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The Lone Star Showdown is the traditional rivalry for all varsity men's and women's athletics competitions between the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University. The name comes from Lone Star State, which is the nickname of the state of Texas.[1] The "Lone Star Showdown" moniker was trademarked in 1996.[2]
The schools are rivals in most major sports, and both universities boast large living alumni bases (over 665,000), along with a significant following from supporters throughout the state and nation.
Being the two oldest public universities in the State of Texas, the rivalry has a history dating back over a century, with the first competition taking place in football in 1894. Throughout the decades, the schools joined and switched conferences together, maintaining the rivalry through the Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association (TIAA), Southwest Conference (SWC), and Big 12 Conference.
The football portion of the Lone Star Showdown ended in 2011 when Texas A&M moved to the Southeastern Conference (SEC).[3] Texas and Texas A&M still competed regularly in other sports in non-conference play.
The State Farm Lone Star Showdown started in 2004 and was created to bring more attention to the rivalry in non-major sports. The Lone Star Showdown trophy was awarded to the winning school each year based on head-to-head matchup in each sport. The final episode of the annual competition occurred during the 2011–12 academic year.
In July 2021, Texas announced that it (along with rival Oklahoma) would join the SEC no later than the 2025-26 academic year.[4] In February 2023, the Big 12 announced that Texas and Oklahoma had negotiated a combined $100 million early termination fee in order to leave for the SEC a year early.[5] The Longhorns football team competed in the Big 12 through the 2023 season before moving to the SEC in 2024, with the football edition of the Lone Star Showdown scheduled to resume in November of that year.
- ^ "State Nicknames". 50States.com. Marchex Inc. Retrieved 2007-09-09.
- ^ Popik, Barry (2006-10-21). "Lone Star Showdown (Texas Longhorns vs. Texas A&M Aggies)" (blog entry quoting trademark application). The Big Apple. Retrieved 2007-04-18.
- ^ "Farmers Fight!". texasmonthly.com. Emmis Publishing. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
- ^ Dinich, Heather; Schlabach, Mark (July 30, 2021). "Texas Longhorns, Oklahoma Sooners unanimously accept invitation to SEC". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
- ^ Dinich, Heather (February 9, 2023). "Oklahoma, Texas agree to exit Big 12 Conference after 2023-24 season". ESPN. Retrieved February 9, 2023.