Click to see the Conference Family Portrait original ad! Cover - Inside - Back
Read my interview with artist Don Collins @ Uni Watch

Welcome to a trip back to the old Southwest Conference!
Most notably I include Arkansas, Baylor, Houston, Rice, SMU, Texas, Texas A&M, TCU, and Texas Tech.
SWC football ended in 1995 after Arkansas fled to the SEC in 1990.

I started this website a long time ago - and have been running a virtual SWC for 15 years now.
Column on the left includes historical links to all things Southwest Conference - many of the links are pages researched and developed by me.
In the middle column is the running blog commentary for the current year.
The right column is the virtual standings, a uniform wrap-up for the current year, and links to the pages from other years.


SWC History


Traditions
Sounds of the SWC
Hand Signs

Longhorn Band Traditions Site
The Aggie Ring
Aggie Traditions Timeline
University of Houston Athletic Traditions
SMU Band and Traditions
Halftime scripts from The MOB

Birth of Sic'em Bears
Frog Horns History
The Whole Story behind Pony Ears

How Sammy the Owl got his name
U of H History of the Cougar
Baylor Mascot History
TCU Horned Frog Mascot History
History of the Masked Rider
Creation of Raider Red


Memorabilia
SWC Football Programs
Another 100 Programs Added!


   
Texas - TAMU  Texas - OU  Bowl Games

Humble Schedule Decals
Other Humble SWC Memorabilia
Humble Ads in SWC Football Programs

Bowl Game Souvenirs
SWC Buttons
SWC Pennants

Ad for Humble Decals


SWC Mascot/Logo Project
SWC Logos
SWC Mascot Artwork
Bill McClanahan SMU Art

History of the Longhorn Logo
Arkansas Razorback History
100 Years of Razorback Logo
Running Hog on the Helmet
TCU Flying T Logo Artist

SWC Football Helmet History


History
My SWC Champions Site
Neat Texas OU Look Back
UT's Tower
SMU Football Greatest Moments
Amazing Archive of Arkansas Photos
Rice Owls Football Images Archive
1947 Texas Tech Promo video

A Look Back at the SWC
SWC Timeline
February 25th

Earl vs. Bevo




Earl vs. Rice's Michael Downs

The Story Behind the Play - Revisited

Historical SWC Bowl Games
1954 Cotton Bowl
1957 Sugar Bowl
1961 Sugar Bowl
1969 Cotton Bowl
1970 Cotton Bowl
1973 Gator Bowl
1974 Peach Bowl
1989 All American Bowl
1995 Copper Bowl
1977 Texas OU

Orange Bowl History

Books on SWC Football


Unis
SWC Uni Database - TBD
2023 SWC Uni Tracker
2022 SWC Uni Tracker
2021 SWC Uni Tracker
2020 SWC Uni Tracker
2019 SWC Uni Tracker
2018 SWC Uni Tracker
2017 SWC Uni Tracker
2016 SWC Uni Tracker
2015 SWC Uni Tracker
2014 SWC Uni Tracker
2013 SWC Uni Tracker


How Texas Tech became the Red Raiders


Broadcasts
All SWC Radio Broadcasters
Humble Football Broadcast History
Kern Tips (dead link)
Kern Tips Bio Info
Kern Tips & Chronicle Sports
Kern Tips Links
Golden Voices of Football
Frank Fallon
Dave Campbell and Frank Fallon inducted into TSHoF
Eddie Barker


1956 A&M-Texas Game Highlights


Articles
Time has run out on the Southwest Conference, but what a time it was

Fronteir Justice (a story about TCU football)

End of an Era: 81-Year Tradition Will Take One Last Breath

10 years later

Silver Taps for the SWC (search page for "Silver Taps")

The Dying Days of the SWC

Life was good in the old Southwest Conference

It Was a Conference with Charachter



Links
Awesome SWC Site - Thompsonian


University Archives
Texas Tech Game Programs


Live Streaming Audio
Texas Longhorns audio



20 Year Look Back
2015 marked 20 years since the last official Southwest Conference games had been played. While the SWC ended in 1996, the last year for football was 1995. Throughout the 2015 football season I looked back at those last official games. Leaving them here this year since 1996 was the official end of the SWC and I still need to load some of the games.

