklahoma State. Texas made it to the Big 12 Conference Championship Game, losing to Colorado
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
, a school they had beaten by a substantial margin earlier in the year. Many felt that Texas would have played in the BCS Championship game had they beaten Colorado. A similar opportunity presented itself in 2002. After Oklahoma beat Texas, they lost to Texas A&M
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...
and Oklahoma State. However, Texas had suffered a loss to Texas Tech
Texas Tech University
Texas Tech University, often referred to as Texas Tech or TTU, is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and originally known as Texas Technological College, it is the leading institution of the Texas Tech University System and has the...
so they did not make the championship game.
In 2003, Texas finished the regular season with a 10-2 regular season record and most observers felt they had the resume to reach their first BCS bowl under Brown. However, when South Champion (and #1 ranked) Oklahoma lost to North Champion Kansas State in the Big 12 championship game, Kansas State received the Big 12 conference's automatic BCS bid as conference champion and joined Oklahoma in the BCS. The BCS rules specified that no more than 2 teams from a single conference could go. Texas was frozen out.
Although Brown consistently led the Longhorns to a bowl game to cap off each season, his first six years he was not able to lead them to a Bowl Championship Series
Bowl Championship Series
The Bowl Championship Series is a selection system that creates five bowl match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , including an opportunity for the top two to compete in the BCS National Championship Game.The BCS relies on a combination of...
game, having to settle each year for the Holiday Bowl
Holiday Bowl
The Holiday Bowl is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I-A college football bowl game that has been played annually at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California, since 1978. Beginning with the 2010 playing the bowl will officially be known as the Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl after...
or Cotton Bowl Classic. His record in these games was 3 and 3, with two of the 3 losses coming at the hands of supposedly inferior teams as judged by the rankings headed into the games.
2004 season
In 2004, the Longhorns began the season with a #7 ranking nationally and started out with a 65-0 blowout of North TexasUniversity of North Texas
The University of North Texas is a public institution of higher education and research in Denton. Founded in 1890, UNT is part of the University of North Texas System. As of the fall of 2010, the University of North Texas, Denton campus, had a certified enrollment of 36,067...
, setting several UT school records in the process. This was followed by a narrow 22-20 win against unranked Arkansas
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...
. They defeated Rice
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
and Baylor
Baylor University
Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...
35-13 and 44-14 respectively.
This left them ranked fifth coming into the annual matchup with then #2 Oklahoma in the Red River Shootout. Oklahoma shut-out the Longhorns 12-0. Texas dropped to #9, before rebounding with wins over #24 Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
28-20, at #24 Texas Tech 51-21, and at Colorado 31-7.
Then Texas set a record for the largest come from-behind-win in school history, beating #19 Oklahoma State 56-35 after falling behind 7-35. After this performance, Texas again fell behind against Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
but squeaked out a win 27-23. Kansas head coach Mark Mangino
Mark Mangino
Mark Thomas Mangino is an American football coach. He was most recently the head coach of the Kansas Jayhawks college football team from 2002 to 2009. In 2007, Mangino received several National Coach of the Year honors after leading the Jayhawks to their first 12-win season in school history...
stirred up controversy by claiming that the officials were biased in favor of Texas.
The series of victories brought Texas back up to #5 in the rankings as they welcomed arch-rival Texas A&M to Austin and won 26-13. However, Oklahoma stood undefeated, which meant the Sooners would represent the Big 12 South in the Championship game against a much lower ranked team from the North Division. Once again, the loss to Oklahoma had kept Texas out of playing for a National or Conference Title, and had seemingly destined them to non-Bowl Championship Series bowl as well.
However, Brown began lobbying the voters in the two polls based on human voters (one on college football coaches, the other on Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
writers) to place the Longhorns high enough in the rankings to ensure they received a Bowl Championship Series
Bowl Championship Series
The Bowl Championship Series is a selection system that creates five bowl match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , including an opportunity for the top two to compete in the BCS National Championship Game.The BCS relies on a combination of...
