Mack Brown
Encyclopedia
William Mack Brown is head coach
of The University of Texas at Austin
Longhorn
football
team.
Prior to his head coach position at Texas, Brown was head coach at Appalachian State
, Tulane
, and North Carolina
. Brown is credited with revitalizing the Texas and North Carolina football programs. The Longhorns beat Michigan
in the 2005 Rose Bowl
, Ohio State
at The Horseshoe
in September 2005, and division rival Oklahoma
in 1998, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2008, and 2009. The 2005 season was capped off by victories over Colorado
and USC
to win the Big 12 conference and national championships, respectively. In 2006 he was awarded the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award for "Coach of the Year". On November 27, 2008 Brown achieved his 200th career win, making him the first Texas coach to reach that mark.
. During his teenage years, he attended Putnam County High School. He was the product of a disciplined home with an early curfew. Brown's family had a long history with football. His grandfather, Eddie Watson, was a legendary athlete at Tennessee Tech and coach at Putnam County High School for more than three decades. His father, Melvin Brown, was also a coach and an administrator. Mack's older brother Watson
also caught the coaching bug, and is the current head football coach at Tennessee Tech.
Brown attended Vanderbilt University
and later graduated from Florida State University
in 1974, starting his coaching career as a student coach after an injury ended his playing career. He then received a graduate degree from The University of Southern Mississippi
in 1976. During his undergraduate years, Brown was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon
fraternity.
s at Florida State University
, a position he held in 1973 and 1974. From 1975 to 1977 he was the Wide Receivers Coach at Southern Miss. This was followed by a one-year stint as Wide Receivers Coach at Memphis State
. For the 1979 season, he joined the staff of Iowa State
, again as a Wide Receivers Coach, before a promotion to Offensive Coordinator. In 1982, he moved to LSU
as the Quarterback
s Coach.
to a 6–5 record. Brown then moved back to a supporting role as offensive coordinator for the Oklahoma Sooners
during the 1984 season.
in 1985, where he also became the school's athletic director. Despite a slow start (a 1–10 record in his first year), he made gradual improvement, but could never quite break the .500 mark, leading the Green Wave to a 4–7 in 1986 and, in 1987, to a 6–6 record and a trip to the Independence Bowl
, Tulane's fifth bowl game in over 40 years.
. Saddled with a thin recruiting base inherited from his predecessor, Dick Crum, Brown's first two teams finished with identical 1–10 records.
However, the next two years saw a relatively quick return to respectability. In 1990, the Tar Heels finished 6–4–1. By comparison, the Tar Heels had won only seven games in the previous three years. Included in the 1990 total was a tie of Georgia Tech
that proved to be the Yellow Jackets' only non-win that season en route to a share of the national championship. In 1991, the Tar Heels finished 7–4, narrowly missing a bowl bid.
Everything finally came together for the Tar Heels in 1992. They finished 8–3 in the regular season and second in the Atlantic Coast Conference
, and with a victory over Mississippi State
in the Peach Bowl, they finished the season at 9–3. The Peach Bowl was the program's first bowl appearance since 1986, first bowl win since 1982, and first appearance in a final Top 25 poll since 1982.
The 1992 season was the start of UNC's most successful period since the Charlie Justice era in the late 1940s. Brown coached the Tar Heels to five consecutive bowl games, including UNC's only two New Year's Day
bowl games in more than half a century (or three, if one counts the 1992/93 Peach Bowl, which was played the day after New Year's to avoid a conflict with the Sugar Bowl
). They were ranked in the AP Top 25 every week from October 1992 through the start of the 1995 season. They finished in the final rankings in four out of five years, including two straight appearances in the top 10. They also won 10 regular-season games in 1993 and 1997, only the second and third times the Tar Heels have accomplished this. Largely due to Florida State
joining the league in 1992, Brown was unable to win an ACC title—something the Tar Heels haven't done since 1980. Brown in fact has always had trouble winning conference titles, leading to the widely held view that he is a kind of Elmer Gantry who can flimflam normally highly critical fans.
Brown's time at UNC also saw renewed popularity for a team that had long played in the shadow of the school's powerhouse basketball team
. It still did and once Brown's smoke-and-mirrors was gone, UNC reverted. Games at Kenan Memorial Stadium were almost always sold out, the highlight being a standing room only crowd of 62,000 that watched the Tar Heels play Florida State in 1997, still the largest crowd to watch a college football game on campus in the state of North Carolina. Brown also spearheaded a major renovation to Kenan Stadium that featured upgraded team facilities and an expansion to 60,000 seats.
Not long after the end of the 1997 season, Brown accepted the head coaching job at Texas. The move still rankles Tar Heel fans to this day; Brown had initially promised he wouldn't leave Chapel Hill for Austin. His defensive coordinator, Carl Torbush
, coached the Tar Heels in that year's Gator Bowl
. North Carolina credits the 1997 regular season to Brown and the Gator Bowl to Torbush. His 69 wins (70 counting the 1998 Gator Bowl) are the second-most in school history, behind only Crum.
or Cotton Bowl Classic. They felt that he should be playing for Big 12 titles or even National Championships instead.
In five of the first eight seasons under Brown, the Longhorns were all but eliminated from either of these two goals due to losses in October to Big 12 rival Oklahoma
. Since the two teams play in the same division of the Big 12, a loss by Texas to Oklahoma means that Texas cannot win the south half of the conference unless Oklahoma loses at least two conference games. However, in 1999 Brown led Texas to their second Big 12 title game where they were beaten by a higher ranked Nebraska team that they had beaten earlier in the year. In 2001, Brown took Texas to their 3rd Big 12 title game. In that year's campaign, the Longhorns lost to the Sooners
but were given another chance when the Sooners lost to both Nebraska
and Oklahoma State
. Texas made it to the Big 12 Conference Championship Game, losing to Colorado
, a school they had beaten by a substantial margin earlier in the year. Many felt that Texas would have played in the BCS Championship game had they beaten Colorado. A similar opportunity presented itself in 2002. After Oklahoma beat Texas, they lost to Texas A&M
and Oklahoma State. However, Texas had suffered a loss to Texas Tech
so they did not make the championship game.
In 2003, Texas finished the regular season with a 10–2 regular season record and most observers felt they had the resume to reach their first BCS bowl under Brown. However, when South Champion (and #1 ranked) Oklahoma lost to North Champion Kansas State in the Big 12 championship game, Kansas State received the Big 12 conference's automatic BCS bid as conference champion and joined Oklahoma in the BCS. The BCS rules specified that no more than 2 teams from a single conference could go. Texas was frozen out.