Arkansas @ SMU
9/2/95
SMU won 17-14 in a thriller that went down to the final minute. Arkansas had one more chance and drove the ball down to the one yard line on a six minute drive. With 56 seconds left, Arkansas fumbled the snap trying to get it in the endzone and SMU recovered. That was the only win the ponies got in 1995 and Arkansas went on to win its SEC division title and its first winning season of the 90s. Check the 5:10 mark of this video for game highlights. Here is the original NCAA Official Scoring Summary (an amazing handwritten 13 sheets of paper - old school, baby)! Note: Arkansas had already fled to the SEC (because of basketball - SEC was about basketball back then) - technically I probably should not include this game.

Texas @ SMU
9/30/95
Apparently a yawner per some of the reviews. One of those articles from the UT paper says SMU didn't belong in the game - this the week afer they beat Arkansas and Texas got whipped by Notre Dame. Although Arkansas sucked back then (why the fled to the SEC for basketball). Texas ran up a season high 558 yards (341 on the ground mostly on the back of Shon Mitchell (his first game over 100 yards - 185 to be exact) with a hobbled Ricky Williams only carrying 9 times for 48). Game video with Celebrating SWC intro here. Complete stats here.

Houston @ TCU
10/7/95
TCU beat an undefeated Houston (4-0) 31-21 in Fort Worth. The defense was able to shut out the Coogs in the first half. Andre Davis set a school record with the 14th 100-yd rushing game of his career while Knake established a TCU record of 45, topping the legendary Sammy Baugh's 44. It was the largest crowd to watch a TCU/Houston game at Amon Carter at the time (34,684). Game summary here.

Rice @ Texas
10/7/95
Horns scored on their first three posessions but stalled in the 2nd quarter. Rice racked up 253 yards and were tied 13-13 at the half. The Horns had a strong second half capped off by two 4th quarter touchdowns by the still injured Ricky Williams - making it 24 unanswered points. Texas wins in Austin 37-13. Daily Texan article - game summary in the second article on that page.

A&M @ Texas Tech
10/7/95
Simply one of the biggest games of the year! Tied up 7-7 at the half, the remaining two quarters of the game was a defensive struggle... until the last Aggie possession. This was the infamous Zach Thomas INT game winning touchdown with 30 seconds left! An unranked Tech beat #8 Texas A&M 14-7. Spike Dykes' first win over a top 10 team and first win over a top ranked team in 17 years. The phrase "Wreck 'em Tech" may not have stemmed from this game - but it was surely born here! Game stats here.


Baylor @ Houston
10/14/95
A whipping... 49-7. Baylor gained 591 yards against the Coogs in the Astrodome! It was the first 500 plus yard game for Baylor since SMU in 1984. Baylor held Houston to 178 yards (compared to 401 in the previous game against TCU) and chased Chuck Clements out of the pocket all night. Baylor Lariat article.

SMU @ Texas A&M
10/14/95
SMU led most of the game and was leading 17-13 with 56 seconds left to play. The Aggies, without Leeland McElroy, drove it 70 yards in five plays and scored with only eight seconds left to avoid the upset and secure a 20-17 victory at Kyle Field.

TCU @ Rice
10/14/95
Rice led 14-10 at half time. But TCU rallied - catching up in the 3rd quarter and taking over in the 4th to win 33-28. Game summary here.