(BCS) bowl-bid. The arcane rules of the BCS were such that Texas might get left out of the 8 chosen teams even though they ranked 5th nationally. Lobbying by Brown and his brother, et al., gave the Longhorns the sufficient swing votes they needed to make it into the Rose Bowl
Rose Bowl Game
The Rose Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game, usually played on January 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on Monday, January 2...
, one of the four BCS bowls. This lobbying effort and ensuing result led to criticism of Brown for playing politics to get his team into a top bowl.
The appearance in the "Grand-daddy" of all bowl games was the first visit by the Longhorns, due mainly to the fact that the Rose Bowl traditionally pitted the winner of the Pac 10 against the winner of the Big Ten
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
. Texas' opponent was Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, whom Texas was playing for the very first time. Texas won the game 38-37 on a last second field goal kick by Longhorn Dusty Mangum
Dusty Mangum
Dustin Ross Mangum is a former placekicker for the University of Texas at Austin's college football team from 2001 to 2004. Mangum, who began his college football career as a walk-on, is best known for capping UT's 2004-2005 season with a 37-yard game-winning field goal as time expired in the...
in what had been called one of the greatest Rose Bowl games of all time.
Ironically, Brown followed up a strong 2004 season on the field with a less successful 2005 recruiting season. Brown, who long had been criticized for recruiting top talent but not achieving the highest possible results, began to receive criticism for missing out on top recruits, especially for missing out on quarterback Ryan Perrilloux
Ryan Perrilloux
Ryan Anthony Perrilloux is an American football quarterback for the New York Giants of the National Football League. He was signed by the Hartford Colonials as a street free agent in 2010. He played college football at Jacksonville State.He previously played college football for the LSU Tigers...
, who ended up not following through on his verbal commitment to sign with Texas.
Despite the success of the 2004 season, Coach Brown's resume was still lacking a conference championship, let alone a national championship. The 2005 season offered an opportunity to add those credentials.
2005 season
Save for redshirt Junior Quarterback Vince YoungVince Young
Vincent Paul Young, Jr. , nicknamed "VY", is an American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League . He spent the first five seasons of his career with the Tennessee Titans. Young was the third overall draft pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college...
, many of Texas' key players from the previous season, including running back Cedric Benson
Cedric Benson
Cedric Myron Benson is an American football running back for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears fourth overall in the 2005 NFL Draft...
, linebacker Derrick Johnson
Derrick Johnson
-Kansas City Chiefs:Johnson started every game for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2005, becoming the first Chiefs linebacker in 20 years to start all 16 games of his rookie campaign. He was subsequently awarded the Mack Lee Hill Award by the Chiefs...
and tight end Bo Scaife
Bo Scaife
Oliver Edward "Bo" Scaife, III is an American football tight end for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the sixth round of the 2005 NFL Draft...
, did not return for the 2005 season. However, Texas was given a pre-season #2 ranking (behind defending National Champions University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
) by Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
magazine, and was also ranked second in the AP
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
and USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
coaches pre-season polls.
After the win over previously undefeated Texas Tech, Texas moved into first place in the Bowl Championship Series
Bowl Championship Series
The Bowl Championship Series is a selection system that creates five bowl match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , including an opportunity for the top two to compete in the BCS National Championship Game.The BCS relies on a combination of...
(BCS) standings for the first time since the BCS creation. The BCS formula, which takes into account strength of schedule, allowed Texas to advance in the rankings since they defeated a previously unbeaten team, while University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
beat Washington, a 1-6 team.
Texas' place at the top of the BCS rankings lasted only one week. On October 29, Texas beat an Oklahoma State University Cowboys team that had struggled so far that season. Despite OSU's 0-5 start to conference play, Texas found themselves behind early in the game and for the third straight year, Texas found themselves trailing a lower-ranked Oklahoma State team at half-time. For the third straight year, Texas came from behind to win by a sizable margin. Vince Young
Vince Young
Vincent Paul Young, Jr. , nicknamed "VY", is an American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League . He spent the first five seasons of his career with the Tennessee Titans. Young was the third overall draft pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college...
set a school record for rushing yards in a game by a quarterback with 267, and accounted for 506 total yards of offense to lead the team to victory. Over the past 3 meetings between the two schools, the Longhorns outscored the Cowboys by a combined second-half score of 118 to 0.
