Texas Longhorns fire two staff members over sports betting breach

By Chris Price
Copyright 2025 All Rights Reserved

AUSTIN, TEXAS (December 25, 2025) It is being reported by MySA.com that The University of Texas at Austin has fired two staff members in its athletic department after discovering sports betting rule violations, school officials confirmed this week.

The issues happened between January and October 2025 when six people tied to the athletics department placed 121 bets totaling just under $1,100 on daily fantasy sports platforms. Although these sites are legal in Texas, NCAA rules still bar people connected to college teams from placing any wagers.

The Longhorns self-reported the violations after finding them in internal reviews. Two of the six people involved were immediately fired. One person had already left the university, and three others remain employed.

Some of the wagers were tied to Texas Longhorn sporting events, including Longhorn women’s basketball and softball games. 

No. 4/4 Texas Longhorns men’s basketball sweeps Phillips 66 Big 12 weekly awards

IRVING, TEXAS (January 11, 2021) University of Texas junior guard Andrew Jones has been named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Player of the Week, while freshman forward Greg Brown has been tabbed the Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Newcomer of the Week, the league office announced Monday.

 

This marked Jones’ second career weekly conference honor, as he previously earned Co-Player of the Week accolades on March 2, 2020. It marked Brown’s second weekly conference honor this season, as he claimed Newcomer of the Week honors on Dec. 21.

 

Jones, who also earned NCAA.com National Player of the Week recognition on Monday, averaged 19.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game while hitting 16-of-34 (.471) field goals, including 7-of-16 (.438) from three-point range, in 36.1 minutes per contest during UT’s two victories last week. In Tuesday’s home win against Iowa State, he set his career high in scoring with 23 points while converting a career-best 10-of-20 field goals and added six boards and four assists in a season-high 37 minutes.

 

Jones returned to hit the game-winning three-pointer with 1.8 seconds left in Saturday’s 72-70 victory at No. 14/16 West Virginia. He tallied 16 points (4-7 threes) in 35 minutes and registered a plus-minus total of +13. Late in the first half, he became the 39th player in program history to reach the 1,000-career point milestone.

 

Brown averaged a double-double (13.5 points, 11.0 rebounds per game) while hitting 50-percent (10-20) from the floor, including a 3-of-8 (.375) mark from three-point range, in Texas’ two victories. He had 15 points (6-10 FG, 3-4 threes) and eight boards in 22 minutes on Tuesday against Iowa State. Brown returned to post his fourth double-double of the year with 12 points and 14 rebounds, tying his season high, in a season-best 33 minutes during the win at No. 14/16 West Virginia on Saturday.

 

No. 4/4 Texas (10-1, 4-0 Big 12) returns to action on Wednesday, Jan. 13 when it hosts No. 15/15 Texas Tech (10-3, 3-2 Big 12). Tip is set for 8 p.m. Central at the Frank Erwin Center, and the game will be televised nationally by ESPN2.

No. 1 Texas softball’s Elish named Softball America National Player of the Year

Texas Athletic Department Photo
Used with permission

AUSTIN, TEXAS (April 9, 2020) Texas softball senior pitcher/utility player Miranda Elish (shown right) was named the 2020 Softball America Shortened Season National Player of the Year, while both Elish (first team) and junior second baseman Janae Jefferson (second team) were honored as 2020 Softball America Shortened Season All-Americans.

The duo helped guide the Longhorns to a 24-3 mark and final rankings of No. 1 in the Softball America and No. 3 in both the USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball polls. Along the way, Texas tied for the third-best 27-game start in school history, while leading the nation in team batting average (.376) and total doubles (62). The Burnt Orange & White also ranked in the NCAA Division I national top 10 in doubles-per-game (2nd – 2.30), on-base percentage (3rd - .450), solo shutouts (4th – 10), slugging percentage (5th – .597), won/loss percentage (6th – .889) and scoring (8th – 7.37). UT rallied for eight come-from-behind wins, went 5-1 against ranked teams (including beating the top two teams in the nation in consecutive games – No. 1 UCLA & No. 2 Washington) and scored more runs over the first 27 games (199) than any squad in program history.

On her way to national player of the year honors, Elish led the Big 12 Conference and ranked sixth in NCAA Division I in wins (11) while posting a 1.25 ERA, 11 complete games, four shutouts and 96 strikeouts over 84.0 innings of work while limiting the opposition to a miniscule .158 average. At the plate, the Crown Point, Ind., native also hit at a .370 clip over 23 contests with seven doubles, four HR’s and 19 RBIs to go with a 1.200 OPS. Among her individual highlights in 2020 were earning NFCA National Player of the Week honors (Feb. 11), after batting .818 with four HR’s and a remarkable 17 RBIs during the six-game Texas Classic, as well as tossing her second career perfect game by retiring all 21 batters she faced in a 7-0 win over New Mexico (March 8).