Rice @ Texas Tech
10/21/95
Owls fell behind early but launched a furious 18 unanswered points rally sparked by Chad Nelson replacing an injured Josh LaRocca in the waning minutes of 3rd quarter. At 24-18, the Owls defense could not stop Zebbie Letheridge and Byron Hanspard. Rice had a couple more chances: one due to a dropped snap on a Tech punt resulting in the offense set up in Red Raider territory which produced no points and a drive ending in an interception. Rice was able to score again and get a safety but came up short in the 31-26 loss at Jones Stadium. Scoring Summary here and Rice Thresher article.

SMU @ Houston
10/21/95
The week after nearly knocking off Texas A&M, SMU loses 38-15 to Houston who hadn't won a game since last year when they played SMU. But that game was closer than it looked with Houston scoring three touchdowns in three minutes. A 78 yard pick-6 by James Reddish cut he rally short.

Texas A&M @ Baylor
10/21/95
In an effort to "Color the Town" when the Aggies arrive, students encouraged anyone with a collie to dress their dog in Baylor colors! No idea how that worked out... On to the game! Baylor was hopeful, especially since the Aggies barely got by SMU AND had lost to Tech which Baylor had already beat. After a strong start by Baylor in hopes of getting their first win in 10 years against the Ags, the Aggies blocked a punt and quickly scored. Baylor tried to play catch up for the rest of the game and fell 24-9 at Floyd Casey. Baylor Lariat articles: post-game and pre-game. Another article about the history here.

Houston @ Texas A&M
10/28/95
Despite numerous turnovers by the Coogs, they were able to stay in the game until the end of the 3rd quarter. With 4:23 left in the 3rd quarter, Aggie Keith Mitchell chased Clements into his own endzone resulting in a hurried throw and a pick-6 for Andre Williams. TBD - more to come. Aggies won 31-7maintaining the lo ngest home winning streak in the nation. LA Times SWC Roundup for the week.

Rice @ SMU
10/28/95
Rice broke a six game winless streak by beating SMU 34-24. But it was not without drama. Rice allowed SMU to score two touchdowns to get back in the game and then a turnover allowed SMU to take the lead midway through the 4th quarter. With 8:47 to play, Rice scored and the defense was able to hold on to seal their 7th staight victory over SMU. Rice Thresher articles: pre-game and post game.

TCU @ Baylor
10/28/95
Baylor won 27-24 in Waco. TCU CB Godrey White got his hands on two field goals and a PAT. The TCU defense did a good job of holding Baylor after turnovers. But two big misses for TCU prevented them from a comeback win - touchdown pass in endzone was intercepted by Robinson and an outstanding pass/catch/run was called back for illegal motion. Despite some good efforts by TCU, Baylor controlled the game. Baylor Lariat artcile here.Game summary here.

SMU @ TCU
11/4/95
A cold rainy homecoming in Fort Worth did not dissappoint! SMU jumped out to a 10-0 start , but were dominated in the 2nd quarter after that. But SMU pulled back to 17-16 on a one yard touchdown run. SMU attempted a two point conversion for the win late in the 4th quarter - but Rick LaFavers intercepts and returns it 100 yards adding the two points to TCU's score instead for a 19-16 TCU win. TCU will have two consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 1959. Instead of a win, SMU clinches the longest consecutive loss streak (for major colleges) at eight - and winless in their last 18 SWC games. TCU Game Summary here. LA Times Southwest Roundup.

Texas Tech @ Texas
11/4/95
A promising Top 25 matchup ended up in a 48-7 rout by No.13 Texas over No.23 Texas Tech in Austin. I was at this game - I remember telling dad and begging the powers that be to "make it stop..." It was supposed to be such a good game with promise and a chance for Tech! Despite struggling against Tech's defensive pressure the previous two years, Texas scored on four of its first seven posessions and led 28-0 at halftime with 304 yards. Three of those scores took less than two minutes. And it only got worse for the Tech fans. 48-0 at the end of the 3rd quarter. We had great seats, first row in the upper deck on the 50 yard line. I was mis-er-a-ble! The 41 point margin was the largest over a Top 25 team in Texas football history. Zebbie Lethridge saw his SWC record string of passes without an interception end at 211 when he was picked off in the 1st quarter. Texas went on to score a touchdown shortly thereafter, pushing Tech behind 14-0. This was also the game that I thought Tony Brackens had killed my kicker on the fake field goal early in the 2nd quarter when we were down 14-0 and trying to make something happen. Tech had more chances in the 2nd quarter to get back in the game but came up empty. Texas ended up scoring 28 points off four Tech turnovers. Daily Texan articles and game summary. Tech game summary.