Texas retained the top spot in the computer rankings, but not by enough to stay ahead of USC overall. After both teams won all their remaining games, USC and Texas were ranked 1 and 2, respectively; Texas then defeated USC 41-38 in the Rose Bowl
Rose Bowl Game
The Rose Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game, usually played on January 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on Monday, January 2...
, winning the National Championship.
Perhaps, it is the "LIVE THE DREAM 2006" campaign that excites the Longhorn community throughout Austin, Texas that sums up Coach Mack Brown's post Rose Bowl words to the BCS National Champions:
- "Don't let this be the best thing that ever happens in your life....Maybe it'll be the best sports event, but don't let it be the best thing. Make sure you're a better father than this today. Make sure you're a better husband than this today. Because this goes away.... It's a game."
When Brown was introduced as the new head football coach at University of Texas at Austin, it was said to begin "The Brown Era" at The Burnt Orange University. On January 11, 2006 the Brown Era became legend as Coach Mack Brown was named the Paul "Bear" Bryant College Football Coach of the Year. Not since Darrell Royal's victory in 1963 has a coach from The University of Texas at Austin been given this honor. Voted by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, this award not only affirms the talent, skills and vision of Coach Mack Brown but strengthens the athletic and academic record achieved during his UT tenure. Eighteen players on the 2006 Rose Bowl roster entered the game with the coursework for their college degree complete.
2006 season
2007 season
2007 Texas Longhorn football team
The 2007 Texas Longhorn football team represented the University of Texas at Austin in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Mack Brown, who received the 2005 Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year award...
began play on September 1, 2007. Texas entered the 2007 season ranked third in the all-time list of both total wins and winning percentage. They are ranked in the Top 10 by numerous pre-season polls. For instance, a pre-season ranking by ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
writer Mark Schlabach
Mark Schlabach
Mark Schlabach is an author and columnist for ESPN.com. Schlabach joined ESPN.com in July 2006 as a college football and college basketball columnist. He is notable during college football season for the weekly "Bottom 10" article....
has the Longhorns ranked eighth; Rivals.com has them at ninth. College Football News
College Football News
College Football News is a magazine and website published by College Football News, Inc., headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. News coverage includes scores, statistics, rankings, and reports on college football games. Analysis includes comparisons between teams, predictions of game outcomes and...
and Real Football 365 both have the Longhorns ranked third. The Longhorns come into the season ranked fourth in both the Coaches Poll
Coaches Poll
The USA Today Coaches' Poll is the current name for a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football and Division I college basketball teams....
and AP Poll
AP Poll
The Associated Press College Poll refers to weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling sportswriters across the nation...
.
Prior to the season, two Longhorns were arrested for driving while intoxicated and will serve three-game suspensions; two other players were arrested on armed robbery charges and were removed from the team. Brown said “I am extremely disappointed that four of our student-athletes have had issues with the law this summer. That is not reflective of the high standard of class, character and integrity we have established at Texas for many years. It’s a shame that these recent events have generated a great deal of negative attention, because I do think that overall, this is as good of a group of kids that I’ve ever coached. I think that will show over time.”
For the second straight year, UT merchandise were the top-selling products among clients of Collegiate Licensing Company
Collegiate Licensing Company
The Collegiate Licensing Company is an American collegiate trademark licensing and marketing company. Founded in 1981 by Bill Battle in Selma, Alabama, CLC is the largest and oldest collegiate licensing company in the United States and currently provides its services to more than 200 colleges and...
. UT is using part of the money to give Mack Brown a raise. The University of Texas Board of Regents
University of Texas System
The University of Texas System encompasses 15 educational institutions in Texas, of which nine are academic universities and six are health institutions. The system is headquartered in Austin and has a total enrollment of over 190,000 students...
voted unanimously to raise Brown's salary by $300,000. This brings his annual compensation to $2.81 million and keeps him among the five highest paid coaches in the sport. The package also includes up to $3 million dollars in bonuses, including "$100,000 if he wins the Big 12 Championship and $450,000 if he wins this year's national championship, as well as bonuses based on the percent of players who graduate." Brown's contract is good through the 2016 season and includes buy-out clauses should another school attempt to hire Brown.