Although Brown consistently led the Longhorns to a bowl game to cap off each season, his first six years he was not able to lead them to a Bowl Championship Series
game, having to settle each year for the Holiday Bowl
or Cotton Bowl Classic. His record in these games was 3–3, with two of the three losses coming at the hands of supposedly inferior teams as judged by the rankings headed into the games.
, 28–20, at #24 Texas Tech, 51–21, and at Colorado, 31–7.
Then Texas set a record for the largest come from-behind-win in school history, beating #19 Oklahoma State, 56–35, after falling behind 35–7. After this performance, Texas again fell behind against Kansas
but squeaked out a win 27–23. Kansas head coach Mark Mangino
stirred up controversy by claiming that the officials were biased in favor of Texas.
The series of victories brought Texas back up to #5 in the rankings as they welcomed arch-rival Texas A&M to Austin and won 26–13. However, Oklahoma stood undefeated, which meant the Sooners would represent the Big 12 South in the Championship game against a much lower ranked team from the North Division. Once again, the loss to Oklahoma had kept Texas out of playing for a National or Conference Title, and had seemingly destined them to non-Bowl Championship Series bowl as well.
With Texas and Cal both vying for a spot in the Rose Bowl, Coach Brown received criticism for lobbying on behalf of his team, which many perceived was a factor in UT's Rose Bowl invitation. Cal was denied what would have been their first Rose Bowl bid since 1958. "I thought it was a little classless how Coach Brown was begging for votes," Cal quarterback Aaron Rodgers
told reporters in Berkeley. "I think a team's record and the way you play should speak for itself." Cal's only loss was a 23-17 nailbiter on the road at USC. Cal dominated the game statistically, more than doubling USC in total yardage. The Golden Bears had a first-and-goal from the 9-yard-line with roughly one minute left in the fourth quarter, but could not convert. Meanwhile, Texas' lone loss was a 12-0 to Oklahoma on a neutral field. USC and Oklahoma, the teams Cal and Texas lost to, respectively, went on to play in the national championship game. USC blew out Oklahoma 55-19 in that game. However, Texas fans point to the Holiday Bowl, where Cal was dealt a 45-31 loss at the hands of No. 23 Texas Tech, a team which Texas defeated 51-21 earlier in the season.
Brown's Longhorns accepted the bid to play in the Rose Bowl. It was the first visit by the Longhorns, due mainly to the fact that the Rose Bowl traditionally pitted the winner of the Pac 10
against the winner of the Big Ten
. Texas' opponent was Michigan
, whom Texas was playing for the very first time. Texas won the game, 38–37, on a last second field goal by kicker Dusty Mangum
in what had been called one of the greatest Rose Bowl games of all time.
Despite the success of the 2004 season, Coach Brown's resume was still lacking both a conference championship and a national championship.
Texas opened the season ranked #2 behind USC in every preseason poll. Led by quarterback
Vince Young
, Texas defeated their early opponents easily, including a decisive 45–12 victory over Oklahoma. That marked the 6th time the Longhorns have entered the contest ranked 2nd nationally, and they have won all six times. With the win, Texas started the season 5-0 for the first time since 1983. That was the last time UT had national title hopes, ending the regular season 11–0 before losing to Georgia in the Cotton Bowl Classic.
After the win over previously undefeated Texas Tech, Texas moved into first place in the Bowl Championship Series
(BCS) standings for the first time since its creation. However, the following week Texas fell back down to #2 in the BCS poll, while USC moved back into the #1 spot. Both teams won all their remaining games, with USC and Texas remaining ranked #1 and #2 throughout the rest of the regular season.
The two teams finally met in the 2006 Rose Bowl
in a highly anticipated matchup. It was the first time two teams averaging over 50 points per game had met. The combined 53-game win streak was an NCAA record for teams playing each other and the game was also the first to have teams ranked first and second in every iteration of the BCS standings. The game also featured USC's two Heisman winners, as well as a Heisman finalist in Vince Young. In an up and down game, Texas eventually defeated the 2005 USC Trojans
41–38, highlighted by a 4th down game-winning touchdown run by Vince Young
in the final minute. The win gave the Longhorns their first national championship in 35 years.
Despite expectations, prior to and during the season a total of seven UT players were suspended for various infractions
. Brown said “I am extremely disappointed that four of our student-athletes have had issues with the law this summer. That is not reflective of the high standard of class, character and integrity we have established at Texas for many years. It’s a shame that these recent events have generated a great deal of negative attention, because I do think that overall, this is as good of a group of kids that I’ve ever coached. I think that will show over time.” The negative publicity was more extensive than in past instances but Mack Brown publicly supported the players while denouncing their actions.
For the second straight year, UT merchandise were the top-selling products among buyers of Collegiate Licensing Company
. UT used part of the money to give Mack Brown a raise: the University of Texas Board of Regents
voted unanimously to raise Brown's salary by $300,000, bringing his annual compensation to $2.81 million and keeping him among the five highest paid coaches in the sport. The package also contained provisions for up to $3 million dollars in bonuses, including "$100,000 if he wins the Big 12 Championship and $450,000 if he wins this year's national championship, as well as bonuses based on the percent of players who graduate." Brown's contract was extended through the 2016 season and includes buy-out clauses should another school attempt to hire Brown.
For the football season, Texas won their first four games although three of them were closer than analysts had expected. In their next game Texas was beaten for a second year in a row by the Kansas State Wildcats 41–21 through play with no turnovers and 21 combined points from defense and special teams. They scored one touchdown on a punt return, one on a kick return, and one on an interception; Previously, Texas had never allowed all three types of scores in a single season. The 41 points were the most scored against Texas in Austin since UCLA handed the Longhorns a 66–3 loss in 1997, and it was the worst home defeat in the Mack Brown era at Texas. Texas lost again the following week in the 2007 Red River Shootout, 28–21. With that loss, Texas opened conference play 0–2 for the first time since 1956, when they were in the Southwest Conference and one year before Darrell Royal
became head coach of the Longhorns. But that was as bad as it got for Mack Brown during the first decade of the 21st century. In their ninth regular season game, Texas outscored Nebraska
28-25, marking Brown's 100th win at Texas. In their next two games, the Longhorns would defeat Oklahoma State
and Texas Tech
, but in their final matchup against archrival Texas A&M
, the Longhorns lost 30–38. This marked the Longhorns' second straight loss to the Aggies. Despite the loss, Texas went to the Holiday Bowl
to defeat 11th-ranked Arizona State
52–34. The Longhorns finished the season 10–3, marking their seventh consecutive 10-win season, the third longest of all time in FBS history, trailing Florida State
's 14 from 1987–00 and Miami
's 8 from 1985–92.