Texas A&M @ Rice
11/9/95
TBD

Baylor @ SMU
11/11/95
TBD

Texas @ Houston
11/11/95
TBD

TCU @ Texas Tech
11/11/95
TBD

Rice @ Baylor
11/18/95
TBD

TCU @ Texas
11/18/95
TBD

Texas Tech @ SMU
11/18/95
TBD

1995 Links
Texas Tech - 1995 in Review

1995 Texas Football Highlights - The Final Chapter

1995 Arkansas Football Season Review - A Season of Firsts

Football alive, Well in Arkansas - Danny Ford turns things around

Baylor Lariat Newspaper Archives

Rice Thresher Newspaper Archives


SWC Infographics
Historical Win Record


Historical Win Record by Team

New Collectibles
Old School Go Hogs Cup Holder for the car. An absolute treasure I picked up in Arkansas for 50 cents!






























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































Mini Blog Comments
Full blog can be read here

Tenth SWC Matchup
It's baaaaaack! After 13 years, Texas A&M will play Texas again. A lot has changed at Kyle Field since 2011! The series record from Winsipedia. Great article for Dave Campbell's Texas Football magazine. An AMAZING video on the rivalry - if you don't understand, you will after watching this! I have lots of great clips of Texas A&M/Texas games on the twitter page.


Uni Winners of Week 13
A FIRST Ever Worn Combo!
TEXAS
Texas wins out because they look like Texas.
TEXAS TECH
There is nothing I can complain about here. Everything we are wearing here has precedent. It is a solid away set.
TEXAS A&M
All white again - but with a white facemask this time. First ever! All white one-off worn in 2014 but had a chrome ATM decal. And back in the 50s and 70s when they wore stripeless white helmets, facemasks were gray. Yes, I have a chart!
SMU
Really a wash with Baylor this week. Whites with the modern striping. Only showing of old school striping (and even still, not quite because there is no space between the stripes on the helmets) this year is twice in the traditional blue jerseys.
BAYLOR
A wash with SMU this week. Traditional whites.
RICE
Perfectly fine new color combo. So glad the gray pants are back - but how much better would this look with stripes!?!
TCU
Just go ahead and change your school colors to purple and black. It looks like TCU anyway. Technically a different combo with the black helmet.
HOUSTON
I am sorry I have to the Houston Blue unis so low. And I understand why they had to change last year's uni. But I just think they played it too safe. At a minimum, you need the classic stripes on the pants.
ARKANSAS
I should really like this - it is clean and classic. But I just cannot get into the all red...



Ninth SWC Matchup
Dead even at the 30th matchup. Last year was the first time they played since the end of the Southwest Conference. And interestingly enough, Houston won that first Big 12 conference matchup. As did Houston when they joined the Southwest Conference walking away with the first SWC conference matchup. The very first time, however, Baylor has played Hoston on the Houston campus. Very COOL game stat card for the game.


Aggie Bonfire - 25 Years
It snuck up on me. I have had a full page newspaper memorial hanging on the wall in my garage for 25 years now. Kind of fitting that the anniversary falls on the year we pick the rivalry back up. Here. It was so moving at pre-game that year how Texas and Mack Brown joined in with our pain and we were all one that day. Didn't really matter who won. Nice AP article. Great article that talks about how they build the off-campus bonfire now and how what happened in 1999 cannot happen again. Beautiful yet eerie photos. The marks around the edge of the main pole marker is the direction to the hometown of every student killed.


