The Texas Longhorns football program is the intercollegiate team representing the University of Texas at Austin (variously Texas or UT) in the sport of American football. The Longhorns compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Their home games are played at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas.

With over 950 wins, and an all-time win–loss percentage of .704, the Longhorns rank 5th and 7th on the all-time wins and win–loss records lists, respectively. Additionally, the program claims 4 national championships, 34 conference championships, 100 First Team All-Americans (63 consensus and 27 unanimous), and 2 Heisman Trophy winners.

History

Beginning in 1893, the Texas Longhorns football program is one of the most highly regarded and historic programs of all time. From 1936 to 1946 the team was led by Hall of Fame coach Dana X. Bible, and then from 1957 to 1976 the team was led by Hall of Fame coach Darrell K Royal, who won three national championships. The first championship was in 1963 (11–0 record, culminating with a Cotton Bowl victory over No. 2 Navy) and the second in 1969 (11–0 record, including a victory over No. 2 Arkansas in the "Game of the Century" and a Cotton Bowl victory over Notre Dame). From 1998 to 2013, the Longhorns were coached by Mack Brown. During Brown's tenure, Texas won two Big 12 Conference championships, and a national championship in 2005 (13–0 record, including a victory over USC in the Rose Bowl). Texas last appeared in a national championship game in 2009, losing to Alabama.

In 2009, ESPN ranked Texas as the seventh-most prestigious college football program since 1936. In 2012, the football program was valued at $805 million, more than the calculated value of several NFL teams. Texas is known for their post-season appearances, ranking second in number of bowl game appearances (55), fourth in bowl game victories (29), most Southwest Conference football championships (27), and most Cotton Bowl Classic appearances and victories. Other NCAA records include 108 winning seasons out of 122 total seasons, 24 seasons with 10 or more wins, 9 undefeated seasons, and 26 seasons with at most one loss or tie. From 1936 to 2012, the Longhorns football teams have been in the AP or coaches' rankings 66 out of 76 seasons (86.8% of the time), finishing those seasons ranked in the top twenty-five 48 times and the top ten 28 times. Texas claims four Division I-A national championships (1963, 1969, 1970 and 2005) and 33 conference championships (4 Big 12 Conference, 27 Southwest Conference, and 2 Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association).

A total of 129 (53 consensus and 22 unanimous) Texas players have been named to College Football All-America Teams, while two Longhorn players, Earl Campbell (1977) and Ricky Williams (1998), have won the Heisman Trophy, "College football's most prestigious individual honor". Seventeen Longhorns have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, while four are enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

At the start of the 2019 season, Texas' all-time record was 909–371–33 (.705), which ranked as the third-most wins. By the end of the season, Texas' record was 916–375–33 (.704), losing a spot and dropping to fourth in NCAA Division I FBS overall history.

In July 2021, after 25 seasons as members of the Big 12, Texas and rival Oklahoma accepted invitations to join the Southeastern Conference (SEC) no later than the 2025 season. In February 2023, the Big 12 announced that the two schools had negotiated a combined $100 million early termination fee in order to leave for the SEC a year before the schools' media rights deal with the Big 12 was set to expire. The Longhorns football team continued competing in the Big 12 through the 2023 season before moving to the SEC in 2024.

Conference affiliations

Texas has been affiliated with four conferences and twice been an independent. Independent (1893–1895, 1905–1912) Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (1896–1904) Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association (1909–1914) Southwest Conference (1915–1995) Big 12 Conference (1996–2023) Southeastern Conference (2024–present)

Championships

National championships Texas has been selected national champion in 9 seasons from NCAA-designated major selectors, including 4 from the major wire-service: AP Poll and/or Coaches' Poll. The 1963, 1969, 1970, and 2005 championships are claimed by the school, while the remainder are not claimed.