Jefferson continued her remarkable career in the Burnt Orange & White by leading the Big 12 in batting average (.554 – 3rd in NCAA Division I), hits (41 – 4th in NCAA) and on-base percentage (.607 – 3rd in NCAA) while posting eight extra-base hits, 13 walks and stealing 10 bases. The Humble, Texas, native currently owns the best career batting average in school history at .425, well ahead of Lexy Bennett’s (2009-12) second-ranked .385 mark. During the abbreviated 2020 campaign, Jefferson led the squad with 13 multi-hit games, including five three-hit efforts, and ended the season on a 17-game streak of reaching base safely. She also earned the final Big 12 Conference Player of the Week accolade on March 10 after hitting .750 with a 1.714 OPS during UT’s 4-0 run through the Longhorn Invitational.

Punter Michael Dickson named MVP of 2017 Texas Bowl

Photo by Lou Roesch
Copyright 2017 All Rights Reserved

By Lou Roesch

Copyright 2017 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (December 28, 2017) Since the inception of the Texas Bowl eleven years ago, all ten previous MVP awards went to offensive players including nine quarterbacks. Not until 2017 did someone other than an offensive player make an argument for MVP. Enter University of Texas Longhorns punter Michael Dickson (shown above right and below left)) . Yes, a punter earned the 2017 Academy Sports & Outdoors Texas Bowl MVP award, but rest assured Michael Dickson is not just any ordinary punter.  His right foot has been terrorizing opposing special teams coaches for the better part of two seasons. This is a punter who had 48 of 73 punts sail for more than 50 yards. A punter who led the nation in yards per kick and net yards per kick in 2017 and threatened to rewrite the FBS record for punters. This is Michael Dickson.  The kicker who singlehandedly put Missouri on their heels all night long beginning with his first kick at 10:23 of the first quarter that was downed at the Tigers three yard line.

Photo by Lou Roesch
Copyright 2017 All Rights Reserved

Not many would realize that they were in for a treat from a very special kicker as they watched one punt after another continue to pin Missouri down. Ten of the junior punter’s kicks were downed inside the 20 and the one to the three in the opening quarter was the first of five first half punts inside the 10 yard line. Thanks to Dickson’s foot, the Tigers started six of their 10 first half possessions inside the ten yard line.

Before the Longhorns kicker’s record setting performance, undrafted free agent Florida State punter now NFL placekicker Graham Gano was all alone in the record books. The unanimous All-American kicker (first Longhorns punter to do so) by way of Sydney, Australia had more yards punting (452) then the Tigers had on  offense (390). With eight Missouri’s 17 drives starting on or inside their own 10 yard line, it is a wonder they didn’t lose by more than the count of 33-16. The Longhorns kicker, averaging 41.1 yards per boot, left his final punt of the game at the Missouri four yard line.

Coming into the game, the 2017 Ray Guy Award winner (first for UT) as the nation’s best punter had landed nearly thirty percent of his kick’s inside the opponents 10 yard line. On this record setting night, he would nestle a staggering 47 percent inside the Missouri 10 yard line. It should have come as no surprise that the two-time Big 12 Conference Special Teams Player of the Year (2016 & 2017) would have no touchbacks and no return yards in this contest considering that in 2017 only 12 of his 73 punts coming into the game had positive yardage returns and nine of those were for three yards or less. The numbers are even more staggering when you consider that 32 of his 73 regular season punts landed inside the 20 yard line and then add in 10 of 11 bowl game punts meaning that 50 percent of his punt total for 2017 were downed on or inside the opponents 20 yard line in 2017. The 6-3, 205-pound kicker made sure that the last tape scouts might see of him was memorable as he declared for the 2018 NFL draft six days earlier.

“I’ve never seen one affect the game the way he did tonight, and I’m glad he’s on our team.,” said Longhorns head coach Tom Herman stated following the game.

Team USA defeats Puerto Rico 103-70 in FIBA Americas U18 opener

Photo courtesy of USA Basketball and
University of Texas ar Austin
Used with permission.

From University of Texas at Austin Press Release

VALDIVIA, CHILE (July 19, 2016) University of Texas freshman Jarrett Allen posted 18 points and eight rebounds to help Team USA (1-0) to a 103-70 victory against Puerto Rico (0-1) in the opening game of the 2016 FIBA Americas U18 Championship on Tuesday afternoon. Allen, who started the game, converted 9-of-15 field goals and added one assist, one block and one steal in 21 minutes.

UT freshman James Banks recorded four points on a pair of emphatic dunks, four rebounds and one blocked shot in nine minutes. Texas coach Shaka Smart is serving as head coach for the USA team.

