Reporting Texas
News and features from UT-Austin's School of Journalism

Sports

Former Longhorn Peyton Stearns is Making Mark in Pro Tennis 

Since winning the NCAA women’s singles tennis championship for the University of Texas at Austin in May 2022 — the first UT athlete to do so — Peyton Stearns has been excelling on the professional circuit

The Mason, Ohio, native has climbed to 89th in the world rankings, and has won nearly twice as many matches as she’s lost, 113 wins and 66 losses, and has compiled more than $295,000 in prize money. 

Former UT Hoops Walk-on Hopes Graduate Assistant Gig Leads to Coaching Career

After Tristan Licon earned a surprise spot on the Longhorn basketball team as a walk-on, he is ready to hang up his jersey for good and complete his initial goal of being a graduate assistant.
Graduate assistants for an athletic team are similar to university teaching assistants. The position is designed for students pursuing a master’s degree, many of whom want to pursue a coaching career. 
“You need to go somewhere where you can learn the business,” said Drew Valentine, current head coach of Loyola-Chicago who first started out his career as a graduate assistant at Michigan State University. “The graduate assistant experience was great for me because I got to see firsthand how a program was run at the highest level.”

Texas Relays, the Largest Predominantly Black Event in Austin, Returns

For the first time in three years, more than 5,000 high school, college and professional track athletes and tens of thousands of spectators from around the country came together for the Texas Relays.

With New Coach, UT Men’s Basketball Looks to Its Past to Build for the Future

In November, Students piled on top of each other as the University of Texas men’s basketball team made its return to Gregory Gym for the first time in 45 years.

Mar 06, 2022

Longhorn Women’s Basketball Greats Return to Say Goodbye to Erwin Center

Some of the pioneers of Texas women’s basketball came to the Frank Erwin Center to say goodbye one final time to the home of the Longhorns for the past 46 years

Jan 31, 2022

How Dallas Became a Hotbed of High School Basketball Recruiting

When the 24 McDonald’s High School All-American basketball players were announced Jan. 25, five members of this year’s elite class were from the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Only once in the 44-year history of the all-star game have five players from one metropolitan area been selected.

Dec 16, 2021

Longhorn Basketball Great Gives Back by Opening His Own Gym

One of the more decorated basketball players in Longhorn history is now hoping to change lives with the game that changed his.

Dec 13, 2021

NIL: A Level Playing-Field for Athletes

At advanced levels of sports, particularly college athletics, fairness within the game is generally set by rules and regulations with judgments on right and wrong as black and white as the stripes on referees’ jerseys. But when the business side of things takes center stage as it has in recent years, the argument of what’s fair and what’s not becomes much more clouded.

Dec 13, 2021

UT Students Participate in Austin’s Expansive Climbing Community

From group outings to nearby climbing gyms to joining climbing organizations and competing, the sport of climbing has taken hold at the University of Texas at Austin, creating a entirely new community and culture. Climbing’s popularity has skyrocketed recently—especially in the United States, which has witnessed numerous gym openings each year. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, […]

Dec 08, 2021

Archery Gaining Popularity in Central Texas

People’s desire to provide their own meat and to get outside during the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with the influence of movies featuring archery and celebrities promoting the sport, fueled an increase in archery participation.

Dec 07, 2021

Longhorn Volleyball Fans Fuel Team’s Success

Volleyball games in the 4,000-seat Gregory Gymnasium, a 90-year-old building in the heart of the UT campus, are regularly packed — not a common occurrence for many college volleyball teams around the country.

Dec 02, 2021

Youth Athletes Happy to Get Back in the Game

Central Texans are happy for the return of youth sports, which they see as important for kid’s physical and mental health.

Oct 29, 2021

Divergent Paths of Soccer in Austin

The 2015 Memorial Day floods caused dramatic damage throughout Austin and perhaps the most lasting image of the event was House Park overrun by water from Shoal Creek. The high waters were so bad that rescue boats were deployed on Lamar Boulevard to save stranded citizens. That event was also the catalyst behind why Austin […]

May 19, 2021

Esports Gaming Seeks Validation from University

Esports, or competitive gaming, has been growing on college campuses nationwide including here at the University of Texas at Austin. On their official website, Longhorn Gaming defines themselves as “the central hub for casual and competitive gaming at the University of Texas at Austin.” Longhorn Gaming has 23 teams competing in leagues for games across multiple genres […]

Apr 20, 2021

Teed Up and Let Down as St. Edward’s Eliminates Men’s Golf Program

On April 15, 2020, Carson Vickers received a message at 7:30 a.m. from Chris Hill, the head coach of St. Edward’s University men’s golf. “They cut the golf team,” it read. For a couple of hours, Hill’s five-word message was the only source of information for Vickers and his 14 teammates. That was until 11:45 […]

Apr 09, 2021

COVID-19 Hamstrings UT Men’s Basketball for a Year; Then Came Turnovers

The University of Texas mens’ basketball program has had quite the year. Their 2019-2020 season was cut short by the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. A year later, after battling through the pandemic, their 2020-2021 season was ended by something much more in their control: turnovers. In March 2020, going into the Big 12 Conference tournament, they […]

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