Claimed national championships

1963 Darrell Royal AP, FWAA, NFF, UPI (Coaches) 11–0 No. 1 No. 1 1969 AP, FWAA, NFF, UPI (Coaches), Richard Nixon 11–0 W Cotton No. 1 No. 1 1970 NFF (co-champion), UPI (Coaches) 10–1 L Cotton No. 3 No. 1 2005 Mack Brown AP, BCS, FWAA, NFF, USA Today (Coaches) 13–0 W Rose (BCS National Championship Game) No. 1 No. 1

Unclaimed national championships 1914 Billingsley Report (co-champion) 8–0 – – 1941 Dana X. Bible Berryman, Williamson System 8–1–1 No. 4 – 1968 Darrell Royal Devold System, Matthews Grid Ratings, Sagarin (co-champion) 9–1–1 W Cotton No. 3 No. 5 1977 Fred Akers Berryman, R(FACT) (co-champion), Sagarin (ELO-Chess) (co-champion) 11–1 L Cotton No. 4 No. 5 1981 Fred Akers National Championship Foundation (co-champion) 10–1–1 W Cotton No. 2 No. 4

Conference championships Texas has won 34 conference championships, 27 outright and six shared, spanning three conferences, the Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association, the Southwest Conference, and the Big 12 Conference.

1911 TIAA Dave Allerdice 5–2 3–0 1914 7–1 3–0 1914 8–0 4–0 1916 Southwest Conference Eugene Van Gent 7–2 5–1 1918 William Juneau 9–0 4–0 1920 Berry Whitaker 9–0 5–0 1928 Clyde Littlefield 7–2 5–1 1930 8–1–1 4–1 1942 Dana X. Bible 9–2 5–1 1943 7–1–1 5–0 1945 10–1 5–1 1950 Blair Cherry 9–2 6–0 1952 Ed Price 9–2 6–0 1953† 7–3 5–1 1959† Darrell Royal 9–2 5–1 1961† 10–1 6–1 1962 9–1–1 6–0–1 1963 11–0 7–0 1968 9–1–1 6–1 1969 11–0 7–0 1970 10–1 7–0 1971 8–3 6–1 1972 10–1 7–0 1973 8–3 7–0 1975† 10–2 6–1 1977 Fred Akers 11–1 8–0 1983 10–1 7–0 1990 David McWilliams 10–2 8–0 1994† John Mackovic 8–4 4–3 1995 10–2–1 7–0 1996 Big 12 Conference 8–5 6–2 2005 Mack Brown 13–0 8–0 2009 13–1 9–0 2023 Steve Sarkisian 13–2 8–1 † Co-champions

Division championships Texas has won a share of 7 Big 12 South titles, 5 of which resulted in an appearance in the Big 12 Championship Game. Texas is 3–2 in those appearances. As of 2011, the new ten-team Big 12 Conference ceased to have divisions and conference championship games.

1996 Big 12 South John Mackovic Nebraska W 37–27 notes 1999 Mack Brown Nebraska L 6–22 notes 2001 Colorado L 37–39 notes 2002† N/A lost tiebreaker to Oklahoma notes 2005 Colorado W 70–3 notes 2008† N/A lost tiebreaker to Oklahoma notes 2009 Nebraska W 13–12 notes † Co-champions

Bowl games

At the end of the 2018 season, Texas is tied for second in all time bowl appearances in the NCAA FBS at 55, matching Georgia and trailing Alabama's 70 appearances.MackBrown-TexasFootball.com – Official website of the Texas Longhorns – Texas Football (Note: Some years Texas went to two bowls although they were in different seasons)

Alamo Bowl 6 2006 2022 4–2–0 BCS National Championship 2^ 2006^ 2010 1–1–0^ Bluebonnet Bowl† 6 1960 1987 3–2–1 Citrus Bowl 1 2025 2025 1–0–0 College Football Playoff First Round 1 2024 2024 1–0–0 Cotton Bowl 23 1943 2025 11–11–1 Fiesta Bowl 2 1997 2009 1–1–0 Freedom Bowl‡ 1 1984 1984 0–1–0 Gator Bowl 1 1974 1974 0–1–0 Holiday Bowl 5 2000 2011 3–2–0 Orange Bowl 2 1949 1965 2–0–0 Peach Bowl 1 2025 2025 1–0–0 Rose Bowl 2^ 2005 2006^ 2–0–0^ Sugar Bowl 5 1948 2024 2–3–0 Sun Bowl 4 1978 1994 2–2–0 Texas Bowl† 2 2014 2017 1–1–0 Total bowl appearances 62 Total bowl record 33–27–2

^ The 2006 Rose Bowl was both the Rose Bowl Game and the sanctioned BCS National Championship Game, after that season the BCS NCG became a separate game unaffiliated with the major bowl games.

† The Bluebonnet Bowl in Houston was discontinued in 1988, but was replaced by the Houston Bowl (2000–2001) and the Texas Bowl (2006–current).