Texas won their first four games although three of them were closer than analysts had expected. Following that, Texas was upset
Upset
An upset occurs in a competition, frequently in electoral politics or sports, when the party popularly expected to win , is defeated by an underdog whom the majority expects to lose, defying the conventional wisdom...
by the Kansas State Wildcats 41–21. Kansas State had no turnovers and scored 21 points on defense and special teams. They scored one touchdown on a punt return, one on a kick return, and one on an interception. Previously, Texas had never allowed all three types of scores in a single season. The 41 points were the most scored against Texas in Austin since UCLA handed the Longhorns a 66–3 loss in 1997, and it was the worst home defeat in the Mack Brown era at Texas. Texas lost again the following week in the 2007 Red River Shootout, 28–21. With that loss, Texas opened conference play 0–2 for the first time since 1956, when they were in the Southwest Conference and one year before Darrell Royal
Darrell Royal
Darrell K Royal is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Mississippi State University , the University of Washington , and the University of Texas at Austin , compiling a career college football record of 184–60–5...
became head coach of the Longhorns. In their ninth regular season game, Texas outscored Nebraska
Nebraska Cornhuskers football
The Nebraska Cornhuskers represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in college football. The program has established itself as a traditional powerhouse, and has the fourth-most all-time victories of any NCAA Division I-A team. Nebraska is one of only six football programs in NCAA Division I-A...
28-25, marking Brown's 100th win at Texas. In their next two games, the Longhorns would defeat Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State Cowboys
Oklahoma State Cowboys are the athletic teams that represent Oklahoma State University. Their mascot is a cowboy named Pistol Pete. Oklahoma State participates in the NCAA's Division I-A and in the Big 12 Conference's South Division. The university's current athletic director is Mike Holder...
and Texas Tech
Texas Tech Red Raiders
The Texas Tech Red Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Texas Tech University . The women's basketball team uses the name Lady Raiders; however, the school's other women's teams use the "Red Raiders" name. The university's athletic program fields teams in 15 varsity sports and 30 club sports...
, but in their final matchup against archrival Texas A&M
2007 Texas A&M Aggies football team
The 2007 Texas A&M Aggies football team represented Texas A&M University in the 2007-2008 college football season. The team was coached by Dennis Franchione, who had coached at A&M since the 2003 season, but resigned at the conclusion of the annual game with the University of Texas...
, the Longhorns lost 30–38. This marked the Longhorns' second straight loss to the Aggies. Despite the loss, Texas went to the Holiday Bowl
2007 Holiday Bowl
The 2007 Pacific Life Holiday Bowl was a college football bowl game played December 27, 2007 in San Diego, California. It was part of the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season and one of 32 games in the 2007-2008 bowl season. It featured the Texas Longhorns against the Arizona State Sun...
to defeat 11th-ranked Arizona State
2007 Arizona State Sun Devils football team
The 2007 Arizona State Sun Devils football team represented Arizona State University in the college football season of 2007-2008. The team played its home games at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona.-Schedule:-San Jose State:...
52–34. The Longhorns finished the season 10–3, marking their seventh consecutive 10-win season. This streak became the third highest in FBS history, trailing Florida State
Florida State Seminoles football
The Florida State Seminoles football team represents Florida State University in college football. The Florida State Seminoles compete in NCAA Division I-FBS and are members of the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference...
's 14 from 1987–00 and Miami
Miami Hurricanes football
The Miami Hurricanes football program competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference of the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision for the University of Miami. The program began in 1926 and has won five AP national championships...
's 8 from 1985–92.
2008 season
The 2008 Texas Longhorn football team2008 Texas Longhorn football team
The 2008 Texas Longhorn football team represented the University of Texas at Austin in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Mack Brown, who has a contract lasting through the 2016 season...
entered the season ranked 10th in the USA Today Coaches Poll
Coaches Poll
The USA Today Coaches' Poll is the current name for a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football and Division I college basketball teams....
