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Longhorn Nation,

Last week was another busy one for our Longhorns and it all wrapped up with a special Sunday. In addition to it being Halloween and an opportunity for our student-athletes to share their favorite costumes and celebrate as a team, it also was a successful day of sports action. The bats were cracking, gloves thumping and all of the kids trick or treating during the day at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. That night, Soccer treated us to a thrilling and dominant 5-2 Red River Showdown postseason victory over our rival Sooners in the Big 12 Tournament in Round Rock. It was such a joy seeing all of you at the park and the pitch, and we’re so grateful for your never-ending support, passion and pride for your Longhorns.

However, Sunday did come on the heels of another heartbreaking football game, this one a 31-24 loss at Baylor. It’s been three straight games where we played so well at times against top 25-ranked teams, built good leads, but just couldn’t hold on in the end. The team played extremely hard, made a lot of big plays in all of those games, and Coach Sark has been really pleased with how they’ve prepared each and every week. It’s just come down to missed opportunities in the end, and I know we are all disappointed, but nobody more so than our coaches and student-athletes. They’re pouring all of their energy into learning from their mistakes, getting better and finding every possible edge to get back on track. They need our support more than ever, so I hope y’all can help us rally behind them and charge into the weekend and their game at Iowa State (6:30 p.m. CT/FS1) with our best Texas Fight. There’s a lot of football to be played, we still have high expectations and we’re looking forward to Saturday.

In the meantime, our teams are right back at it already again this week, and it started Monday night with Men’s Basketball tipping things off with a 96-33 exhibition game victory over Texas Lutheran at the Erwin Center. Thank you to everyone who came out for the sneak peek at our 2021-22 Longhorns. It’s the final year at our longtime hoops home and what a special time it was as Coach Beard continued his Unite the Family efforts by squaring off against a team coached by a Longhorn great in Mike Wacker.

Coach Schaefer and Women’s Basketball are up next this week as they’ll host an exhibition game, this one at Gregory Gym on Thursday night at 7 p.m. CT. Admission is free, along with free parking in the Brazos Garage, so stay tuned to TexasSports.com and all of our social media channels for all the details on that one. For those of you who can’t be here in person, our friends at Longhorn Network will be carrying the game live, so clear you calendars and plan on cheering on your Horns!

Speaking of right back at it, how about Coach Kelly and our Soccer squad!? It was total domination on Sunday night versus OU, and now we’re riding into the Big 12 Tournament semis on a program record-tying 13-match unbeaten streak. It started late last week as our Horns secured the No. 2 seed in the tournament with a convincing 2-0 victory in the regular-season finale at Kansas. Our dynamic freshman duo of forward Trinity Byars and midfielder Lexi Missimo both scored goals in that one as our Horns took care of business on the road. And we came so darn close to adding a Big 12 regular-season title, falling just one point short of TCU, but a huge Hook ‘Em is in order for our squad that managed our first unbeaten Big 12 campaign in program history at 6-0-3. Then it was on to the postseason on Sunday in the Big 12 Championship quarterfinals right up the road on I-35 in Round Rock where we cranked up the offense against those Sooners by scoring five times in a convincing, 5-2 win. Byars provided the Halloween trick, as our rookie superstar was at it again, scoring her first career hat trick. Forward Mackenzie McFarland managed her second brace (two goals) in the last three matches, as well. Up next for your Burnt Orange and White is a huge Big 12 Championship semifinal against West Virginia on Thursday at 7 p.m. CT. Be there or be square my friends! Like I said, our Longhorns are playing just up the road at the Round Rock Multipurpose Complex, so head on out and support them on to the Big 12 Championship as tickets are available for $5 each day.

But wait, there’s more! Spring will be in the air at UFCU Disch-Falk Field this week as Coach Pierce and Baseball host the annual three-game Fall World Series starting on Wednesday at 4 p.m. CT. Game two is slated for Friday at 6 p.m. with the series finale set for a 2 p.m. first pitch on Saturday. You can get that Burnt Orange and White garb ready, don that Longhorn hat and come on out to the ballpark. Admission to each of the games is free, parking is available in the East Campus Garage next to the stadium and gates will open one hour before first pitch.

