Texas Football History
Four national championships. Two Heisman Trophy winners. More than 130 seasons on the Forty Acres, played out across three conferences and in front of one of the largest crowds in the sport.
This page walks through Texas football history from the first organized game in 1893 to the arrival in the SEC — the coaches who shaped it, the games that defined it, and the numbers behind a program that has won more than seven of every ten games it has played.
The Program by the Numbers
A Timeline of Texas Football History
- •1893
Program Founded
The University of Texas plays its first organized football game, beginning what is now one of the sport's longest continuous programs.
- •1924
Memorial Stadium Opens
The Longhorns move into the stadium that still hosts them today, now known as Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium.
- •1957
Darrell K Royal Arrives
Texas hires the coach who would define the program across twenty seasons and three national titles.
- •1963
First National Championship
An 11-0 season capped by a 28-6 Cotton Bowl win over Navy delivers the program's first consensus national title.
- •1969
The Big Shootout
Texas edges Arkansas 15-14 in a No. 1 vs No. 2 meeting, then beats Notre Dame 21-17 in the Cotton Bowl to finish 11-0 and win a second title.
- •1970
Back-to-Back
The wishbone offense carries Texas to a third championship, shared with Nebraska after the coaches' poll named its winner before the bowls.
- •1977
Earl Campbell Heisman
The Tyler Rose becomes the program's first Heisman Trophy winner after a dominant senior season.
- •1996
Big 12 Era Begins
The Southwest Conference dissolves and Texas becomes a founding member of the Big 12, winning the inaugural title.
- •1998
Ricky Williams Heisman
Williams sets the NCAA career rushing record and takes home the program's second Heisman.
- •2005
Vince Young & the Rose Bowl
A 13-0 season ends with a 41-38 win over USC in one of the most celebrated games ever played.
- •2009
Return to the Title Game
Colt McCoy leads Texas back to the BCS Championship, where an early injury to the quarterback shapes a loss to Alabama.
- •2023
Big 12 Farewell
Texas wins the conference in its final Big 12 season and reaches the College Football Playoff semifinal at 12-2.
- •2024
SEC Era Begins
In its first SEC season the program posts the league's best regular-season record, reaches the title game and returns to the playoff semifinal at 13-3.
- •2025
Citrus Bowl Win
A 10-3 campaign closes with a 41-27 victory over Michigan in Orlando.
The Darrell K Royal Era
No twenty-year stretch matters more to the program's identity. Royal took over in 1957 and stayed through 1976, and every poll-era national championship the school claims came under him. His name is on the stadium for good reason — the DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium guide covers how the ground grew around those teams.
The 1969 team is the one most often revisited. Texas went unbeaten and settled the season in December against Arkansas, winning 15-14 in a game billed as No. 1 against No. 2 and watched by a national audience with the President in attendance. A Cotton Bowl win over Notre Dame followed. That rivalry is now an annual SEC fixture again — see our Texas vs. Arkansas 2026 preview.
2005: The Last Title
Mack Brown's 2005 team went 13-0 and finished it against a USC side that had been widely called one of the best ever assembled. Texas won 41-38 in the Rose Bowl, with Vince Young scoring on a fourth-down run in the closing seconds after a season in which he had carried the offense almost single-handedly.
Heisman Trophy Winners
Two Longhorns have won the sport's individual award, and both played the same position. Their jerseys hang together and the playing surface at the stadium carries both names.
| Player | Year | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earl Campbell | 1977 | Running back | Led the nation in rushing and scoring as a senior before a Hall of Fame professional career. |
| Ricky Williams | 1998 | Running back | Finished his career as the NCAA's all-time leading rusher and won the award by a wide margin. |
Three Conferences, One Program
Few programs of this age have changed leagues as consequentially. Each move reset who Texas played every autumn and, with it, what a good season looked like.
Southwest Conference
The program's home for eight decades and the setting for all three of its poll-era national titles.
Big 12
A founding member. League titles came in 1996, 2005, 2009 and again in the farewell season.
SEC
Joined alongside Oklahoma, reaching the conference championship game in the first season.
The Modern Era
After a long stretch in which the program struggled to match its own standard, the current run began in earnest in 2023. Back-to-back playoff semifinals in 2023 and 2024 made Texas the only program to reach that stage in both of those seasons.
The 2025 season was a step back by that measure. Ranked first in the preseason, the team lost three games and missed the playoff before closing with a bowl win. Recent Texas football history now reads as a program firmly among the sport's best without yet adding to the trophy case.
| Season | Record | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 5-7 | Steve Sarkisian's first season; no bowl game |
| 2022 | 8-5 | Alamo Bowl appearance |
| 2023 | 12-2 | Big 12 champion, CFP semifinal, finished No. 3 in the AP poll |
| 2024 | 13-3 | SEC Championship Game, CFP semifinal, finished No. 4 in the AP poll |
| 2025 | 10-3 | Citrus Bowl win over Michigan, finished No. 12 in the AP poll |
Frequently Asked Questions
How many national championships has Texas won?+
The program claims four: 1963, 1969, 1970 and 2005. Several other seasons, including 1914, 1941, 1968, 1977 and 1981, were awarded titles by individual selectors but are not claimed by the university.
When did Texas last win a national title?+
The 2005 season, which ended with a 41-38 win over USC in the Rose Bowl to finish 13-0 under Mack Brown.
Who are the Texas Heisman Trophy winners?+
Two players have won it: running back Earl Campbell in 1977 and running back Ricky Williams in 1998.
Who is the most successful coach in Texas football history?+
Darrell K Royal, who led the program from 1957 to 1976 and won all three of its poll-era national championships. The stadium carries his name.
When did Texas join the SEC?+
The 2024 season was the program's first in the SEC after nearly three decades in the Big 12. Texas reached the conference championship game in that debut year.
What was the Big Shootout?+
The 1969 meeting between No. 1 Texas and No. 2 Arkansas, won 15-14 by the Longhorns on their way to an undefeated season and a national championship.
How old is the Texas football program?+
The first organized game was played in 1893, making it one of the oldest continuously operating programs in college football.