Uni Winners of Week 12
Only a new helmet/decal Pairing
TEXAS
Texas wins again this week.
ARKANSAS
A royal SWC matchup against Texas puts this one in second. That game was a beauty - no need even for a #WhatTheGameShouldLook Like!
TEXAS A&M
Picking the all maroon over the Baylor whites just because it is an interseting change only worn 23 times since 1950 (graphic is before week 6 when Aggies wore this same combo).
BAYLOR
Standard all white combo.
SMU
Black D unis with the modern stripes.A perfectly fine uni to wear if black is one of your school colors... it needs some red maybe - but it still manages to be SMU brand.
HOUSTON
White helmet with black decal, white jersey with red print, black pants... not a good look.



32 Years?
It has been 32 years - i I didn't realize. It all started 32 years ago when Arkansas left SWC to join the SEC to join a basketball conference because they sucked at football (well, that didn't work out so well).
Arkansas left in 1992 - 32 years ago.
I was born in 1965 - 30 years of SWC in my life time... There has been more non-SWC for me than SWC.



Eighth SWC Matchup
Storied rivalry between two old National Champs of the 60s and 70s in the era of The Game of the Century when the Southwest Conference ruled. The hatred is still there even though they have only played SIX times since the SWC died. But this year it becomes a conference rivalry again after 32 years. Clips from 1969 Game of the Century, 1989 Texas win, 1981 Arkansas win, and 2004 Texas win. Texas' last visit to Arkansas did not end well. This will be the 80th game - Texas has only played OU, Texas A&M, Baylor, Rice, and TCU, more.
And I leave you with one classic, pure gold prank call to the Texas athletic department just before the Arkansas-Texas game in 1991 trying to figure out what to do with the extra "S" in the south endzone at War Memorial! TEXASS



Uni Winners of Week 11
Three of the Four = New Combos
TEXAS
Classic WOW (white orange white). Winners this week. RICE
First blue white white combo this year! Strong 2nd place.
TEXAS TECH
I love Mahomes - but not big on GFGS (gray for gray sake) even if they are Galvanized. Special metallic galvanized name, number, helmet stripes and decal - which are cool (and would have looked so muche better on black maybe). The red accents do really help. Special note - there is no adidias logo - just the Mahomes Gladiator logo.
TCU
While I appreciate these look much more like TCU (in fact, they are the same ones from last year) and they have the horny toad spikes. It is different and new because last time they wore it they paired the retro decal with a black matte helmet. This time they wore the frogskin purple chrome. But the spitting blood thing has got to stop. That is "all is lost" "last ditch defense" move the horny toad does. It is just dumb - and TCU loses this week (even behind the gray duds of Tech).



Uni Winners of Week 10
Yet Again New Combos!
TEXAS TECH
This one is a repeat. But I really like the end result here upsetting Iowa State. I wish the red showed up more on these.
RICE
New combo AND new decal! Oh, how I long for stripes on these pants.
ARKANSAS
Just solid.
TEXAS A&M
Actually new combo for this year . Will I ever get gray pants with stripes again?
SMU
Another new combo - but you know how I feel about the unstriped blue pants.
TCU
While a new combo this year - just so bland. And sorry, you cannot flex bland.
HOUSTON
Houston gets a mention because a newblack combo was worn. And faired better in my ranking because the helmet wasn't black - they don't have one. And they had a nice upset win.
BAYLOR
Black unis unless you are Texas Tech or another school with black as your school colors suck.



What a Great SWC Matchup!
The real trophy headed to its new home - although, I see no logo plaque applied. Also, it is bigger than I thought. Baylor stormed the field - but I never saw that other trophy in any team celebration... We all agree with this! #WhatTheGameShouldLookLike


Seventh SWC Matchup
The Revivalry. As it always will be! We are still not calling it that other thing. Pretty even - although TCU has dominated of late. There have been a lot of close games too - and we cannot forget the Bazooka walk-off.