Along with the Football game in Ames, there will be plenty of action on the road, as well. After a bye week, No. 1 Volleyball travels to Waco for a critical pair of Top 10 matches with Baylor on Friday (8 p.m. CT/ESPNU) and Saturday (6 p.m. CT/ESPN+). Coach Elliott and our Horns are 17-0 and have won all eight of their Big 12 matches so they’ll be looking to remain perfect in a raucous road environment. They have a great history of stepping up in those situations, having won 18-straight on the road, so they’ll be looking to build on that.

Two of the nation’s top programs will square off this week as our No. 1 Men’s and No. 5 Women’s Swimming & Diving teams travel to Virginia for a big-time Big-12-ACC dual meet clash on Friday and Saturday in Charlottesville. The Cavalier women are the defending NCAA Champions while the UVA men currently rank No. 9 so expect some great performances across the board in this early season Top 10 matchup! Men’s and Women’s Tennis will be hitting the courts to compete in fall action, as well. You can follow along in all of our sports on TexasSports.com and across all of our social media platforms. Hook ‘Em Horns!

Still time to get those Men’s and Women’s Basketball season tickets

Coach Beard and Coach Schaefer are putting on the final touches of their preparation for what promises to be highly entertaining seasons that are right around the corner with next week’s doubleheader tip off. With that in mind, now is the time to get on board and make those season ticket purchases because only 2021-22 season ticket holders will have priority to purchase season tickets at the Moody Center for the 2022-23 Texas Basketball season. We can’t wait to see the Erwin Center charged up and rockin’ out for one more season, and absolutely want you along for the glorious ride into a breathtaking new basketball experience in the Moody Center. So don’t miss out, get your tickets and bring that Texas passion and pride to the Drum for one more year! Men’s and Women’s season tickets are on sale now and start at $99 apiece. Come out all year and help us celebrate the final season at the Frank Erwin Center in what’s shaping up to be one of the most anticipated campaigns in Texas Basketball history!

Mark your calendars for November 9

We’ve got an old school doubleheader planned to tip off the farewell season at the Erwin Center on Tuesday, Nov. 9, as Coach Schaefer and the Women get things going at 5:30 p.m. CT against New Orleans, followed by Coach Beard and the Men at 8 p.m. CT against Houston Baptist. Tickets are $10 to catch both of these games and all seats will be general admission that night. We’ve got plenty of giveaways and activities set for what will be an incredible evening of basketball.

Football single-game tickets available

There are two games remaining at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium and you can still get your single-game tickets for those games vs. Kansas (11/13) and Kansas State (11/26). Home is Where the Horns Are, and let’s keep those wonderful gameday gigantic family reunions going strong!

Props to our Football standouts Bijan Robinson and DeMarvion Overshown on earning a spot on a pair of prestigious national college football awards semifinalist lists. Bijan was tabbed as one of 15 semifinalists for the Maxwell award that annually goes to the Collegiate Player of the Year. He is already closing in on 1,000 rushing yards this season and leads the Big 12 in total TDs with 14. And as you all know, his highlight reel runs and catches are off the charts! Meanwhile, DeMarvion is one of 16 semifinalist for the Butkus Award that is given each year to the nation’s top linebacker. He’s been a stat sheet stuffer, leading our Horns in tackles (61), while posting 4.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks to go with two fumble recoveries and a blocked punt. Needless to say, he’s been all over the field. In addition, we’ve nominated our walk-on turned starting linebacker Luke Brockermeyer for the Burlsworth Trophy, which goes to a standout player that began his career as a walk-on. Luke’s a third generation Longhorn and just an awesome story. He’s worked so hard to earn a scholarship then a starting position and now ranks second on the team with 59 tackles, shares the team lead with five tackles for loss and has two interceptions this year. Way to go men, we’re proud of all you’ve accomplished so far and excited to watch you for the stretch run of the season.

Finally, congratulations are in order for a pair of our Men’s Cross Country runners, Cruz Gomez and Haftu Knight. They both earned All-Big 12 honors at last week’s conference meet in Stillwater. Cruz was 11th and Haftu 13th as the men finished in a solid third place as a team while the women took fourth. It’s on to NCAA competition with a spot in the NCAA Championships on the line when our Horns travel to Waco on Friday, Nov. 12. That’s the site of the NCAA South Central Regionals at the Cottonwood Creek Golf Course.

It’s another week of Texas Fight with plenty of chances to cheer on your Horns right here on the Forty, in nearby Round Rock and on the road. Whether you’re with us in person or cheering from afar, let’s keep those Horns Up and bring that patented pride, passion and spirit that the best fans in America are known for!

Hook ‘Em Horns,

Chris Del Conte