MBFC, West Texas Football, Coach Rick Barnes, HOH inductees

Top of the Que Volume VI Newsletter # 26 – 10/30/2021

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West Texas High school football players who are part of the Longhorn Brand

Cedric Benson Midland

Britt Hager Odessa

Roy Williams

Odessa

Lance Taylor El Paso

Larry Carlson says- “It’s been said that rugged West Texas is no country for old men. But it has long been the heartland of Texas high school football. It suits young men — those willing to do what it takes — quite well.

West Texas boys are innately tough, rough, ready to be invincible. They are the original “Friday Night Lights” heroes. A chosen few, the best of the best, even get to test their mettle at the collegiate level.

In the Southwest Conference’s heyday from the 1940s through the ’70s, West Texans made up a sizable portion of the Texas college football platter. These days, not so much. Recruiters focus on the expansive population centers of Houston and the DFW Metroplex. There just aren’t that many high school blue-chippers in all of West Texas, comparatively.

That said, this writer always enjoys reviewing history and spotlighting the best of Longhorn football. So I decided to become a one-man panel and select a Texas Longhorn all-time team of West Texans, starting with the Darrell Royal era of the late 1950s.”

For the rest of the story, click on https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/west-texas-longhorn-allstars

Significant updates have been added to Coach Barnes TLSN website.

Coach Rick Barnes teams are still considered the benchmark for Longhorn Basketball. His leadership resulted in many basketball records and cherished memories.

On March 8, 2003: T.J. Ford scores 14 of his team-high 18 points in the second half to rally the No. 4 Longhorns from a 15-point deficit to a 76-71 win against fifth-ranked Oklahoma in Norman. Texas trailed 58-43 with 13:48 left before a Brian Boddicker three-pointer ignites the comeback. The contest marks the first time in Texas school history that UT played two AP Top 5 teams.

On March 30, 2003: Texas players and coaches cut down the nets in San Antonio’s Alamodome following an 85-76 victory against Michigan State in the NCAA South Regional final. 30,169 mostly fervent Longhorn fans watched the win, qualifying the Horns for their first Final Four since 1947.

For more great memories and basketball records during Coach Barnes era visit:

https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/rickbarnes

Longhorn Hall of Honor Inductees.

Jessica Livingston – Diver – HOH inductee

An NCAA individual champion and five-time All-American, Jessica Livingston Gibson is one of the top divers in program history. At the 2007 NCAA Championship meet, she won the individual title on the platform with a final score of 357.85 points. She received the Good Right Arm Advertising Scholarship in 2006, the Darrell K. Royal Endowed Presidential Scholarship in 2007, and the Janet Hauber Academic Excellence Award in 2009.

https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/diving

Hall of Honor Inductee Volleyball player Bailey Webster

Bailey Webster is a three-time First Team All-American and the 2012 NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player; Webster was also awarded the 2012 UT Arthur Ashe Jr., Sports Scholar Award, and V.F. “Doc” Neuhaus Award.

https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/volleyball-history-2001-2017

Richard Duncan Track and Field – HOH Inductee

Richard Duncan is the only athlete in NCAA Division I history to earn All-American honors in the same season’s long, triple, and high jump.

His 138 points in conference championship meets is the most-ever in Longhorn track and field history. He won the 1996 NCAA Outdoor Championship in the long jump. Richard is a Cleburne Price Jr. Scholarship and Weldon H. and Mary Smith Scholarship recipient,

https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/1996-2012-coach-bubba-thornton

The TLSN Longhorn oral history podcast series for 2021 is nearing completion.

On November 14, 2021, TLSN will share the story of Longhorn volleyball pioneer Beth Coblentz’s climb to the top of collegiate sports.

Her story was made possible by Title IX. In 1972 the Title IX civil rights act of 1964 was signed into law by President Richard Nixon. Universities were given six years to come into compliance with the new law. As a result, in 1972, UT women’s volleyball began Its climb from a Longhorn Intramural Sport to a sanctioned NCAA sport.

Beth was on the 1981 AIAW Longhorn National Champion volleyball team, and the 1982 NCAA sanctioned volleyball team.

The link below is the history surrounding Title IX.

https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/title-ix