One of the truly great conferences in NCAA college football was the Southwest Conference (SWC)…. which existed from 1914 to 1996….and was composed primarily of schools from Texas including Rice University, Southern Methodist University, Texas A&M University, Texas Christian University, University of Houston, Texas Tech University, Baylor University and the University of Texas….along with Oklahoma University and Arkansas University as well. Simply put, the Southwest Conference was known for their “hard nosed punch you in the face and ram the ball down your throat” football….and produced such legendary coaches like UT’s Dana X. Bible and Darrell K. Royal, OU’s Bud Wilkerson and Barry Switzer, Houston’s Bill Yoeman, Baylor’s Grant Teaff, SMU’s Hayden Fry & Ron Meyers, TCU’s Abe Martin and Dutch Meyer, Texas Tech’s Spike Dykes, Arkansas’s Frank Broyles, A & M’s Paul “Bear” Bryant and Gene Stallings and Rice University’s Jess Neely.
This 1983 SWC Game of the Week between Texas University, coach by Fred Akers and TCU, coached by Jim Wacker was played on November 13, 1982 at Amon Carter Stadium….home of the Horned Frogs. The Longhorns were on their way to an 11 – 0 season…then lost to Georgia in the Cotton Bowl and ended up being ranked # 5 in the country…..while TCU was in their 1st year under coach Jim Wacker….and struggled through a 1 – 8 – 2 record.
On this Autumn day in Austin, Texas….the Longhorns beat the Horned Frogs by a score of 20 – 14….in a toughly fought highly competitive game from start to finish….but TCU always gets up for Texas….as they have a long history of giving the Horns problems…..as did dang near every other team in the storied history of the Southwest Conference….even still, this was an outstanding Texas football team that beat the likes of Auburn, A & M, Oklahoma, SMU, Baylor and Arkansas….which makes me think that any fan of SWC football would love watching this game….not to mention the millions of Longhorn and TCU fans….so, enjoy!!!