Uni Winners of Week 9
Even More New Combos!
TEXAS TECH
New combo this year. Classic red pants paired with white jersey and black helmet bringing 1983 vibes.
BAYLOR
All green unis again but with Sailor Bear. Sailor Bear makes everything look better. Sailor Bear would even make TCU unis look better.
SMU
Same blue horse helmet from last week but paired with all modern whites. And with the blue facemask it really pops - even though it needs more red, it looks really good when you lay out nine photos from the week.
TEXAS
Just the best away whites there are.
ARKANSAS
Still solid.
RICE
New combo for this year. Old English R helmet with the white jersey and blue pants.
TCU
At least this combo looks like a TCU uniform.
TEXAS A&M
Perfectly good black uni and the script helmet is a nice touch (it is actually in their branding) IF your school colors include black. Stupid if not.



Saddle Back in Fort Worth
In fact, the saddle had to be run out onto the field when TCU ended up winning after Tech having it in control the entire second half. I knew this was gonna be a fake. Sonny's face at the end of that clip, I said sorry then - but he got the last laugh. Just sickening... TCU fans had already left the stands before they came back and won. And #WhatTheGameShouldLookLike - even though Tech was pretty close.

Sixth SWC Matchup
Battle for the Saddle. Pretty even overall. The last Tech coach to beat TCU in back-to-back years was Spike Dykes in 1987-1990.


Uni Winners of Week 8
The Return of Aggies M-W-M
TEXAS TECH
Same juicy combo from week 1.
RICE
New combo. Certainly the best looking one. Lost out to a Tech repeat because no stripes on the pants.
TEXAS
Just a great look. Too bad the play was not a good look.
BAYLOR
Solid white combo same as week 2 and 4.
TEXAS A&M
While the Aggies have worn M-W-M 91 times since 1950, they have not since 2019 (and there were lots of stripes involved then). But these are just plain as hell. Some history - they wore maroon pants in 1983 but when wearing a white jersey, they usually wore the gray pants. Around 1995 the plain maroon pants showed up and have been worn off and on in the 2000s (sometimes with disastrous piping). 2012 saw the retro double yoke stripes which included maroon pants with a thick white stripe.
SMU
The modernized blue uni. I just can't get behind it - so lacking without pant stripes. At least wear two plain white stripes - or not, don't give them any ideas.
ARKANSAS
This should look good - the white breaks up the all red. They brought the red pants back last year and wore this combo once. But it just doesn't look right for Arkansas so hopefully only once this year.



Fifth SWC Matchup
BU-TT Bowl. This is the kind that scare me. I went to Floyd Casey one year in the 90s when Tech was supposed to win - we didn't and I never went back to that stadium until they tore it down and built a new one!


Uni Winners of Week7
Everyone Else Had a Bye...

TEXAS
Classic white away uni - looks even better with gold accessories! Texas edges out Rice because of the gold hat. #OUstillSucks.
RICE
New combo for the Houston tribute uni. Basic Luv Ya Owls Oilers jersey paired with no stripe navy pants and the Oilers helmet deco from last year on a navy helmet. Looked great! Docked points for no pants stripes.



That was fun!
Was Arch's dad foreshadowing? Big corn dog theme running this year. Hat is coming home to Texas. And a little field theatrics in response to Baker a few years back. The annual one side of the stadium emptying out - I like it when this side empties out. Did OU score a touchdown? This horns down of course never gets old. And... well played, Texas!

And OU still sux!
OU hate week... nah, it is always OU hate week! The last time the Red River Rivalry had either team ranked #1 was in 2008. #5 Texas defeated #1 Oklahoma 45-35 (last Texas-OU game dad attended). The last time a #1 ranked Texas played Oklahoma was in 1984. That resulted in a 15-15 tie. Here's the history

What time is it?


