University of Texas Austin - Cactus Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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A i J A CLASS ACT UT ATHLETICS PROGRAM ACHIEVES TOP RANKING ve by STEPHEN WEED First and Finest. It is a distinction to which only one school each year may lay claim. In 1984, the Texas athletic pro- gram was recognized as simply that, the best in the country, by the National Col- legiate All-Sports rankings, compiled by Steve Williams of the Knoxville Journal. In the past three years, Longhorn athletics placed first in 1982, second in 1983 and No. 1 again in 1984 to become the only other school than USC and UCLA to earn the top honors in the 14- year history of the poll twice. This was an accomplishment deserving of high consideration, according to UT Men ' s Athletic Director Deloss Dodds. F always thought we stood in the top five year-in and year-out, Dodds said. Our goal, now, is to stay there and that ' s hard to do. The year 1983- 84 marked a watershed season for Longhorn sports as the women ' s swim team claimed the na- tional championship; the baseball team and the men ' s swim team each finished second in the NCAA ' s; the football team, the women ' s basketball team and women ' s tennis team all placed fifth; as the volleyball team earned a seventh place and the men ' s tennis, women ' s track and golf all climbed to llth place in the national rankings. Our coaches consider being in the top ten almost a minimum of any old season, said Dr. Donna Lopiano, the Women ' s Athletic Director at the University. It ' s that No. 1 spot that each of them shoot for. I think UT is out to set a standard, a very different standard. There ' s a dif- ference between having a winning ATHLETICS Edited by Stephen Weed program and a class program, Dr. Lopiano said. We consider sportsman- ship, team behavior, a near-perfect graduation rate for our athletes and the individual ' s character, as well as a win- ning record, to be just that distinction. I also think that to have a class pro gram, she continued, you have to have great coaches. Coach Conradt (basket- ball), Coach Quick (swimming) and Coach Crawford (track and cross coun- try) are good examples. This, and to be impeccable in the eyes of the public as a class act, is the standard we ' re out to set. Dodds agreed. I think a first class athletic program is a combina- tion of many things. First and foremost, it demands a great academic institu- tion. It takes great facilities and great coaches, because without those you can ' t attract the very top athletes. Fan support is also extremely impor- tant to a program. But above all, Dodds affirmed, a class athletic program needs to recognize that it ' s a part of the educational institu- tion, and not to let that get out of perspective. It ' s a high degree of integri- ty and credibility that distinguishes a good program from a great program. You get the best people you can find, hire them, and let them do their jobs to the best of their abilities, and everything just flows from that. In the 1984 poll, the athletic programs at the University of Texas distinguished themselves as singularly the finest in the nation. Through a unique Longhorn blend of leadership, academics, facilities, pride, character and sports- manship, UT ranks among the great in- stitutions as, above all, first and finest. Athletics

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FIRST AND FI Top Longhorn netter Tom Fontana backhands the ball at the Intramural Courts in Austin. Photo by Stephen Reed On the court. Coach Jody Conradt instructs Yulonda Wimbish against Texas Tech in the Erwin Center. Photo by Jim Sigmon Contemplating her putt, Sheryl Steinhauer studies the green at the Betsy Rawls- Longhorn Invitational. Photo by Kevin Gutting UT hosts the SWC meet at the Texas Swim Center as Terrianne McGuirk swims in the 200m butterfly event. Photo by Kevin Gutting 136 Athletics

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A flash of brilliance Split-season Horns soar, then plummet to 7-4-1 FOOTBALL VARSITY ATHLETICS Stories by TOMMY KNIGHT and STEPHEN WEED Nineteen Eighty-Four simply failed the Longhorns. From the Jan. 2 Cotton Bowl loss to the Georgia Bulldogs, 9- 10, to the 23-55 humiliation at the inaugural Freedom Bowl against the Iowa Hawkeyes, the Horns ' 7-4-1 season turned dreams of the national championship into cold nightmares. The season, however, saw many of the traditional college football institutions rise in the polls, then stumble into lackluster years. The universities of Michigan (6-6), Penn State (6-5), Alabama (5-6) and Notre Dame (7-4) were all highly regarded in the nation ' s preseason polls. Michigan climbed to No. 2 and Penn State to No. 4 before falling com- pletely out of the rankings. Alabama ' s record reflected the first losing season in Tuscaloosa in 27 years, while 18-year coaching veteran Bo Schembechler at Michigan and 16-year veteran Joe Paterno at Penn State each suffered the worst seasons of their coaching careers. But it was also the year that saw unheralded TCU and en- thusiastic helmsman Jim Wacker surge to an 8-1 record, and Auburn tailback Bo Jackson reaches for first quarter yardage as Longhorns Blake Brawner and Tony Degrate bring him to a halt. The Horn defense forced three turnovers, two that led to touchdowns and a third that all but clinched the victory as free safety Jerry Gray pulled down an intercep- tion with a little over two minutes remaining in the game. I thought they were a little tentative at first, but I don ' t blame them, Texas coach Fred Akers said. Photo by Bev Cotton 138 Football