The 2008 Texas Longhorns football team entered the season ranked 10th in the USA Today Coaches Poll
. They won their first four games to rise to number 5 in the national rankings. Texas began Big 12 Conference
play on October 4, 2008 with a trip to Boulder, Colorado
and a win over the Colorado Buffaloes
. On October 11, 2008 they defeated the number-one ranked Oklahoma Sooners
in the 103rd Red River Shootout
. It was the third UT win in four seasons, and the first time in Brown's tenure for either team to upset the other in the Red River Shootout.
Following the victory over OU, the Longhorns vaulted up the standings to first place in the AP, ESPN/USA Today, and Harris Polls. In their next game they secured a win over #11 Missouri in Austin, setting a new school, state, and conference attendance record in the process. It was the first time since 1977 for the Longhorns to play a home football game as the #1 team in the AP. Texas' reign at the top of the BCS standings was soon brought to an end; however, by the then seventh-ranked Red Raiders of Texas Tech. In a game played before a record-setting national television audience on November 1, 2008, the Longhorns, who trailed the entire game, took the lead with one minute and twenty-eight seconds remaining on the clock. Texas Tech then scored a comeback touchdown on the last second of the fourth quarter to win the game 39–33, keeping Texas out of the Big 12 Championship Game and national title pictures. Texas finished the 2008 regular season with a win over Texas A&M, the Longhorns longest running-rivalry opponent. The biggest margin of victory in the history of the series occurred when Texas beat A&M 48–0 in 1898. Texas nearly equaled that record in 2008 by producing a 49–9 victory, the second-largest margin of victory for this rivalry series. It was also the 200th career win for Mack Brown, and it set a new attendance record for UT, the State of Texas, the Big 12 Conference, and the southwest region. Texas would go on to win the 2009 Fiesta Bowl by beating Ohio State, 24–21.
In Austin, the Browns continue to be active in community affairs, serving as honorary co-chairpersons of the Capital Campaign for the Helping Hands of Austin. The Browns have been instrumental in the opening of The Rise School of Austin (an early childhood education program that integrates children who have disabilities with their typically developing peers) and serve on the schools Board of Directors. They lent their name along with legendary UT QB James Street to the First Annual James Street/Mack Brown Golf Tournament benefiting The Rise School.
The Browns have endorsed [a] new Texas license plate, which is designed to raise public awareness for child abuse
and neglect
and the need for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) volunteers. After the Aggie Bonfire
tragedy at Texas A&M
in 1999, the couple initiated a blood drive on the UT campus that attracted more than 250 blood donors.
In October 2006, Mack Brown made a cameo appearance in the television pilot for Friday Night Lights
. Early in the show, a resident is heard to say "Who does[ Coach Taylor
] think he is? Mack Brown? He's no Mack Brown." Later in the pilot, the real Mack Brown plays the role of a local football booster quizzing high-school coach Eric Taylor on his pre-game preparation.
He appears in commercials for College GameDay where he sings "Texas Fight
" with the GameDay crew; when Kirk Herbstreit
freestyles the song, Brown looks at Herbstreit sternly and says "We don't freestyle 'Texas Fight', big boy."
"We appreciate the contributions of the athletic staff and, especially, the student-athletes, to the community of the University of Texas at Austin. However, at a time when students are facing a deteriorating academic environment in the form of declining class offerings and increasing class sizes, and lecturers, teaching assistants, and staff are facing job terminations, we believe a permanent raise of $2 million (a sum greater than the entire career earnings of a typical university employee) offered to any member of the university community is unseemly and inappropriate."
This move was justified by President Bill Powers as necessary to make sure Mack Brown would stay for what was expected to be one more year and provide continuity to Will Muschamp, then assistant coach and heir designate, who was being paid almost $1 million dollars per year to stay and play second fiddle.
* Brown left for Texas shortly after the end of the 1997 regular season. Carl Torbush
coached the Tar Heels in the 1998 Gator Bowl
. North Carolina credits the regular season to Brown and the Gator Bowl to Torbush.
^ Due to tiebreakers, Texas did not compete in the Big XII Championship game.
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
of The University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
Longhorn
Texas Longhorn Athletics
Texas Longhorns athletics programs include the extramural and intramural sports teams of The University of Texas at Austin. These teams are referred to as the Texas Longhorns , taking their name from the Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and are now the...
football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
team.
Prior to his head coach position at Texas, Brown was head coach at Appalachian State
Appalachian State University
Appalachian State University is a comprehensive , public, coeducational university located in Boone, North Carolina, United States. Appalachian State, also referred to as Appalachian, App State, or simply App, is the sixth largest institution in the University of North Carolina system...
, Tulane
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
, and North Carolina
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
. Brown is credited with revitalizing the Texas and North Carolina football programs. The Longhorns beat Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
in the 2005 Rose Bowl
Rose Bowl Game
The Rose Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game, usually played on January 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on Monday, January 2...
, Ohio State
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
at The Horseshoe
Ohio Stadium
Ohio Stadium is the home of the Ohio State Buckeyes football team and is located on the campus of The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. The stadium was added to the National Register of Historic Places by the National Park Service on March 22, 1974...
in September 2005, and division rival Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
in 1998, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2008, and 2009. The 2005 season was capped off by victories over Colorado
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
and USC
USC Trojans
The USC Trojans are the athletic teams representing the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the Trojans, the women's athletic teams are referred to as either the Trojans or Women of Troy...
to win the Big 12 conference and national championships, respectively. In 2006 he was awarded the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award for "Coach of the Year". On November 27, 2008 Brown achieved his 200th career win, making him the first Texas coach to reach that mark.
Early life
Brown was born as the middle of three children (brothers Mel, youngest, and Watson) on August 27, 1951 in Cookeville, TennesseeCookeville, Tennessee
Cookeville is a city in Putnam County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 23,923 at the 2000 census. of Cookeville's population was 30,435, and the combined total of those living in Cookeville's in 2010 was 65,014. It is the county seat of Putnam County and home to Tennessee...
. During his teenage years, he attended Putnam County High School. He was the product of a disciplined home with an early curfew. Brown's family had a long history with football. His grandfather, Eddie Watson, was a legendary athlete at Tennessee Tech and coach at Putnam County High School for more than three decades. His father, Melvin Brown, was also a coach and an administrator. Mack's older brother Watson
Watson Brown
Lester Watson Brown is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head football coach at Tennessee Technological University, a position he has held since 2007...
also caught the coaching bug, and is the current head football coach at Tennessee Tech.
Brown attended Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
and later graduated from Florida State University
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
in 1974, starting his coaching career as a student coach after an injury ended his playing career. He then received a graduate degree from The University of Southern Mississippi
The University of Southern Mississippi
The University of Southern Mississippi, informally known as Southern Miss, is a large public research university located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, United States. It is situated north of Gulfport, Mississippi and northeast of New Orleans, Louisiana...
in 1976. During his undergraduate years, Brown was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Sigma Alpha Epsilon is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity founded at the University of Alabama on March 9, 1856. Of all existing national social fraternities today, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is the only one founded in the Antebellum South...
fraternity.
