University of Texas Longhorns Football at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium
It's not just that the Texas Longhorns are one of the greatest college football programs ever, though they are that; it's that they were central to the culture of college football as it turned into a national spectacle. Trying to imagine the college game without Texas is like trying to imagine Hollywood without the Western or Nebraska without the corn. Even now, nearly a half-century after the high tide of the Darrell Royal era, college football most often speaks with a Texas accent.
Their home since 1924, the Longhorns play in Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium, which is among the largest stadiums in the world. A Texas home game is long on tradition, and that's part of the charm — everyone still sings "The Eyes of Texas" afterward — but the fan experience both inside and outside the stadium has been retooled to suit a 21st-century crowd. Students wearing their burnt orange are now packed into a contiguous block of seats with the band in the middle, dramatically livening up the atmosphere during games. Fans have also been encouraged to get to campus earlier. If tailgating isn't your thing, you can check out the new pregame concert series called Longhorn City Limits, located on the LBJ Lawn at the northeast corner of the stadium. And on game days San Jacinto Boulevard becomes Bevo Boulevard — Bevo being the team's longhorn-steer mascot — where a quintessentially Austin-style carnival unfolds, complete with food trucks, craft beer at happy-hour prices and a Bevo parade. The Uber Zone in Lot 40, a new rideshare dropoff and pickup area, has made the stadium even more accessible on home-game Saturdays.
University of Texas Longhorns Football History
The Longhorns have won four national championships in all (nine by unofficial count). Three of them were claimed by Royal, who was coach from 1957 to 1976. The most recent came in 2005 under coach Mack Brown, with quarterback Vince Young leading the way. That season ended with a Texas victory in the Rose Bowl over USC — still reckoned one of the best games in college football history. Many of the sport's all-time greats have played in Austin, among them running backs Earl Campbell and Ricky Williams, quarterbacks Bobby Layne and Colt McCoy, and defensive stars Steve McMichael and Derrick Johnson.