“I thought our guys played with really good energy,” Smart said. “We had typical first-game jitters – a lot of execution mistakes and some defensive breakdowns from a lack of communication, but the energy was really good. And I thought as the game went on, our guys really settled in and played together.”

The Americans return to the court against the U.S. Virgin Islands at 2:45 p.m. Central on Wednesday, July 20. Team USA will then conclude preliminary round Group B play against host Chile on Thursday, July 21 at 7:15 p.m. Central.

The top two teams from each preliminary round group will advance to the semifinals on Friday, July 22. On Saturday, July 23, the semifinal winners will meet in the gold medal game, and the semifinal losers will play in the bronze medal game.

In addition to pursuing a gold medal, the top four finishing teams will earn a qualifying berth in the 2017 FIBA U19 World Championship. All games during the FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Men will be streamed live on FIBA’s YouTube channel. Please follow The University of Texas’ Men’s Basketball official Twitter page (@TexasMBB) for links to live video and live stats throughout the tournament.

UT's Malone, Smith Advance To 400m final At World Junior Track-Field Championships

MONCTON, CANADA (July 21, 2010) Current Texas women's track and field standouts, Chantel Malone and Stacey-Ann Smith, advanced to the 400m final at the 2010 IAAF World Junior Track and Field Championships Wednesday afternoon at Moncton 2010 Stadium.

Malone, who will be a senior this fall in Austin, clocked a 53.37 to win her semifinal heat and automatically qualify for Thursday's final. The British Virgin Islands native posted the third-fastest time overall in the first round (52.97), held on Tuesday, and entered the meet ranked second in the world junior ranks with her 52.35 personal best set in May at the Texas Invite.

Smith, running for the United States, also advanced by finishing second in her heat, only behind Malone, in 53.48. The junior made it out of the first round with a 53.41, the sixth-fastest time overall. The 400m final will be run at approximately 6:50 p.m. Central time on Thursday.

Also competing on Thursday will be incoming freshman Danielle Dowie (Jamaica) in the 400m hurdles first round, Malone in the long jump qualifying at 9:15 a.m. CT and incoming freshman Allison Peter (U.S. Virgin Islands) in the 200m first round at 7:55 a.m. CT.

Houston Downs No. 3 Texas 1-0 at College Classic

(Michael Goodnight pitched Houston to a 1-0 win over No. 3 Texas. Photo by Darla Tamulitis, La Vita Loca Photography, Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved)

By Robert H. Kelly
Copyright 2010 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (March 6, 2010) Scoring in the bottom of the 1st inning on a wild pitch by Brandon Workman, the Houston Cougars knocked off No. 3 Texas at the Houston College Classic.

The lone Cougar run scored went Blake Kelso bolted for home on a Workman’s wild pitch. Kelso hit a triple in the bottom of the first to lead off the inning.

Michael Goodnight started the game on the mound for Houston; saw seven innings of action while giving up only two hits on seven strikeouts and two walks.

Ty Stuckey can into the game in the 8th and recorded two strike outs in relief. Matt Creel finished the game on the mount, facing seven batters and striking out two.

Goodnight notched his second win of the season, while Creel got his second save.

Workman pitched the entire game of the Longhorns, striking out seven while
giving up four hits.

With the win, Houston snapped a five-game losing streak against Texas, improving to 30-90-2 all time.

The Cougars are now 2-0 in the tournament and will face Texas Tech on Sunday, Mar. 7 at 2:30pm.

Texas will conclude their tournament on Sunday with an 11:00am game against Big 12 foe Missouri.

Texas Volleyball Downs Italy

(Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loco Photography, All Rights Reserved)

By Robert H. Kelly
Copyright 2009 TexSport Publications

AUSTIN, TEXAS (September 11, 2009) In the friendly confines of Gregory Gym, The University of Texas Volleyball Team took on the Italian National A2 Team in their first home game of the season.

Texas had never faced a foreign opponent on their home court and came ready to take on the Italian powerhouse. They came into the contest with a 5-0 record and a number 2 national ranking by the AVCA Division 1 Coaches Poll and Volleyball Magazine current poll.

Texas took the first game 25-17 behind Destinee Hooker’s 5 kills and Ashley Engle's 12 assists. The scrappy Italians had five kills by Valentina Biccheri and 11 assists by Manuela DiCrescenzo.

In the second game, the Longhorns continued their dominance by winning 25-18, with Hooker having 9 kills and Engle with five.

Engle was coming off a tremendous week; leading the Longhorns to victory over No. 4 Hawaii, No. 10 California, and No. 19 Saint Louis.

The Italians jumped out to a lead early in the third game, 11-5, with Texas mounting a comeback with the score 16-10. Texas battled backed to within one point of the Italians (17-18), when they took a time out to regroup and attempt to break the Longhorn’s rhythm.

Michelle Kocher came to the serve and gave Texas their first lead of the game 19-18; rattling off 3 points to make the score 20-18 for the Italians.