Early positions
Brown's first experience coaching came as a student coach of wide receiverWide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
s at Florida State University
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
, a position he held in 1973 and 1974. From 1975 to 1977 he was the Wide Receivers Coach at Southern Miss. This was followed by a one-year stint as Wide Receivers Coach at Memphis State
University of Memphis
The University of Memphis is an American public research university located in the Normal Station neighborhood of Memphis, Tennessee and is the flagship public research university of the Tennessee Board of Regents system....
. For the 1979 season, he joined the staff of Iowa State
Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...
, again as a Wide Receivers Coach, before a promotion to Offensive Coordinator. In 1982, he moved to LSU
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
as the Quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
s Coach.
Appalachian State
Brown's first head coaching job came in 1983 when he led Appalachian StateAppalachian State University
Appalachian State University is a comprehensive , public, coeducational university located in Boone, North Carolina, United States. Appalachian State, also referred to as Appalachian, App State, or simply App, is the sixth largest institution in the University of North Carolina system...
to a 6–5 record. Brown then moved back to a supporting role as offensive coordinator for the Oklahoma Sooners
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
during the 1984 season.
Tulane
His second head coaching position came with TulaneTulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
in 1985, where he also became the school's athletic director. Despite a slow start (a 1–10 record in his first year), he made gradual improvement, but could never quite break the .500 mark, leading the Green Wave to a 4–7 in 1986 and, in 1987, to a 6–6 record and a trip to the Independence Bowl
Independence Bowl
The Independence Bowl is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I college football bowl game that is played annually at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana, so named because it was inaugurated in the United States bicentennial year, 1976....
, Tulane's fifth bowl game in over 40 years.
University of North Carolina
In 1988, Brown took the head coaching job at North CarolinaUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
. Saddled with a thin recruiting base inherited from his predecessor, Dick Crum, Brown's first two teams finished with identical 1–10 records.
However, the next two years saw a relatively quick return to respectability. In 1990, the Tar Heels finished 6–4–1. By comparison, the Tar Heels had won only seven games in the previous three years. Included in the 1990 total was a tie of Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team represents the Georgia Institute of Technology in collegiate level football. While the team is officially designated as the Yellow Jackets, it is also referred to as the Ramblin' Wreck. The Yellow Jackets are a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference...
that proved to be the Yellow Jackets' only non-win that season en route to a share of the national championship. In 1991, the Tar Heels finished 7–4, narrowly missing a bowl bid.
Everything finally came together for the Tar Heels in 1992. They finished 8–3 in the regular season and second in the Atlantic Coast Conference
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...
, and with a victory over Mississippi State
Mississippi State Bulldogs
The Mississippi State Bulldogs are the athletic teams of Mississippi State University. They participate in NCAA's Division I in the competitive 12-member Southeastern Conference under the mascot Bulldogs and the school colors of maroon and white...
in the Peach Bowl, they finished the season at 9–3. The Peach Bowl was the program's first bowl appearance since 1986, first bowl win since 1982, and first appearance in a final Top 25 poll since 1982.
The 1992 season was the start of UNC's most successful period since the Charlie Justice era in the late 1940s. Brown coached the Tar Heels to five consecutive bowl games, including UNC's only two New Year's Day
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
bowl games in more than half a century (or three, if one counts the 1992/93 Peach Bowl, which was played the day after New Year's to avoid a conflict with the Sugar Bowl
Sugar Bowl
The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Sugar Bowl has been played annually since January 1, 1935, and celebrated its 75th anniversary on January 2, 2009...
). They were ranked in the AP Top 25 every week from October 1992 through the start of the 1995 season. They finished in the final rankings in four out of five years, including two straight appearances in the top 10. They also won 10 regular-season games in 1993 and 1997, only the second and third times the Tar Heels have accomplished this. Largely due to Florida State
Florida State Seminoles
The Florida State Seminoles are the men's and women's sports teams of Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida. Florida State participates in the NCAA's Division I . FSU joined the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1991, and competes in the Atlantic Division in any sports split into a...
joining the league in 1992, Brown was unable to win an ACC title—something the Tar Heels haven't done since 1980. Brown in fact has always had trouble winning conference titles, leading to the widely held view that he is a kind of Elmer Gantry who can flimflam normally highly critical fans.
Brown's time at UNC also saw renewed popularity for a team that had long played in the shadow of the school's powerhouse basketball team
North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball
The North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball program is the intercollegiate men's basketball of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and is considered one of the most successful programs in NCAA history...
. It still did and once Brown's smoke-and-mirrors was gone, UNC reverted. Games at Kenan Memorial Stadium were almost always sold out, the highlight being a standing room only crowd of 62,000 that watched the Tar Heels play Florida State in 1997, still the largest crowd to watch a college football game on campus in the state of North Carolina. Brown also spearheaded a major renovation to Kenan Stadium that featured upgraded team facilities and an expansion to 60,000 seats.
Not long after the end of the 1997 season, Brown accepted the head coaching job at Texas. The move still rankles Tar Heel fans to this day; Brown had initially promised he wouldn't leave Chapel Hill for Austin. His defensive coordinator, Carl Torbush
Carl Torbush
Carl William Torbush Jr. was the college football Defensive Coordinator for the Kansas Jayhawks in Lawrence, KS...
, coached the Tar Heels in that year's Gator Bowl
1998 Gator Bowl
The 1998 Gator Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game between the and the Tar Heels from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida on January 1, 1998...
. North Carolina credits the 1997 regular season to Brown and the Gator Bowl to Torbush. His 69 wins (70 counting the 1998 Gator Bowl) are the second-most in school history, behind only Crum.
The University of Texas at Austin
In his early years at UT, Mack Brown was sometimes referred to as "Coach February," a nickname that indicated he performed well during the important recruiting season, but failed to follow up with equally impressive wins on the field. His detractors felt that with all the resources at his disposal at Texas, combined with the talent he was recruiting from high school programs, that he should have more to show for it than appearances in the Holiday BowlHoliday Bowl
The Holiday Bowl is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I-A college football bowl game that has been played annually at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California, since 1978. Beginning with the 2010 playing the bowl will officially be known as the Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl after...
or Cotton Bowl Classic. They felt that he should be playing for Big 12 titles or even National Championships instead.