‡ The Freedom Bowl merged with the Holiday Bowl in 1995. New Year's Six bowls and Bowl Championship Series games Texas has played in four Bowl Championship Series games (including two BCS National Championships) and one New Year's Six bowl. Texas also played in two Bowl Alliance games (the precursor to the BCS): the 1995 Sugar Bowl and the 1997 Fiesta Bowl. The Longhorns are also the only team to have won all six of the New Year's Six bowls, achieved after winning the 2025 Peach Bowl.

2004 Rose Bowl No. 12 Michigan W 38–37 2005 Rose Bowl (BCS National Championship Game) No. 1 USC W 41–38 2008 Fiesta Bowl No. 10 Ohio State W 24–21 2009 BCS National Championship Game No. 1 Alabama L 21–37 2018 Sugar Bowl No. 5 Georgia W 28–21 2023 Sugar Bowl No. 2 Washington L 37–31 2024 Peach Bowl No. 12 Arizona State W 39–31 2024 Cotton Bowl No. 6 Ohio State L 14–28

College Football Playoff

Since the College Football Playoff's formation in 2014 the Longhorns have appeared twice. Their first appearance came in 2023, the last year of the 4-team format. Their second and most recent appearance was in 2024. The Horns have compiled a 2-2 (.500) record through these appearances.

2023 3rd Sugar Bowl No. 2 Washington Caesars SuperdomeNew Orleans, LA 31-37 2024 5th CFP First Round No. 16 (12) Clemson Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial StadiumAustin, TX 38-24 Peach Bowl No. 12 (4) Arizona State Mercedes-Benz StadiumAtlanta, GA 39-31 () Cotton Bowl No. 6 (8) Ohio State* AT&T StadiumArlington, TX 14-28 * The eventual national champion.

Head coaches

There have been 31 head coaches since the inaugural team in 1893, with Steve Sarkisian being the current head coach of the Longhorns.

No coach 1 1893 4–0 1 Reginald DeMerritt Wentworth 1 1894 6–1 2 Frank Crawford 1 1895 5–0 3 Harry Orman Robinson 1 1896 4–2–1 4 Walter F. Kelly 1 1897 6–2 5 David Farragut Edwards 1 1898 5–1 6 Maurice Gordon Clarke 1 1899 6–2 7 Samuel Huston Thompson 2 1900–1901 14–2–1 8 J. B. Hart 1 1902 6–3–1 9 Ralph Hutchinson 3 1903–1905 16–7–2 10 H. R. Schenker 1 1906 9–1 11 W. E. Metzenthin 2 1907–1908 11–5–1 12 Dexter W. Draper 1 1909 4–3–1 13 Billy Wasmund 1 1910 6–2 14 Dave Allerdice 5 1911–1915 33–7 15 Eugene Van Gent 1 1916 7–2 .778 16 William Juneau 3 1917–1919 19–7 17 Berry Whitaker 3 1920–1922 22–3–1 18 E. J. Stewart 4 1923–1926 24–9–3 19 Clyde Littlefield 7 1927–1933 44–18–6 20 Jack Chevigny 3 1934–1936 13–14–2 21 Dana X. Bible 10 1937–1946 63–31–3 22 Blair Cherry 4 1947–1950 32–10–1 23 Ed Price 6 1951–1956 33–27–1 24 Darrell Royal 20 1957–1976 167–47–5 25 Fred Akers 10 1977–1986 86–31–2 26 David McWilliams 5 1987–1991 31–26 27 John Mackovic 6 1992–1997 41–28–2 28 Mack Brown 16 1998–2013 158–48 29 Charlie Strong 3 2014–2016 16–21 30 Tom Herman 4 2017–2020 32–18 31 Steve Sarkisian 5 2021–present 45–19

Home stadium

The Longhorns have played their home games in Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium (formerly just "Memorial Stadium" and "Texas Memorial Stadium") on Campbell-Williams Field since 1924. The stadium is located on the campus of The University of Texas in Austin, Texas. The current official stadium capacity is 100,119, making it the second largest football venue in the state of Texas,Note: The official capacity of Kyle Field is 82,600. Source: The record attendance at Kyle Field was 87,555 (November 23, 2001 vs. Texas). Source: the fourth largest in the SEC Conference,Note: the official capacity of Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium is 100,119. Source: the seventh largest on-campus stadium in the NCAA, and the ninth largest non-racing stadium in the world.