After trading off points and with the score at 24-23 in favor of the Longhorns, freshman Cristina Doris came to the line and served the match point, giving Texas the game and match 25-23.

The two teams will face off again on Saturday, September 12 at Gregory Gym. Game time is 6:30pm.

Reliant Stadium hosting Rice vs. Texas in 2010

HOUSTON, TEXAS (September 8, 2009) Reliant Stadium will play host to the 2010 Rice vs. Texas football game, SMG-Reliant Park and Lone Star Sports & Entertainment announced today. The teams will square off on Saturday, Sept. 4, 2010. Kickoff time has not been determined at this time.

"Reliant Stadium provided a tremendous setting for one of the great moments in Rice Football history last December with our victory in the Texas Bowl, and we are thrilled to know that it will host the opener of our 2010 season against the University of Texas," Rice athletic director Chris Del Conte said. "I expect the atmosphere for that game will be unlike any opener in recent memory. Football fans throughout the region should circle that date on their calendars and make their plans now to join us for a tremendous college football event."

Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Friday, Dec. 18 at all TicketMaster outlets and online at TicketMaster.com.

"Reliant Stadium provides the ultimate fan experience," SMG-Reliant Park general manager Mark Miller said. "With the history of these two great teams, we'd love to see these student-athletes have the opportunity of playing to a sold out crowd of screaming fans."

The game will mark the third time the former Southwest Conference foes have faced one another at Reliant Stadium, with Texas winning 52-7 in 2006 and 48-7 in 2003. Texas holds a 69-21-1 advantage in the series, which dates back to 1914. Rice last defeated Texas on Oct. 16, 1994, upsetting the Longhorns 19-17 on a rainy Sunday night at Rice Stadium in front of a national television audience.

Rice will return to Reliant Stadium for the first time since the 2008 Texas Bowl, when the Owls beat Western Michigan 38-14 to cap off the school's first 10-win season since 1949. For Texas, it will mark a return to the stadium where the Longhorns claimed the 2005 Big XII Championship en route to the national title.

"We are excited to help bring this great old Southwest Conference rivalry back to Reliant Stadium," Lone Star Sports & Entertainment president Jamey Rootes said. "Games like this, along with the Big 12 Championship game and the tremendous success of the Texas Bowl over the last three years, have established Reliant Stadium as one of the premier venues in college football."

Baseball Wins Rubber Match at Stanford, 5-1

STANFORD, CALIFORNIA (March 8, 2009) The Texas Longhorns used a five-run fourth inning and Cole Green pitched seven strong innings to register a 5-1 win over the Stanford Cardinal at the Sunken Diamond.

The win moved Texas to 12-1 on the season and gave the Horns their third series win of the season.

Green (2-0) scattered three hits and two walks while striking out three and allowed just one run over his 7.0 innings. Austin Wood allowed just one hit over the last two innings to close out the contest.

The Horns did all of their damage in the fourth inning. With one out, Tant Shepherd singled to rightfield and David Hernandez drew a walk from Stanford starter Scott Snodgress. Brett Mooneyham came in to relieve Snodgress and gave up the seal-breaking hit to Cameron Rupp who singled up the middle to plate Shepherd. Kevin Keyes drew a walk to load the bases and after Connor Rowe struck out looking, Jordan Etier inflated the cushion with a two-run single up the middle and Brandon Loy capped off the rally with a two-run single down the rightfield line.

Stanford (3-7) scored its lone run of the game in the fifth inning when Kellen Kiilsgaard launched a leadoff shot into the trees in rightfield.

Etier and Loy each had two RBI to lead the Texas offense which logged six hits and nine walks on the afternoon.

Snodgress (0-1) was saddled with the loss. He allowed two runs on two hits and four walks while striking out three over 3.1 innings.

Texas returns to action on Wednesday when the Longhorns host the Baylor Bears in a 6 p.m. contest at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.

Baseball Beats Oral Roberts on Walk-Off Balk

AUSTIN, Texas (March 31, 2009) The No. 9 Texas Longhorns scored the game-winning run on a balk in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat Oral Roberts 5-4 at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Tuesday evening.

With two outs and the scored tied 4-4 in the bottom of the ninth, Brandon Loy drew a walk and stole second base. The Golden Eagles were attempting to intentionally walk Michael Torres when the ball-three pitch sailed wild and allowed Loy to move to third. Oral Roberts continued the walk of Torres to put runners at the corners. Pinch-hitter David Hernandez stepped to the play and before seeing a pitch ORU's Jameson Dunn stepped off and faked to first, inciting the balk call from first base umpire Tim Henderson for the game-winning run.

