1968 was a year that changed the world. Also, in 1968 Austin College had one helluva football team. The 1968 Austin College Kangaroos were honored at Homecoming this weekend. The ‘68 squad went 8-1 and finished the season ranked #6 nationally in the NAIA. Team members were recognized on the field prior to the game
Different periods of life bring different priorities. At age 48, my priorities are much more adult. Family, career, etc. And yes…. writing a Roo Tale as time allows. Not the case four decades ago, however. In 1978, my priorities were much simpler. At age 8, they involved watching the Dallas Cowboys win Super Bowls and
Hey, it’s Wayne Whitmire’s birthday today! HBD Wayne from down here in Austin. Whitmire might be celebrating with Dana at the AC Pub ROOts / AC AlumNight in Plano this evening alongside other Roos. This month Roo Tales is looking back at the 1968 AC football season on its 50th anniversary. And what a coincidence!
Coach Bill Snyder, the “architect” of the greatest turnaround in college football history, has retired from Kansas State after 30 years in Manhattan. The fact that Coach Snyder is a former Austin College assistant football coach (and swimming coach too….I see you Claude Webb Jr.!) has been a source of pride for Roos for decades.
This Saturday, It’s UT vs. OU take two. The Horns and Sooners play for a second time this season, with a conference championship at stake. A rematch within one season has only occurred twice in the rivalry, in 1903 and 1901. I’ve been having fun telling of AC ties to the Red River Rivalry in
The real hero of all of this writing is Dianne Parrish. She always facilitates this interest, and I try to respond in kind. She gave me some time earlier in the week to knock out this lead in to the story of the Kangaroos of 1968. And of course, she is doing the same for
It’s been an interesting experience working for the University of Texas System over the past two decades. As the Texas economy and population have boomed, UT Austin has remained stubbornly committed to a student population of roughly 50,000. All of that demand for higher education has to go somewhere else. And it has! To other
There are many subtexts in all my little Roo writings. One of those subtexts is a desire to add much deserved weight and heft to Austin College’s past and its historical place within the state of Texas & the nation. As Ron Burgundy would say, we’re kind of a big deal. Ok, maybe that’s a
November 11, 1918 – November 11, 2018 Chapter 1: “First Dooowwwnnn!…….and Life to Go!” Chapter 2: Like Father, Like Son Chapter 3: An Armistice Day Homecoming Chapter 4: Austin College & Texas A&M: The ties run deep Chapter 1: “First Dooowwwnnn!…….and Life to Go!” The A&M Consolidated High School Centennial Committee has been hard at
Man, what a game in Austin yesterday. Longhorn fans left disappointed when a last second West Virginia TD and two-point conversion gave the Mountaineers the inside track to the Big XII championship game. UT Coach Tom Herman left frustrated, while WV Coach Dana Holgorsen was ecstatic. Typical of the two former wide receiver coaches, the