In five of the first eight seasons under Brown, the Longhorns were all but eliminated from either of these two goals due to losses in October to Big 12 rival Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
. Since the two teams play in the same division of the Big 12, a loss by Texas to Oklahoma means that Texas cannot win the south half of the conference unless Oklahoma loses at least two conference games. However, in 1999 Brown led Texas to their second Big 12 title game where they were beaten by a higher ranked Nebraska team that they had beaten earlier in the year. In 2001, Brown took Texas to their 3rd Big 12 title game. In that year's campaign, the Longhorns lost to the Sooners
Sooners
Sooners is the name given to settlers in the midwest of the United States who entered the Unassigned Lands in what is now the state of Oklahoma before President Grover Cleveland officially proclaimed them open to settlement on March 2, 1889 with the Indian Appropriations Act of 1889...
but were given another chance when the Sooners lost to both Nebraska
Nebraska Cornhuskers football
The Nebraska Cornhuskers represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in college football. The program has established itself as a traditional powerhouse, and has the fourth-most all-time victories of any NCAA Division I-A team. Nebraska is one of only six football programs in NCAA Division I-A...
and Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State Cowboys football
The Oklahoma State Cowboys football program represents Oklahoma State University–Stillwater in college football. The team is a member of the Big 12 Conference and completes at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. The Cowboys are led by Mike Gundy, who is in his seventh year as...
. Texas made it to the Big 12 Conference Championship Game, losing to Colorado
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
, a school they had beaten by a substantial margin earlier in the year. Many felt that Texas would have played in the BCS Championship game had they beaten Colorado. A similar opportunity presented itself in 2002. After Oklahoma beat Texas, they lost to Texas A&M
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...
and Oklahoma State. However, Texas had suffered a loss to Texas Tech
Texas Tech Red Raiders football
Texas Tech Red Raiders football program is a college football team that represents Texas Tech University . The team competes, as a member of the Big 12 Conference, which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
so they did not make the championship game.
In 2003, Texas finished the regular season with a 10–2 regular season record and most observers felt they had the resume to reach their first BCS bowl under Brown. However, when South Champion (and #1 ranked) Oklahoma lost to North Champion Kansas State in the Big 12 championship game, Kansas State received the Big 12 conference's automatic BCS bid as conference champion and joined Oklahoma in the BCS. The BCS rules specified that no more than 2 teams from a single conference could go. Texas was frozen out.
Although Brown consistently led the Longhorns to a bowl game to cap off each season, his first six years he was not able to lead them to a Bowl Championship Series
Bowl Championship Series
The Bowl Championship Series is a selection system that creates five bowl match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , including an opportunity for the top two to compete in the BCS National Championship Game.The BCS relies on a combination of...
game, having to settle each year for the Holiday Bowl
Holiday Bowl
The Holiday Bowl is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I-A college football bowl game that has been played annually at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California, since 1978. Beginning with the 2010 playing the bowl will officially be known as the Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl after...
or Cotton Bowl Classic. His record in these games was 3–3, with two of the three losses coming at the hands of supposedly inferior teams as judged by the rankings headed into the games.
2004 season
In 2004, the Longhorns began the season with a #7 ranking nationally and had risen to #5 coming into the annual matchup with then #2 Oklahoma in the Red River Shootout. Oklahoma shutout the Longhorns 12–0. Texas dropped to #9, before rebounding with wins over #24 MissouriUniversity of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
, 28–20, at #24 Texas Tech, 51–21, and at Colorado, 31–7.
Then Texas set a record for the largest come from-behind-win in school history, beating #19 Oklahoma State, 56–35, after falling behind 35–7. After this performance, Texas again fell behind against Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
but squeaked out a win 27–23. Kansas head coach Mark Mangino
Mark Mangino
Mark Thomas Mangino is an American football coach. He was most recently the head coach of the Kansas Jayhawks college football team from 2002 to 2009. In 2007, Mangino received several National Coach of the Year honors after leading the Jayhawks to their first 12-win season in school history...
stirred up controversy by claiming that the officials were biased in favor of Texas.
The series of victories brought Texas back up to #5 in the rankings as they welcomed arch-rival Texas A&M to Austin and won 26–13. However, Oklahoma stood undefeated, which meant the Sooners would represent the Big 12 South in the Championship game against a much lower ranked team from the North Division. Once again, the loss to Oklahoma had kept Texas out of playing for a National or Conference Title, and had seemingly destined them to non-Bowl Championship Series bowl as well.
With Texas and Cal both vying for a spot in the Rose Bowl, Coach Brown received criticism for lobbying on behalf of his team, which many perceived was a factor in UT's Rose Bowl invitation. Cal was denied what would have been their first Rose Bowl bid since 1958. "I thought it was a little classless how Coach Brown was begging for votes," Cal quarterback Aaron Rodgers
Aaron Rodgers
Aaron Charles Rodgers is an American football quarterback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . Rodgers was selected in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft by the Packers...
told reporters in Berkeley. "I think a team's record and the way you play should speak for itself." Cal's only loss was a 23-17 nailbiter on the road at USC. Cal dominated the game statistically, more than doubling USC in total yardage. The Golden Bears had a first-and-goal from the 9-yard-line with roughly one minute left in the fourth quarter, but could not convert. Meanwhile, Texas' lone loss was a 12-0 to Oklahoma on a neutral field. USC and Oklahoma, the teams Cal and Texas lost to, respectively, went on to play in the national championship game. USC blew out Oklahoma 55-19 in that game. However, Texas fans point to the Holiday Bowl, where Cal was dealt a 45-31 loss at the hands of No. 23 Texas Tech, a team which Texas defeated 51-21 earlier in the season.
Brown's Longhorns accepted the bid to play in the Rose Bowl. It was the first visit by the Longhorns, due mainly to the fact that the Rose Bowl traditionally pitted the winner of the Pac 10
Pacific Ten Conference
The Pacific-12 Conference is a college athletic conference that operates in the Western United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I; its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision , the higher of two levels of NCAA Division I football competition...
against the winner of the Big Ten
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
. Texas' opponent was Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, whom Texas was playing for the very first time. Texas won the game, 38–37, on a last second field goal by kicker Dusty Mangum
Dusty Mangum
Dustin Ross Mangum is a former placekicker for the University of Texas at Austin's college football team from 2001 to 2004. Mangum, who began his college football career as a walk-on, is best known for capping UT's 2004-2005 season with a 37-yard game-winning field goal as time expired in the...
in what had been called one of the greatest Rose Bowl games of all time.
Despite the success of the 2004 season, Coach Brown's resume was still lacking both a conference championship and a national championship.
2005 season
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
Vince Young
Vince Young
Vincent Paul Young, Jr. , nicknamed "VY", is an American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League . He spent the first five seasons of his career with the Tennessee Titans. Young was the third overall draft pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college...
, Texas defeated their early opponents easily, including a decisive 45–12 victory over Oklahoma. That marked the 6th time the Longhorns have entered the contest ranked 2nd nationally, and they have won all six times. With the win, Texas started the season 5-0 for the first time since 1983. That was the last time UT had national title hopes, ending the regular season 11–0 before losing to Georgia in the Cotton Bowl Classic.