The two teams battled to a scoreless tie through six innings before the Longhorns broke the scoring seal in the bottom of the seventh. Tant Shepherd hit a lead-off single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Preston Clark. Tim Maitland pinch-ran for Shepherd and Kevin Keyes and Kyle Lusson followed with walks to load the bases. Travis Tucker singled through the left side of the infield to plate Maitland and Loy was hit by a pitch to drive in Connor Rowe who was pinch-running for Keyes. Torres inflated the cushion to 3-0 with a sacrifice fly and the Horns completed the scoring when Tucker scored on a wild pitch.

The Longhorns appeared headed to their sixth shutout of the season with closer Austin Wood on the mound before hitting a rough patch in the top of the ninth. Robert Barbosa drew a leadoff walk and Colby Price singled to rightfield to spark the Oral Roberts rally. Danny Duffy hit a possible double-play grounder but the ball's path was interrupted by Wood and resulted in an infield single. Tyler Garewal hit a sacrifice fly to leftfield to cut the lead to 4-1 and Juan Martinez followed with a double to the gap in left centerfield to plate Price. The Golden Eagles cut the lead to one run with a sacrifice fly by Seth Furmanek and ORU tied the game with a single through the left side by Michael Notaro.

Despite the four runs in the top of the ninth, the pitching was the bright spot of the evening for the Longhorns who recorded 12 strikeouts. Taylor Jungmann weaved 2.0 innings of scoreless ball as the starter. He allowed one hit and two walks, but fanned five Golden Eagles. Andrew McKirahan added 2.0 shutout innings, yielding two hits and one walk while striking out three. Stayton Thomas and Keith Shinaberry worked a scoreless fifth inning before handing the ball to Kendal Carrillo in his first-ever appearance as a Longhorn. Carrillo worked 2.0 shutout innings, scattering two hits while striking out three. The win was credited to Wood (4-0) who worked a scoreless eighth inning before the wheels fell off the wagon in the ninth.

Dunn (1-3) was saddled with the loss for Oral Roberts, allowing one run on two walks and two strikeouts over 1.2 innings. Mark Serrano put in a solid effort as the starter, with 5.0 innings of shutout baseball, scattering two hits and one walk while striking out six. Spencer Roberts withstood most of the damage for the Golden Eagles, allowing four runs on three hits and two walks over 1.1 innings.

Tucker paced the Texas offense, going 3-for-5 with one run and one RBI.

Martinez, Barbosa and Price each had two hits for the Golden Eagles.

Texas returns to action on Friday with a 6:30 p.m. game at Oklahoma State. The game kicks off a three-game Big 12 series in Stillwater with Saturday's game slated for 2 p.m. and Sunday's contest scheduled for 1 p.m.

Cougar Soccer’s Match Against Texas Moved to Thursday

HOUSTON, TEXAS (September 10, 2008) With Hurricane Ike bearing down on the Gulf Coast, the University of Houston soccer team’s match against the No. 8 Texas Longhorns will be moved up to 7 p.m. on Thursday in Austin, school officials announced on Wednesday.

The Cougars’ game at LSU scheduled for Sunday will also be moved, with UH heading to Baton Rouge, La. on Tuesday, Sept. 16. A game time has yet to be determined.

Houston (3-1-0), winners of its past three contests, opens a challenging four-game road trip this week.

"We still need to improve on things offensively and defensively," head coach Susan Bush said. "We need to stick to our game plan and work as hard as we can against these teams. If we do those things, I'll be pleased with the road trip."

Freshman forward Jessica Zavalza is the reigning Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week following her two goal performance in UH’s 2-0 win over Louisiana-Lafayette last weekend.

Zavalza leads the club with three goals and six points just three games into her collegiate career.

The Longhorns own a 3-1 lead in the all-time series history with Houston. However, the Cougars’ lone victory came in Austin in thrilling fashion, as they pulled out a 3-2 overtime win in 2000.

"The Eyes of Texas 2008" Hits the Newstand

By Robert H. Kelly

DALLAS, TEXAS (August 8, 2008) A new publication is on the newsstands and I am sure it will provide a different perspective to all the die-hard Texas Longhorn football fans out there.

Maple Street Press has published a very nice, comprehensive pre-season football annual on the Texas Longhorns. It's called “The Eyes of Texas 2008.”

I think readers will find some very nice features and stories inside the 112-page magazine. It also contains a discussion on each 2008 opponent, a section about Mack Brown's 10 years at Texas, a look at the 20 incoming freshmen on the Longhorns roster, notes on former Texas players and where they are at today and a special story on the history of football at the university.

It is presently on sale at local bookstores, news stands and via www.maplestreetpress.com.

Check it out. I know Longhorn football fans will find it very interesting.

UT Austin Selected as NCAA Regional Volleyball Site for 2008

By Robert H. Kelly
Copyright 2008 TexSport Publications

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA (March 7, 2008) The NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Committee announced today that The University of Texas at Austin will be one of the four regional sites for the 2008 Division I Women’s Volleyball Championships.