. They won their first four games to rise to number 5 in the national rankings. Texas began Big 12 Conference
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...
play on October 4, 2008 with a trip to Boulder, Colorado
Boulder
In geology, a boulder is a rock with grain size of usually no less than 256 mm diameter. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive....
and a win over the Colorado Buffaloes
2008 Colorado Buffaloes football team
The 2008 Colorado Buffaloes football team represented the University of Colorado at Boulder in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Dan Hawkins and played their home games in Folsom Field.-Pre-season:...
. On October 11, 2008 they defeated the number-one ranked Oklahoma Sooners
2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team
The 2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the college football season of 2008-2009. It was the 114th year of season play for the Sooners. The team was led by head coach Bob Stoops, a two-time Walter Camp Coach of the Year award winner, who has a contract...
in the 103rd Red River Shootout
2008 Texas vs. Oklahoma football game
The 2008 Oklahoma vs. Texas football game, played October 11, 2008, was the 103rd meeting between the University of Oklahoma and The University of Texas at Austin in a college football game. The annual game between the Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma Sooners is called the Red River Shootout...
. It was the third UT win in four seasons, and the first time in Brown's tenure for either team to upset the other in the Red River Shootout.
Following the victory over OU, the Longhorns vaulted up the standings to first place in the AP, ESPN/USA Today, and Harris Polls. In their next game they secured a win over #11 Missouri in Austin, setting a new school, state, and conference attendance record in the process. It was the first time since 1977 for the Longhorns to play a home football game as the #1 team in the AP. They were ranked #1 in the first BCS standings of 2008. Texas defending the first place ranking by beating another top-ten team, the Oklahoma State Cowboys. They lost to Texas Tech in the final second of the game and fell to #4 in the BCS rankings.
The Longhorns entered 2008 as the third most victorious program in college football history, in terms of both total wins and win percentage. Only Notre Dame
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...
and the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
had won more games and a greater percentage of games played than Texas, On November 8, 2008, Texas' 45–21 victory over Baylor was the 829th win for the UT football program, which tied Notre Dame for 2nd in the list of total wins. Notre Dame lost later the same day, leaving the two teams tied. Texas pulled ahead of Notre Dame at the end of the regular season, to take sole possession of #2 on the list.
Texas won a road game against Kansas 35–7; ensuring their eighth consecutive season with ten or more wins per season. That is the longest active streak in the nation and it ties them with Miami (1985–92) for the second-longest streak of all-time.
Texas finished the 2008 regular season with a win over Texas A&M, the Longhorns longest running-rivalry oppoenent. The biggest margin of victory in the history of the series occurred when Texas beat A&M 48–0 in 1898. Texas nearly equaled that record this year by producing a 49–9 victory, the second-largest margin of victory for this rivalry series. It was also the 200th career win for Mack Brown, and it set a new attendance record for UT, the State of Texas, the Big 12 Conference, and the southwest region. This left Texas in a three-way tie (with Oklahoma and Texas Tech) for the Big 12 South championship, which created a controversy over BCS rankings and conference tie-breaking procedures.
Texas defeated Ohio State 24-21 in the 2009 Fiesta Bowl
2009 Fiesta Bowl
The 2009 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl game was a post-season college football bowl game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Texas Longhorns on Monday, January 5, 2009, at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona...
to finish the season 12-1.
After Brown
On November 18, 2008, The University of Texas announced that Longhorn defensive coordinator Will MuschampWill Muschamp
William Larry "Will" Muschamp is an American college football coach and former player. He is the current head coach of the Florida Gators football team of the University of Florida. He is a native of Georgia and attended the University of Georgia, where he played for the Georgia Bulldogs...
would eventually succeed Mack Brown as head football coach. They agreed in principle to increase Muschamp’s salary to $900,000. There was no timetable set for Brown’s departure, and both Brown and UT said they expected Brown to stay a long time. Following the Longhorns' 5-7 season in 2010, Muschamp accepted the head coaching position at the University of Florida and it is currently unknown if the school is willing to designate a new "head coach in waiting."