After the win over previously undefeated Texas Tech, Texas moved into first place in the Bowl Championship Series
Bowl Championship Series
The Bowl Championship Series is a selection system that creates five bowl match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , including an opportunity for the top two to compete in the BCS National Championship Game.The BCS relies on a combination of...
(BCS) standings for the first time since its creation. However, the following week Texas fell back down to #2 in the BCS poll, while USC moved back into the #1 spot. Both teams won all their remaining games, with USC and Texas remaining ranked #1 and #2 throughout the rest of the regular season.
The two teams finally met in the 2006 Rose Bowl
2006 Rose Bowl
The 2006 Rose Bowl Game, played on January 4, 2006, was a football game that served as the national championship of the 2005-2006 Bowl Championship Series...
in a highly anticipated matchup. It was the first time two teams averaging over 50 points per game had met. The combined 53-game win streak was an NCAA record for teams playing each other and the game was also the first to have teams ranked first and second in every iteration of the BCS standings. The game also featured USC's two Heisman winners, as well as a Heisman finalist in Vince Young. In an up and down game, Texas eventually defeated the 2005 USC Trojans
2005 USC Trojans football team
The 2005 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California in the college football season of 2005–2006, winning the Pacific-10 Conference , and playing for the NCAA Division I-A national championship...
41–38, highlighted by a 4th down game-winning touchdown run by Vince Young
Vince Young
Vincent Paul Young, Jr. , nicknamed "VY", is an American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League . He spent the first five seasons of his career with the Tennessee Titans. Young was the third overall draft pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college...
in the final minute. The win gave the Longhorns their first national championship in 35 years.
2006 season
As the defending national champions, Texas began the season ranked #2 in the optimistic pre-season polls, having replaced the NFL-departed quarterback Vince Young with freshman Colt McCoy. The Longhorns however lost convincingly to #1 ranked Ohio State in the second game of the season in Austin. The Horns quickly rebounded to win seven straight games(including a second straight win over nemesis Oklahoma in the Red River Shootout) to climb into the Big 12 South driver's seat and entertain thoughts of a rematch with Ohio State in the national championship, but in the season's 10th game McCoy was injured and Texas was shocked on the road at Kansas State. After the loss, the Horns returned home still needing a final win to clinch the Big 12 South, and even though McCoy returned for the annual matchup Texas was again shocked, losing, 12–7, to intrastate rival Texas A&M. The loss snapped UT's six-game winning streak over the Aggies and the horns settled for the Alamo Bowl where Texas defeated a 6–6 Iowa team in a close game to cap off a respectable 10 win season.2007 season
Mack Brown entered his 10th season as the head coach of the Texas Longhorns with a record of 93–22 setting a new mark above 0.8 winning percentage (.809), the best in Longhorn history. The 2007 Texas Longhorns football team began play ranked third in the all-time list of both total wins and winning percentage, and were ranked in the Top 10 by numerous pre-season polls.Despite expectations, prior to and during the season a total of seven UT players were suspended for various infractions
2007 Texas Longhorns football suspensions
The 2007 Texas Longhorns football suspensions were separate incidents resulting in college football players being suspended from the 2007 Texas Longhorn football team at the University of Texas at Austin...
. Brown said “I am extremely disappointed that four of our student-athletes have had issues with the law this summer. That is not reflective of the high standard of class, character and integrity we have established at Texas for many years. It’s a shame that these recent events have generated a great deal of negative attention, because I do think that overall, this is as good of a group of kids that I’ve ever coached. I think that will show over time.” The negative publicity was more extensive than in past instances but Mack Brown publicly supported the players while denouncing their actions.
For the second straight year, UT merchandise were the top-selling products among buyers of Collegiate Licensing Company
Collegiate Licensing Company
The Collegiate Licensing Company is an American collegiate trademark licensing and marketing company. Founded in 1981 by Bill Battle in Selma, Alabama, CLC is the largest and oldest collegiate licensing company in the United States and currently provides its services to more than 200 colleges and...
. UT used part of the money to give Mack Brown a raise: the University of Texas Board of Regents
University of Texas System
The University of Texas System encompasses 15 educational institutions in Texas, of which nine are academic universities and six are health institutions. The system is headquartered in Austin and has a total enrollment of over 190,000 students...
voted unanimously to raise Brown's salary by $300,000, bringing his annual compensation to $2.81 million and keeping him among the five highest paid coaches in the sport. The package also contained provisions for up to $3 million dollars in bonuses, including "$100,000 if he wins the Big 12 Championship and $450,000 if he wins this year's national championship, as well as bonuses based on the percent of players who graduate." Brown's contract was extended through the 2016 season and includes buy-out clauses should another school attempt to hire Brown.
For the football season, Texas won their first four games although three of them were closer than analysts had expected. In their next game Texas was beaten for a second year in a row by the Kansas State Wildcats 41–21 through play with no turnovers and 21 combined points from defense and special teams. They scored one touchdown on a punt return, one on a kick return, and one on an interception; Previously, Texas had never allowed all three types of scores in a single season. The 41 points were the most scored against Texas in Austin since UCLA handed the Longhorns a 66–3 loss in 1997, and it was the worst home defeat in the Mack Brown era at Texas. Texas lost again the following week in the 2007 Red River Shootout, 28–21. With that loss, Texas opened conference play 0–2 for the first time since 1956, when they were in the Southwest Conference and one year before Darrell Royal
Darrell Royal
Darrell K Royal is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Mississippi State University , the University of Washington , and the University of Texas at Austin , compiling a career college football record of 184–60–5...
became head coach of the Longhorns. But that was as bad as it got for Mack Brown during the first decade of the 21st century. In their ninth regular season game, Texas outscored Nebraska
Nebraska Cornhuskers football
The Nebraska Cornhuskers represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in college football. The program has established itself as a traditional powerhouse, and has the fourth-most all-time victories of any NCAA Division I-A team. Nebraska is one of only six football programs in NCAA Division I-A...
28-25, marking Brown's 100th win at Texas. In their next two games, the Longhorns would defeat Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State Cowboys
Oklahoma State Cowboys are the athletic teams that represent Oklahoma State University. Their mascot is a cowboy named Pistol Pete. Oklahoma State participates in the NCAA's Division I-A and in the Big 12 Conference's South Division. The university's current athletic director is Mike Holder...
and Texas Tech
Texas Tech Red Raiders
The Texas Tech Red Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Texas Tech University . The women's basketball team uses the name Lady Raiders; however, the school's other women's teams use the "Red Raiders" name. The university's athletic program fields teams in 15 varsity sports and 30 club sports...