The tournament will be held in historic Gergory Gymnasium on the UT campus. Gerogry Gym has a notable history as a sporting facility.

Gregory Gymnasium, built in 1930 at an approximate cost of $500,000, was at its onset one of the pioneering projects for the advancement of The University of Texas campus. The proposal for a new modern gymnasium came about in 1907 by Thomas Watt Gregory, the first ex-student appointed to the Board of Regents. Called upon to raise $50,000 by University President David Franklin Houston, Gregory waged a one-man fund-raising campaign with a goal of raising $75,000. In one year alone, he collected an estimated $29,000. Gregory continued his efforts until 1914, when he was appointed Attorney General of the United States under President Woodrow Wilson. In the interim, two individuals – H. Y. Benedict and John A. Lomax, Secretary of the Ex-Students' Association - took over and invested the funds raised thus far. By the time Gregory returned to Texas, the sum had grown to $75,000.

The three other 2008 regional sites include: Moby Arena on the campus of Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado; Rec Hall at Pennsylvania State University in University Park, Pennsylvania; and Bank of America Arena at the University of Washington in Seattle. All competition will be played December 12-13.

In 2009, the four regional sites will be the Stephen C. O’Connell Center at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida; Sports Pavilion at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities in Minneapolis; Qwest Center Omaha with the University of Nebraska, Lincoln serving as host; and Maples Pavilion at Stanford University in Stanford, California. All competition will be played December 11-12.

“When we were selecting these sites we really wanted to focus on attendance history and attendance potential,” said Marie Robbins, the chair of the NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Committee. “We believe these sites provide a regional balance that can also draw great crowds. They have proven to be great hosts in the past, and we know they will step up to the plate in hosting these regionals so we can continue to grow this championship.”

Previously announced, the finals site for the Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship in 2008 is the Qwest Center Omaha on December 18 and 20, and in 2009 the competition will be held at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Fla. on December 17 and 19.

BAYLOR BASEBALL EDGED AT TEXAS 2-0

WACO, TEXAS (May 5, 2008) Texas posted solo spots in the second and third innings, and two Longhorn pitchers combined on a four-hit shutout as Texas edged Baylor 2-0 in Sunday's Big 12 Conference series finale at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. The Bears (28-22, 10-14) have lost three straight Big 12 series. The Longhorns (29-19, 12-12) won the series two games to one, taking the series against Baylor for the third straight season.

Russell Moldenhauer walked to open the second and reached second when Baylor starter Craig Fritsch mishandled a bunt. Brandon Belt followed with an RBI single through the right side. Travis Tucker was hit by a pitch to lead off the third, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, and scored on Moldenhauer's two-out double past a diving Ben Booker down the left-field line.

That was all the offense on the day as both pitching staffs kept the bats at bay the rest of the way. Texas starter Kenn Kasparek (4-3) tossed 8.0 scoreless innings on three hits, a walk and a hit batsman with nine strikeouts for the win. Cole Green gave up a one-out single to Adam Hornung in the ninth but escaped unscathed for his third save.

Fritsch (3-3) took the loss, allowing two runs, one earned, on three hits, two walks and a hit batsman with four strikeouts over 5.0 innings. Mace Thurman and Willie Kempf closed out the game, each allowing one hit with three strikeouts and two strikeouts, respectively.

Baylor managed only six base runners on the game, all reaching with at least one out. Raynor Campbell and Booker had back-to-back two-out singles in the second, but Jordan Danks raced down Gregg Glime's Texas Leaguer in right-center to end the inning. The Bears did not get another hit until Shaver Hansen's two-out double in the eighth.

Texas left the bases loaded in the second and seventh innings and stranded seven runners in scoring position. Paul Miles ran down a bases-loaded, full-count liner off the bat of pinch hitter Tant Shepherd with the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh, saving at least two runs.

Baylor now takes an eight-day respite for spring semester final exams. The Bears return to the field Tuesday, May 13, hosting Texas State for a 6:30 p.m. first pitch at Baylor Ballpark.

NOTES: Texas leads the all-time series 224-98-4, including a 129-32-1 advantage in games played at Austin. The Bears are 21-25 against the Longhorns since the inception of the Big 12 Conference in 1997, including a 9-10 mark at Austin. Baylor is 26-28 against Texas during head coach Steve Smith's tenure. ... Hansen extended his hitting streak to seven games, while Aaron Miller (five games) and Beamer Weems (five games) both saw streaks end.

BAYLOR BASEBALL TOPS TEXAS 6-1

AUSTIN, TEXAS (May 4, 2008) Adam Hornung and Ben Booker homered in a four-run seventh as Baylor defeated Texas 6-1 in Big 12 Conference action Saturday afternoon at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. The Bears (28-21, 10-13) snapped an 11-game losing streak in the series, defeating the Longhorns (28-19, 11-12) for the first time since the 2005 Big 12 Tournament.