Who Wore it Best?
Another new never worn combo!
TEXAS TECH
I think we only wore white white black once before in 2022. This year's is way better. Who wore it better? Texas Tech by a landslide.
TEXAS A&M
The all maroon. It looks good. But it's not a new combo - worn once last year too - and as an abomination in 2017 with a chrome decal and black facemask.
ARKANSAS
Still classic. Hot sweaty day outside results in helmets and jerseys not matching - but bonus points for field storming.
SMU
Modern white look - but including a white facemask too! Done last year with same uni and also with Dallas script instead of SMU on chest.
BAYLOR
Repeat combo.
TCU
Chrome dome with frog is so Baylor 2015. They certainly looked a little more like TCU in this uni. But it is hard to tell anything on the field with the random reflections - no good photos. Might look great in person...
HOUSTON
First ever white white black combo for Houston. I didn't hate it - and kind of hate it ranked last this week. Although, it didn't look much like a UH-TCU game... or maybe it did - should have looked like this. Who wore it better?



Well, How Southwest Conference Was That?
After having not scored in two games, Houston had a big, fast start. And Fritz got his first Big 12 win. I thought TCU was going to come back - but UH defense stayed focused on the turnovers. And now UH is on top at 2-0 in SWC matchups. I had tweeted a #WhatTheGameShouldLookLike and picked a photo from 1989 because Andre Ware was on the call on this game. I nailed it - because the last time UH beat TCU in Fort Worth, was that very game! That was fun - but if you know a TCU fan personally, please check in on them. Especially if they left the game early... they may be passed out somewhere in the street. For some reason, Dana wasn't even there. And the TCU kid in charge of TCU Football went missing for at least an hour or so...


Fourth SWC Matchup
A decidedly one sided affair since the Southwest Conference disbanded - but even steven right now. I should plot these rivalries to show the years the teams were good or bad. Fun futre project. I did do an historical record by team that uses color to show victories by team - so if you look at TCU in the 70s and 80s, there is not a lot of purple. But would still be interesting to do one of these based on team matchups.


Uni Winners of Week 5
New - never worn - combos!
And some surprise picks at the top!
BAYLOR
I shouldn't like this new never ever worn combo - but it looks really good. All yellow - no, but with the green helmet and in the sunlight, yes!
TEXAS TECH
First time wearing the all black. I love this uni - but in photos I think it needs a little more red. It just doesn't pop enough - but it probably does in person. And I really don't like the black tights.
TEXAS A&M
Another new combo - I think. I have not completed my post SWC years uni overview for A&M - but I do not think the maroon jersey was ever worn with a white helmet and maroon pants. And I really really like it in this game for the sake of contrast. Such a good looking game.
ARKANSAS
Classic again. But the red in the helmet was just so vibrant and looked so good paired with the Aggies new combo with the white helmet.
TEXAS
Still solid - always.
SMU
Same combo highly rated in many weeks - but the modernized traditional stripes with no gaps on the helmet has started to bother me. I was fine with it when it came out because I was just happy to have the stripes.
RICE
New combo. Not crazy about the plain navy helmet with the navy jersey. And I just really wish we had some stripes on those pants.
TCU
Just plain bland.
HOUSTON
Blood clot, gross.



At Least it was a Good Game
A really good looking and entertaining game. Jerry Jones gave the Aggies the Southwest Classic trophy one last time - it will be staying in their trophy case unless the series gets revived in AT&T since the stadium forms the trophy base. Nice write-up in The Battalion. It usually is a pretty close game.


Third SWC Matchup
The last Southwest Classic at a neutral site. New conference alignments have paused another one... With the new SEC there are no longer any divisions - so Arkansas and A&M will not play every year. For some bizarre reason, this matchup was not "protected". While this is the 81st meeting between the two schools, the Southwest Classic did not orginate until 2009. I am not sure if Jerry Jones owns the name "Southwest Classic" but the trophy base is AT&T Stadium. So one can assume that trophy will stay in the trophy case of the winner forever.