UT season records under Brown
Brown's year-by-year records as head coach of the Texas Longhorns (with bowl appearances) are as follows:1998-2010 standings: Big 12 South
2011-present standings: Big 12 Conference
Notable statistics and accomplishments
- 2005 NCAA Football National Championship (game played in January, 2006)
- 2005 Big 12 Conference Championship
- 11 consecutive winning seasons
- 11 consecutive bowl game appearances
- Big 12 ConferenceBig 12 ConferenceThe Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...
record 21 consecutive conference wins from 2004–2006. - Player awards at Texas under Brown include a Heisman TrophyHeisman TrophyThe Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
winner (Ricky WilliamsRicky WilliamsErrick Lynne "Ricky" Williams, Jr. is an American football running back for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints fifth overall in the 1999 NFL Draft...
), two Maxwell AwardMaxwell AwardThe Maxwell Award is presented annually to the collegiate American football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best football player in the United States. The...
winners (Ricky Williams, Vince Young), a Davey O'Brien Award Winner, two Doak Walker AwardDoak Walker AwardThe Doak Walker Award, first awarded in 1990, honors the United States's top college football running back. It is named after the Southern Methodist and Detroit Lions football player Doak Walker...
winners, a Butkus Award winner, two Thorpe Award winners and four national player of the year honors. Texas has also had 23 All-Americans, 37 first-team All-Big 12 selections, two Big 12 Offensive Players of the Year, two Big 12 ConferenceBig 12 ConferenceThe Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...
Defensive Players of the Year and seven Big 12 Freshman of the Year honorees. - UT has posted back-to-back 11-win seasons, ten consecutive 10-win seasons and ten consecutive 9-win campaigns for the first time in school history. However, Texas played a maximum of only 11 games per season up until 1975 and only 12 games per season up until 1995 (including conference championship and bowl game).
- The Longhorns under Brown have featured the only 3,000-yard passer, the only 2,000-yard rusher, the only 1,000-yard receivers and the only 1,000-yard passer/rusher in UT history.
- Brown is one of only three head coaches in NCAA Division I-A history who has coached players that recorded a 2,000-yard rushing season, a 1,000-yard receiving season and a 3,000-yard passing season. Also, Vince YoungVince YoungVincent Paul Young, Jr. , nicknamed "VY", is an American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League . He spent the first five seasons of his career with the Tennessee Titans. Young was the third overall draft pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college...
stands as the first player in NCAA history to rush for 1,000 yards (1,050) and throw for 2,500 yards (3,036) in a single season. - Under Brown's tenure, only four players have left the Texas team for the NFL DraftNFL DraftThe National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
with any eligibility remaining. The first was Kwame CavilKwame CavilKwame Cavil is a Canadian Football League wide receiver that is an unrestricted free agent in the CFL.-College career:...
who went undrafted. Vince YoungVince YoungVincent Paul Young, Jr. , nicknamed "VY", is an American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League . He spent the first five seasons of his career with the Tennessee Titans. Young was the third overall draft pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college...
was drafted third overall in the 2006 NFL Draft2006 NFL DraftThe 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offered by ESPNU and, for the first time, by...
. Jamaal CharlesJamaal CharlesJamaal RaShaad Jones Charles is an American football running back for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Chiefs in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft...
and Jermichael FinleyJermichael Finley-Green Bay Packers:Finley was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He battled Tory Humphrey in training camp to be the Packers' No. 2 tight end...
both announced they would enter the 2008 NFL Draft2008 NFL DraftThe 2008 NFL Draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 26 and April 27, 2008. For the 29th consecutive year, ESPN televised the draft; the NFL Network also broadcast the event, its third year doing so...
. Other players, such as Jevan SneadJevan SneadJevan Bryce Snead is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent...
have elected to transfer to other schools. - From 2001 through 2008, Brown has won 10 or more games each year. This is the longest active streak of seasons with 10+ wins in the nation.
- Through 2007, the Longhorns under Brown were 19-11 against their three main rivals: Texas A&MTexas A&M UniversityTexas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...
, OklahomaUniversity of OklahomaThe University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
, and Texas TechTexas Tech UniversityTexas Tech University, often referred to as Texas Tech or TTU, is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and originally known as Texas Technological College, it is the leading institution of the Texas Tech University System and has the...
. - The Longhorns are 7–3 in Bowl games under Brown.