After managing only four base runners in the game's first six innings, Baylor
batted around in the seventh. Hornung led off the inning with his sixth homer of
the year, breaking a scoreless tie. Three batters and one out later, Booker
blasted a two-run shot down the line in right that cleared the Longhorns'
bullpen beyond the outfield wall. Paul Miles, Gregg Glime and Shaver Hansen then walked to load the bases, and Beamer Weems pushed the Bears' lead to 4-0.

Texas rallied for a run on two hits, a walk and Tant Shepherd's pinch-hit
sacrifice fly in the eighth, but the Bears responded with two insurance runs in
the top of the ninth on Dustin Dickerson's two-out, bases-loaded, two-run
single.

On the day, Baylor batters drew five walks and were hit by a pitch three times.
The Bears did not strikeout a single time. Baylor had not struck out as few as
one time in a game since April 1, 2003, against UTSA. Dickerson's ninth-inning,
two-run single was the game's only hit with runners in scoring position; Baylor
and Texas were a combined 1-for-16 in that situation.

Starter Shawn Tolleson (5-3) earned the victory, allowing one run on seven hits
and six walks with seven strikeouts over 7.1 innings. He worked through several
tight spots, including a bases-loaded jam in the first inning, and stranded
seven base runners in the game's first seven innings, five of which were in
scoring position.

After working just 2.2 innings against Texas A&M two weeks ago and failing to
get out the first inning last Saturday against Nebraska, Tolleson tossed a
career-high 131 pitches, working into the eighth inning for the fourth time in
eight Big 12 starts this season.

Texas did not get to Tolleson until the eighth. Russell Moldenhauer and Brandon
Belt opened the inning with back-to-back singles, and Preston Clark followed
with a walk to load the bases. Shepherd's sacrifice fly pushed Tolleson from the
game, but Willie Kempf got consecutive ground-ball outs to get the Bears out of
the jam. Kempf then retired the side in order in the ninth for his first save of
the season.

Longhorn starter Austin Wood (3-3) took the loss, allowing three runs on six
hits and over 6.1 innings.

Hansen, who led off the game with a double, had Baylor's only multiple-hit game
of the day, going 2-for-3 with two walks and a run scored. Every Baylor batter
reached safely at least once except Raynor Campbell, who reached on a fielder's
choice and scored on Booker's home run.

Baylor and Texas conclude the series Sunday at 1 p.m. CDT. The game will be
televised on Fox College Sports Central (DirecTV channel 669). Baylor sends
right-hander Craig Fritsch (3-2, 4.26 ERA) to the mound for his first career Big
12 start. Texas counters with right-hander Kenn Kasparek (3-3, 4.29 ERA), who
defeated the Bears in the teams' non-conference meeting last week at Baylor
Ballpark.

NOTES: Texas leads the all-time series 223-98-4, including a 128-32-1 advantage
in games played at Austin. The Bears are 21-24 against the Longhorns since the
inception of the Big 12 Conference in 1997, including a 9-9 mark at Austin.
Baylor is 26-27 against Texas during head coach Steve Smith's tenure. ... Hansen
(six games), Aaron Miller (five games) and Weems (five games) all extended
hitting streaks, while Campbell (seven games) and Glime (three games) both saw
streaks end.

BAYLOR BASEBALL FALLS TO TEXAS 12-1

WACO, TEXAS (May 3, 2008) Texas batted around in a four-run fifth, breaking open a close game en route to a 12-1 victory over Baylor in Friday night’s Big 12 Conference opener at Baylor Ballpark. The Bears (27-21, 9-13) fall to 1-7 in Big 12 series openers and have dropped each of their last four such games. The Longhorns (28-18, 11-11) have won 11 consecutive meetings.

While Texas took control of the game in the fifth, the game turned in the top of the fourth. After recording seven strikeouts over the first three innings, Baylor starter Kendal Volz was forced to leave the game with a strained oblique muscle. Volz, who gave up a two-out RBI hit to David Hernandez in the second, left the game with Baylor trailing and was saddled with the loss.

Preston Clark’s one-out RBI single in the fourth pushed the Longhorns’ lead to 2-0. In the fifth, six consecutive Texas batters reached base safely with two outs.

Baylor managed a run in the bottom of the inning on two hits and a Longhorn error. Gregg Glime singled with one out and moved to third when Texas catcher Cameron Rupp’s pickoff attempt skipped down the right-field line. Beamer Weems followed with an RBI single.

However, that was all the offense on the night for the Bears, who did not collect more than one hit in any other inning. Chance Ruffin allowed the one unearned run on seven hits and two walks with 11 strikeouts for the complete-game victory. Ruffin used 150 pitches on the night, 50 of which came in the game’s final three innings.

