Texas Longhorn Coaching Pioneers

Discussing the true coaching pioneers in each sport at Texas was not easy, so suggestions and criticisms are welcome.   
By definition, sports pioneers are risk-takers, and without their vision, there is no beginning. Visionaries move programs forward by the strength of will and a focus on the future and not the present. Where others have failed, sports pioneers are able to successfully implement new ideas and remove obstacles that others could not. Pioneers not only have to deal with the same problems that all coaches must face in an athletic department, i.e., small budgets, recruiting, and/or “turf” wars within the organization, but they also have to overcome major obstacles inherent in changing or creating a new program.   
The super sports visionaries from the 50s through the 80s were women. Before a woman could be acknowledged as an athlete, athletic director, or coach, she had to first secure equal rights. Ask Donna Lopiano; her oral history podcast is part of TLSN’s archives.
All University administrations (not just Texas)  are slow to accept change. It took UT 50 years to finally accept the scientific fact that women can tolerate physical punishment in competitive sports. Tessa Nichols states that in the early years of the 20th century, women’s sports were “circumscribed by gender norms and restrictive ideologies which delineated the acceptable ways in which women could perform in sports”.  During those years, “excessive” competition for women was considered too “masculine” and harmful to a woman’s ability to reproduce. During the early years of the 20th century, physical educators main goal was “aimed to ensure that the health and educational “best” interest for a women student was sacrosanct”. To do so required the elimination of the masculine aspect of sports and the elimination of record-setting and personal athletic glory.
It took many decades to correct “falsisms” that were considered truisms in sports, and it was sports pioneers who accomplished this goal. Consequently, pioneers deserve to be judged by a different set of standards than those coaches who have successful coaching careers but did not challenge the “ inherent system of falsisms” during their tenure.  Of course, sports pioneers want to win in the short term, but they know that in order to create a winning “culture,” long-term visions are more important than short-term success.  

Pioneer coaches must also deal with the fans’ expectations, which do not always align with reality. Many pioneer coaches never overcome this problem. Coach Strong was a pioneer as the first black head football coach in an established program, but he was released because the expectations of the Longhorn Nation did not coincide with the realities surrounding the football program he inherited.
It is difficult to decide when to terminate a coaching pioneer.   Dang Pibulvech started 4 women’s soccer programs for 4 colleges. Texas was one of them.  Starting a sport from scratch takes courage, boundless energy, and patience. Dang Pibulvech had these qualities, but he was still not able to overcome all the obstacles he faced. After 5 years at Texas, his poor results resulted in his resignation.
Then there are Longhorn pioneers who are just unlucky. Coach Rodney Page was the right hire at the wrong time in Longhorn sports history. Coach Page is the first black coach in the history of UT sports and a visionary who built the Longhorn women’s basketball team from scratch. Instead of UT celebrating his success, a change at the top of the UT athletic administration cost him his job.
  

Here is my list. 
1895- Doc Reeves- Trainer Manager – see below 
1901- Daniel Penick  click – “tennis” 
1911- Billy Disch  “baseball”   
1913- Theo Bellmont- Coach and Athletic Director
1919- Lutcher Stark – Board of Regents  
1919- Roy McClean- weight lifting 
1931- Harvey Penick-” Men’s Golf” 
1935- Tex Robertson – “swimming” 
1937- Betty Jameson  “women’s golf” 
1938- D.X. Bible
1945- Frank Medina- “trainer”
1946- Slater Martin  “men’s basketball “
1947 Jane Patterson” swimming”
1947  Betsy Rauls ” golf “
1895- Doc Reeves- Trainer Manager – see below 
1901- Daniel Penick  click – “tennis” 
1911- Billy Disch  “baseball”   
1913- Theo Bellmont- Coach and Athletic Director
1919- Lutcher Stark – Board of Regents  
1919- Roy McClean- weight lifting 
1931- Harvey Penick-” Men’s Golf” 
1935- Tex Robertson – “swimming” 
1937- Betty Jameson  “women’s golf” 
1945- Frank Medina- “trainer”
1946- Slater Martin  “men’s basketball “
1947 Jane Patterson” swimming”
1947  Betsy Rauls ” golf “
1957- Pat Weis – “women’s golf” 
1955- DKR – Football- there  are 4 sections on DKR. 
1964- Charlie Cravens – “Rehab”
1964- James Means – “track”
1967- Betty Thompson  Interim Women’s Athletic Director  
1967-  Coach Cliff Gustafson- “baseball”
1968- Coach Leon Black  “Men’s Basketball”
1970- Julius Whittier -“football”
1971- Melvin “Pat” Patterson- men’s and women’s swimming
1972-Carl Johnson – “track”   
1975-Rodney Page – Women’s  Basketball
1975- Donna Lopiano –   Women’s Athletic Director
1976- Jody Conradt- basketball
1976- Rheta Swindell- Women’s Basketball 1977-Dana LeDuc
1980-Mick Haley -“women’s volleyball
1982- Terry Crawford -” women’s Track ” 
1983- Jeff Moore -women’s tennis
1993-Beverly Kearney “women’s track”
1994- Dang Pibulvech 1994- “Women’s Soccer ” 
1998- Carolyn Graves  – Rowing  
Each of these pioneers is covered in the TLSN website at texaslsn.org