- In terms of consecutive winning seasons, Brown is second among all active coaches with 17, behind only Bobby Bowden with 30.
- On October 27, 2007 the Texas Longhorns defeated the Nebraska CornhuskersNebraska Cornhuskers footballThe Nebraska Cornhuskers represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in college football. The program has established itself as a traditional powerhouse, and has the fourth-most all-time victories of any NCAA Division I-A team. Nebraska is one of only six football programs in NCAA Division I-A...
28–25. It was Brown's 100th victory with the Longhorns. - On November 8, 2008, Texas' 45–21 victory over Baylor was the 829th win for the UT football program, which tied Notre Dame for 2nd in the list of total wins.
Annual salary
Brown's annual salary since his arrival at Texas in 1998 is as follows. Brown will make an additional $100,000 each year, not including incentives.| Year | Salary |
|---|---|
| 1998 | $750,000 |
| 1999 | $1 million |
| 2000 | $1.2 million |
| 2001 | $1.45 million |
| 2002 | $1.7 million |
| 2003 | $2.059 million |
| 2004 | $2.159 million |
| 2005 | $2.159 million |
| 2006 | $2.559 million |
| 2007 | $2.9 million |
| 2008 | $3 million |
Salary controversy
In 2009, Brown's salary was increased to $5.1 million (excluding bonuses and incentives) a raise of about $2 million. This has led to much controversy on the UT campus as it came at a time when academic programs have been facing significant cutbacks. On December 14, 2009 the UT faculty council held a special meeting to consider the following resolution"We appreciate the contributions of the athletic staff and, especially, the student-athletes, to the community of the University of Texas at Austin. However, at a time when students are facing a deteriorating academic environment in the form of declining class offerings and increasing class sizes, and lecturers, teaching assistants, and staff are facing job terminations, we believe a permanent raise of $2 million (a sum greater than the entire career earnings of a typical university employee) offered to any member of the university community is unseemly and inappropriate."
Outside of football
Mack Brown is married to his wife, Sally. They have 4 children: Matt Jessee, Katherine Brown, Barbara Wilson, and Chris Jessee.In Austin, the Browns continue to be active in community affairs, serving as honorary co-chairpersons of the Capital Campaign for the Helping Hands of Austin. The Brown's have been instrumental in the opening of The Rise School of Austin (an early childhood education program that integrates children who have disabilities with their typically developing peers) and serve on the schools Board of Directors. They lent their name along with legendary UT QB James Street to the First Annual James Street/Mack Brown Golf Tournament benefiting The Rise School.
The Browns' have endorsed [a] new Texas license plate, which is designed to raise public awareness for child abuse
Child abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
and neglect
Child neglect
Child neglect is defined as:# "the failure of a person responsible for a child’s care and upbringing to safeguard the child’s emotional and physical health and general well-being"...
and the need for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) volunteers. After the Aggie Bonfire
Aggie Bonfire
Aggie Bonfire was a long-standing tradition at Texas A&M University as part of the college rivalry with the University of Texas at Austin. For 90 years, Texas A&M students—known as Aggies—built and burned a bonfire on campus each autumn...
tragedy at Texas A&M
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...
in 1999, the couple initiated a blood drive on the UT campus that attracted more than 250 blood donors."
In October 2006, Mack Brown made a cameo appearance in the television pilot for Friday Night Lights
Friday Night Lights (TV series)
Friday Night Lights is an American sports drama television series adapted by Peter Berg, Brian Grazer and David Nevins from a book and film of the same name. The series details events surrounding a high school football team based in fictional Dillon, Texas, with particular focus given to team...
. Early in the show, a resident is heard to say "Who does he think he is? He ain't no Mack Brown." Later in the pilot, the real Mack Brown plays the role of a local football booster quizzing high-school coach Eric Taylor on his pre-game preparation.
External links
- Official bio at Mack Brown - Texas Football.com
- Coverage of the Texas Longhorns at Austin American-StatesmanAustin American-StatesmanThe Austin American-Statesman is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of Texas. It is an award-winning publication owned by Cox Enterprises. The Newspaper places focus on issues affecting Austin and the Central Texas region....
- Videos of and Phone Calls from Mack Brown