, but in their final matchup against archrival Texas A&M
2007 Texas A&M Aggies football team
The 2007 Texas A&M Aggies football team represented Texas A&M University in the 2007-2008 college football season. The team was coached by Dennis Franchione, who had coached at A&M since the 2003 season, but resigned at the conclusion of the annual game with the University of Texas...
, the Longhorns lost 30–38. This marked the Longhorns' second straight loss to the Aggies. Despite the loss, Texas went to the Holiday Bowl
2007 Holiday Bowl
The 2007 Pacific Life Holiday Bowl was a college football bowl game played December 27, 2007 in San Diego, California. It was part of the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season and one of 32 games in the 2007-2008 bowl season. It featured the Texas Longhorns against the Arizona State Sun...
to defeat 11th-ranked Arizona State
2007 Arizona State Sun Devils football team
The 2007 Arizona State Sun Devils football team represented Arizona State University in the college football season of 2007-2008. The team played its home games at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona.-Schedule:-San Jose State:...
52–34. The Longhorns finished the season 10–3, marking their seventh consecutive 10-win season, the third longest of all time in FBS history, trailing Florida State
Florida State Seminoles football
The Florida State Seminoles football team represents Florida State University in college football. The Florida State Seminoles compete in NCAA Division I-FBS and are members of the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference...
's 14 from 1987–00 and Miami
Miami Hurricanes football
The Miami Hurricanes football program competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference of the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision for the University of Miami. The program began in 1926 and has won five AP national championships...
's 8 from 1985–92.
2008 season
Coaches Poll
The USA Today Coaches' Poll is the current name for a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football and Division I college basketball teams....
. They won their first four games to rise to number 5 in the national rankings. Texas began Big 12 Conference
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...
play on October 4, 2008 with a trip to Boulder, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
and a win over the Colorado Buffaloes
2008 Colorado Buffaloes football team
The 2008 Colorado Buffaloes football team represented the University of Colorado at Boulder in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Dan Hawkins and played their home games in Folsom Field.-Pre-season:...
. On October 11, 2008 they defeated the number-one ranked Oklahoma Sooners
2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team
The 2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the college football season of 2008-2009. It was the 114th year of season play for the Sooners. The team was led by head coach Bob Stoops, a two-time Walter Camp Coach of the Year award winner, who has a contract...
in the 103rd Red River Shootout
2008 Texas vs. Oklahoma football game
The 2008 Oklahoma vs. Texas football game, played October 11, 2008, was the 103rd meeting between the University of Oklahoma and The University of Texas at Austin in a college football game. The annual game between the Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma Sooners is called the Red River Shootout...
. It was the third UT win in four seasons, and the first time in Brown's tenure for either team to upset the other in the Red River Shootout.
Following the victory over OU, the Longhorns vaulted up the standings to first place in the AP, ESPN/USA Today, and Harris Polls. In their next game they secured a win over #11 Missouri in Austin, setting a new school, state, and conference attendance record in the process. It was the first time since 1977 for the Longhorns to play a home football game as the #1 team in the AP. Texas' reign at the top of the BCS standings was soon brought to an end; however, by the then seventh-ranked Red Raiders of Texas Tech. In a game played before a record-setting national television audience on November 1, 2008, the Longhorns, who trailed the entire game, took the lead with one minute and twenty-eight seconds remaining on the clock. Texas Tech then scored a comeback touchdown on the last second of the fourth quarter to win the game 39–33, keeping Texas out of the Big 12 Championship Game and national title pictures. Texas finished the 2008 regular season with a win over Texas A&M, the Longhorns longest running-rivalry opponent. The biggest margin of victory in the history of the series occurred when Texas beat A&M 48–0 in 1898. Texas nearly equaled that record in 2008 by producing a 49–9 victory, the second-largest margin of victory for this rivalry series. It was also the 200th career win for Mack Brown, and it set a new attendance record for UT, the State of Texas, the Big 12 Conference, and the southwest region. Texas would go on to win the 2009 Fiesta Bowl by beating Ohio State, 24–21.
Notable statistics and accomplishments
- 2005 NCAA Football National Championship (game played in January, 2006)
- 2005 NCAA Football Coach of the Year
- 20 consecutive winning seasons
- 18 consecutive bowl game appearances
- 162 consecutive weeks ranked in the AP poll from 2000–2010 and 192 consecutive weeks ranked in the coach's poll from 1998-2010.
- Big 12 ConferenceBig 12 ConferenceThe Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...
record 21 consecutive conference wins from 2004–2006. - Player awards at Texas under Brown include a Heisman TrophyHeisman TrophyThe Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
winner (Ricky WilliamsRicky WilliamsErrick Lynne "Ricky" Williams, Jr. is an American football running back for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints fifth overall in the 1999 NFL Draft...
), three Maxwell AwardMaxwell AwardThe Maxwell Award is presented annually to the collegiate American football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best football player in the United States. The...
winners (Ricky Williams, Vince Young, Colt McCoy), two Davey O'Brien AwardDavey O'Brien AwardThe Davey O'Brien Award, officially the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award, named after Davey O'Brien, is presented annually to the collegiate American football player adjudged by the Davey O'Brien Foundation to be the best of all National Collegiate Athletic Association quarterbacks. The...
Winners (Vince Young, Colt McCoy), two Doak Walker AwardDoak Walker AwardThe Doak Walker Award, first awarded in 1990, honors the United States's top college football running back. It is named after the Southern Methodist and Detroit Lions football player Doak Walker...
winners, a Butkus Award winner, two Thorpe Award winners and four national player of the year honors. Texas has also had 23 All-Americans, 37 first-team All-Big 12 selections, three Big 12 Offensive Players of the Year, two Big 12 ConferenceBig 12 ConferenceThe Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...
Defensive Players of the Year and seven Big 12 Freshman of the Year honorees. - UT has posted back-to-back 11-win seasons, nine consecutive 10-win seasons and ten consecutive 9-win campaigns for the first time in school history. However, Texas played a maximum of only 11 games per season up until 1975 and only 12 games per season up until 1995 (including conference championship and bowl game).
- The Longhorns under Brown have featured the only 3,000-yard passer, the only 2,000-yard rusher, the only 1,000-yard receivers and the only 1,000-yard passer/rusher in UT history (again, note the longer seasons in recent decades).