Texas added three runs in the seventh, a run in the eighth and two in the ninth. The Horns 16-hit attack was paced by four players with three hits each – Brandon Belt, Clark, Jordan Danks and Hernandez.

Weems and Shaver Hansen were both 2-for-4, turning in Baylor’s only multiple-hit games.



The series now shifts to Austin’s UFCU Disch-Falk Field for the final two games of the series, beginning with Saturday’s 2:30 p.m. CDT game that will be televised nationally on FSN. The Bears send right-hander Shawn Tolleson (4-3, 5.15 ERA) to the mound. The Longhorns will throw either right-hander Cole Green (2-4, 4.34 ERA) or southpaw Austin Wood (3-2, 5.30 ERA).

NOTES: Texas leads the all-time series 223-97-4, including an 88-55-3 advantage in games played in Waco. The Bears are 20-24 against the Longhorns since the inception of the Big 12 Conference in 1997. Baylor is 25-27 against Texas during head coach Steve Smith’s tenure. … Raynor Campbell (seven games), Hansen (five games), Aaron Miller (four games) and Glime (three games) all extended hitting streaks. Campbell’s is his longest this season. … Ben Booker (six games), Dustin Dickerson (three games) and Adam Hornung (three games) all saw streaks end. … Weems’ third-inning triple was the seventh of his career in Big 12 play. He is now in sole possession of second place at Baylor, trailing on Jon Topolski’s 10 (1996-1999). … Volz now has 58 strikeouts in Big 12 play this season, tying Chad Hawkins (1999) for eighth in school history. In less than two seasons, Volz has tallied 94 strikeouts in Big 12 games; he ranks eighth in school history, passing Zane Carlson (2000-2004), Trey Taylor (2002-2005) and Mark McCormick (2003-2005) in Friday’s game.

Baylor to Face Texas in Baseball Action

WACO, TEXAS (May 2, 2008) Baylor returns to action this weekend with the annual split-series against Texas. The Bears and the Longhorns meet Friday at 6:30 p.m. CDT at Baylor Ballpark. The series then shifts to Austin’s UFCU Disch-Falk Field for games Saturday at 2:30 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. Baylor enters the series sixth in the Big 12 standings, one game behind Texas. Saturday’s game will be televised on Fox College Sports Central and DirecTV channel 669.

2008 Houston College Classic-Day 2 Action

By Robert H. Kelly
Copyright 2008 TexSport Publications

Day 2 action at the 2008 Houston College Classic at Minute Maid Park saw the Oklahoma Sooners facing the Houston Cougars, the Texas Tech Red raiders facing the Volunteers of Tennessee and the Rice Owls squaring off against the Texas Longhorns.

In game one on Saturday, sophomore Spencer Selby drove a three-run home run over the left-field fence in the top of the tenth inning to give the Sooners’ (4-2) an 8-5 win over Houston (4-3). Click here for the recap on Oklahoma and here for the Houston recap

In game two, Nate Karns logged five strong innings while Joey Kenworthy and Taylor Ashby added two RBIs each to lead Texas Tech to a 7-3 win over Tennessee. Click here for the Texas Tech recap and here for the Tennessee version.

In the nightcap, the sixth-ranked Rice baseball team exploded for 10 runs on 15 hits, including three home runs, on the way to a 10-4 victory over fourth-ranked Texas. Click here for the Rice recap and here for the Texas recap.

Action continues on Sunday with Oklahoma facing Tennessee at 11:00 am, Texas Tech and Rice at 2:30 pm and Houston meeting Texas at 6:00 pm.

UT Ex Ramonce Taylor Sentenced to Jail

BELTON, TEXAS (February 16, 2008) The mother of a former University of Texas football star and Central Texas native passed out in a Bell County courtroom Thursday after learning her son will spend the next five months in state jail.

A district judge said Ramonce Taylor violated at least five stipulations of his probation.

With Taylor's current punishment, his defense attorney said he still has a shot at summer training camp.

The prosecution said Taylor violated his probation by failing two separate drug tests, going to Club Titanium in Killeen where he allegedly hit a woman, and criminal trespassing.

Taylor was on probation for a marijuana possession charge in May 2006.

Taylor is most well-known for his role as a running back on the U.T.'s championship football team in 2005.

According to Taylor's attorney, the Kansas City Chiefs want him in their training camp this summer to play on their special teams.

"If anything, Mr. Taylor is going to have to be very, very careful about where he walks and stops because now the violations are much simpler, and the first one he violates, he's going to do a full two years," Taylor's attorney, Bucky Harris said.

When the judge read his punishment, Taylor's mother passed out in the courtroom.

The judge sentenced him to 150 days in state jail, a 90 day curfew after that and $1,000 fine.