Sadly and frustratingly I have encountered this same myopic mindset many times, but almost always from non-Texans. Their notion that if you are a Texan (and I am), then surely you must be a fan of The University of Texas.
I will explain to them, using small words, that no, not every Texan is a fan of the University of Texas and that, to the contrary, there are a multitude of people in Texas who attended such schools as UH, Baylor, Texas Tech, A&M, TCU, and Baylor who not only aren’t fans of the University of Texas but instead hate the University of Texas; and that when you add all of those people up, there are more Texans who despise the greedy, overated, over endowed, egotistical University of Texas than those who are fans of it. - I think of it as public service announcement.
Regarding the heat and humidity…
I’ll never forget my first semester on campus was when Houston broke the all time record high for the city. It was 109 degrees. An upperclassman gave me some advice I never forgot.
He told me, “The shortest path between two points is the one with the most air conditioning”. I quickly became a master at cutting through buildings while crossing campus.
Kids equate athletic success and conference affiliation as its academic success. The 2 go hand and hand so we’re gonna move up and be big time once in the big12. Kids in my area wanted to go to Baylor only bc it’s in a major conf but now we are too. Take A&M and put them in Cusa and see how many kids want to go there. Conf affiliation and sports success elevates the academic profile which is happening to us now. We went from 5 or 6 k freshmen applications to over 35 k this yr. Why, it’s bc of the big 12 and it happened overnight so it’s not a coincidence.
Fall 2010: 12,809, 71% got in
Fall 2011: 14,721, 64% got in
Fall 2012: 17,021, 56% got in (post Keenum final season)
Fall 2013: 17,405, 58% got in
Fall 2014: 17,326, 63% got in
Fall 2015: 18,170, 60% got in
Fall 2016: 20,234, 59% got in (After 2015 season)
Fall 2017: 21,786, 63% got in (After OU + Louisville upset)
Fall 2018: 22,872, 63% got in (First freshman class larger than transfer)
Fall 2019: 25,392, 65% got in (after Sweet 16 appearance)
Fall 2020: 28,643, 63% got in (COVID + Basketball dominance)
Fall 2021: 35,000+, 54% got in (*Shows 30k in data, but Khator confirms 35k, which acceptance rate reflects such). This is after Final Four
Fall 2022: 38,000+, ??? get in (Big 12 invite announcement, Elite 8 Appearance, Beating Auburn, Top 50 Academic Ranks for Programs)
*UH has the chance to drop the acceptance rate like a rock by accepting their normal amount again compared to proportional. They normally accept around 17k. They do that again with this amount, the rate becomes 44%.
This is bc of the big 12 and recent bb success. Again kids equate good academic schools based on athletics and mainly athletic conf association. No one would really fight to go to Bama if they weren’t sec and good. Even ole miss ranks higher just bc they are sec for kids. The big 12 is a game changer for us. We’re gonna become a go to school.
I am a football fan because my dad was a football fan and started taking me to games when I was 3 or 4. When we got a TV in the early 1950s, I started watching football with him. Football was a big part of my family, and the families of my friends. I was playing sandlot football before I started school. I would bet most of the adult football fans had similar experiences.
A whole lot of our students are of Asian, Hispanic, or other international descent, many of their parents are immigrants to the US. That has a lot to do with a lot of our students’ lack of interest in football or basketball. Their parents did not instill that interest at a young age.
So the big 12 is already helping us and you’ll see UH as a go to school. Tcu’s applications went thru the roof like ours is now after they got into the big12. Kids and parents equate the big time sports and academics at schools like Bama etc being better regardless of truth. We’re gonna project upwards bc of the big12 and it’s why Khator and us wanted this. Louisville is perceived as good now bc if the Acc. In cusa , your perceived as less all the way around. It’s why our freshmen applications went to over 35k overnight.
I quickly became a master at cutting through buildings while crossing campus.