- Brown is one of only three head coaches in NCAA Division I-A history who has coached players that recorded a 2,000-yard rushing season, a 1,000-yard receiving season and a 3,000-yard passing season. Also, Vince YoungVince YoungVincent Paul Young, Jr. , nicknamed "VY", is an American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League . He spent the first five seasons of his career with the Tennessee Titans. Young was the third overall draft pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college...
stands as the first player in NCAA history to rush for 1,000 yards (1,050) and throw for 3,000 yards (3,036) in a single season. - Under Brown's tenure, only five players have left the Texas team for the NFL DraftNFL DraftThe National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
with any eligibility remaining. The first was Kwame CavilKwame CavilKwame Cavil is a Canadian Football League wide receiver that is an unrestricted free agent in the CFL.-College career:...
who went undrafted. Vince YoungVince YoungVincent Paul Young, Jr. , nicknamed "VY", is an American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League . He spent the first five seasons of his career with the Tennessee Titans. Young was the third overall draft pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college...
was drafted third overall in the 2006 NFL Draft2006 NFL DraftThe 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offered by ESPNU and, for the first time, by...
. Jamaal CharlesJamaal CharlesJamaal RaShaad Jones Charles is an American football running back for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Chiefs in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft...
and Jermichael FinleyJermichael Finley-Green Bay Packers:Finley was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He battled Tory Humphrey in training camp to be the Packers' No. 2 tight end...
both announced they would enter the 2008 NFL Draft2008 NFL DraftThe 2008 NFL Draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 26 and April 27, 2008. For the 29th consecutive year, ESPN televised the draft; the NFL Network also broadcast the event, its third year doing so...
and were both drafted in the 3rd round (73rd and 91st overall, respectively). Earl Thomas left Texas after the 2009 season and was drafted in the 1st round of the 2010 NFL Draft. Other players, such as Jevan SneadJevan SneadJevan Bryce Snead is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent...
have elected to transfer to other schools. - From 2001 through 2009, Brown has won 10 or more games each year. This is the longest active streak of seasons with 10+ wins in the nation.
- Through 2010, the Longhorns under Brown were 27-15 against their four archrivals: Texas A&MTexas A&M Aggies footballThe Texas A&M Aggies football team represents Texas A&M University in college football. The Aggies have competed in the Big 12 Conference since the conference's inception in 1996. They will join the Southeastern Conference in July 2012. Texas A&M football has earned one national title and 18...
, OklahomaOklahoma Sooners footballThe Oklahoma Sooners football program is a college football team that represents the University of Oklahoma . The team is currently a member of the Big 12 Conference, which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
, ArkansasArkansas Razorbacks footballThe Arkansas Razorbacks football program is a college football team that represents the University of Arkansas. The team is a member of the Southeastern Conference's Western Division, which is in Division I's Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
and Texas TechTexas Tech Red Raiders footballTexas Tech Red Raiders football program is a college football team that represents Texas Tech University . The team competes, as a member of the Big 12 Conference, which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
. - The Longhorns are 8-4 in Bowl games under Brown.
- With Bobby Bowden's retirement after the 2009 season, Brown is first among all active coaches with 20 consecutive winning seasons.(until his losing season in 2010-2011 5-7)
- Mack Brown won the 2008 Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year award from the Bobby Dodd Foundation.
Outside of football
Mack Brown is married to his wife, Sally. They have 4 children: Matt Jessee, Katherine Ryan, Barbara Wilson, and Chris Jessee.In Austin, the Browns continue to be active in community affairs, serving as honorary co-chairpersons of the Capital Campaign for the Helping Hands of Austin. The Browns have been instrumental in the opening of The Rise School of Austin (an early childhood education program that integrates children who have disabilities with their typically developing peers) and serve on the schools Board of Directors. They lent their name along with legendary UT QB James Street to the First Annual James Street/Mack Brown Golf Tournament benefiting The Rise School.
The Browns have endorsed [a] new Texas license plate, which is designed to raise public awareness for child abuse
Child abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
and neglect
Neglect
Neglect is a passive form of abuse in which a perpetrator is responsible to provide care for a victim who is unable to care for himself or herself, but fails to provide adequate care....
and the need for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) volunteers. After the Aggie Bonfire
Aggie Bonfire
Aggie Bonfire was a long-standing tradition at Texas A&M University as part of the college rivalry with the University of Texas at Austin. For 90 years, Texas A&M students—known as Aggies—built and burned a bonfire on campus each autumn...
tragedy at Texas A&M
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...
in 1999, the couple initiated a blood drive on the UT campus that attracted more than 250 blood donors.
In October 2006, Mack Brown made a cameo appearance in the television pilot for Friday Night Lights
Friday Night Lights (TV series)
Friday Night Lights is an American sports drama television series adapted by Peter Berg, Brian Grazer and David Nevins from a book and film of the same name. The series details events surrounding a high school football team based in fictional Dillon, Texas, with particular focus given to team...
. Early in the show, a resident is heard to say "Who does
Eric Taylor (Friday Night Lights)
Eric Taylor is a fictional character in the NBC/DirecTV drama television series Friday Night Lights played by Kyle Chandler. He is introduced as the head coach of the Dillon High School football team, the Dillon Panthers...
He appears in commercials for College GameDay where he sings "Texas Fight
Texas Fight
"Texas Fight" is the official fight song of the University of Texas at Austin and was written by Colonel Walter S. Hunnicutt in collaboration with James E. King, then director of the Marlin High School Band....
" with the GameDay crew; when Kirk Herbstreit
Kirk Herbstreit
Kirk Herbstreit is an Emmy Award-winning analyst for ESPN's College GameDay, a television program covering college football and a provider of color commentary during college football games on ESPN and ABC. He appears annually as a commentator in EA Sports' NCAA Football. He was a quarterback on...
freestyles the song, Brown looks at Herbstreit sternly and says "We don't freestyle 'Texas Fight', big boy."
Salary controversy
In 2009 Brown's salary was increased to $5.1 million (excluding bonuses and incentives) a raise of about $2 million. This has led to much controversy on the UT campus as it came at a time when academic programs have been facing significant cutbacks. On December 14, 2009 the UT faculty council held a special meeting to consider the following resolution:"We appreciate the contributions of the athletic staff and, especially, the student-athletes, to the community of the University of Texas at Austin. However, at a time when students are facing a deteriorating academic environment in the form of declining class offerings and increasing class sizes, and lecturers, teaching assistants, and staff are facing job terminations, we believe a permanent raise of $2 million (a sum greater than the entire career earnings of a typical university employee) offered to any member of the university community is unseemly and inappropriate."
This move was justified by President Bill Powers as necessary to make sure Mack Brown would stay for what was expected to be one more year and provide continuity to Will Muschamp, then assistant coach and heir designate, who was being paid almost $1 million dollars per year to stay and play second fiddle.
Head coaching record
Carl Torbush
Carl William Torbush Jr. was the college football Defensive Coordinator for the Kansas Jayhawks in Lawrence, KS...
coached the Tar Heels in the 1998 Gator Bowl
1998 Gator Bowl
The 1998 Gator Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game between the and the Tar Heels from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida on January 1, 1998...
. North Carolina credits the regular season to Brown and the Gator Bowl to Torbush.