Uni Winners of Week 4
Who looked good?
TEXAS TECH
New red combo I was worried about - but with these new unis are there any bad combos?
ARKANSAS
Classic.
RICE
New combo for Rice - really wish the pants had stripes. But a solid look.
TEXAS
Classic - Arch with the start.
BAYLOR
Nothing new this week. Except they did keep Colorado from wearing all white.
TEXAS A&M
Still a little plain for an Aggie uniform.
SMU
First wearing of the blue Dallas uni this year.
HOUSTON
White helmet with the fun Houston script looks good with the red facemask and the all white looks good if you don't have to look at those stupid pants stripes.
TCU
First use of purple chrome helmet. It's a nice enough helmet but makes the rest of the uni look underdressed. Not sure TCU can make it off the bottom this year with these unis.



SMU Got Their Revenge
Whoa... that was bad. Not only did SMU get the Iron Skillet back, they did so in humiliating fashion for the last scheduled Battle of the Iron Skillet on the Hilltop. And without Sonny Dykes in the second half who was called for TWO unsportsmanlike conduct fouls after questioning two questionable holding calls that negated in one case a TCU return touchdown. I have seen no statements from the Big 12 refs regarding the ejection. Should have been a really good game, but SMU caught some early breaks jumping out to a 17-0 lead. TCU came back but then more bad breaks for them at the end of the first half. With the questionable calls and then the ejection early in the second half - it led to the most points ever scored by one team in the Iron Skillet history (and the most points ever scored). SMU did indeed Fry them Frogs and some eggs. But we can still laugh about SMU giving up all their tv $$$ so they can be on The CW...

Second SWC Matchup
103rd SMU-TCU game. Started playing in 1915 and only missed in 1919, 1920, 1925, 1987, 1988, 2006, and 2020. Battle of the Iron Skillet came into play in 1946. They have not been in the same conference since 2000 when they were both in the WAC. Currently only two scheduled games are left - this year and next. Someone said "...college football is losing a little bit of its soul. Or at least the traditional fabric that it’s made from...". Could not agree more! So... Sonny Dykes has won the LAST FOUR Iron Skillets - two with SMU and two with TCU.



Uni Winners of Week 3
Who looked the best?
TEXAS TECH
New combo with the new unis - is there any combo that isn't going to look amazing?!?
TEXAS
Classic.
ARKANSAS
Another classic.
RICE
Rice gets a nod because the new stripes - new combo (first showing of the white jersey). Thankfully, Houston did not black it out and we had an almost SWC looking game (those damn pants stripes).
TEXAS A&M
First all white uni since Johnny Manziel. An okay look - but without any stripes, pretty bland. You are not the longhorns...
TCU
First use of new black helmet. underwhelmed.
BAYLOR
Ugh... Scored lower because of the gold cammo logo on the helmet - I had to recolor that tiny cammo pattern for one game... by hand.



First SWC Matchup
Houston takes back the Bayou Bucket. Thought this would be a good game - but Rice got a slow start and just could never stop UH. And Willie Fritz gets his first UH win.



$179.20 - 50 Years Later
That is how much the trophy cost 50 years ago - between the cost of the beat up bucket Fred Curry found out shopping with his wife in New Braunfels and the cost of the trophy built under it. The trophy was the promotion dreamed up in a couple of touchdown club meetings and first awarded in 1974. And the Battle of the Bayou Bucket continues - for the moment. It's future last year was in question and they scheduled it for 2024 - 2027 But that *blasted* conference realignment bullshit forced them to cancel for 2026 and 2027. They just keep taking things away from me and leaving me only memories... Traditions mean something! For now, UH gets a chance to win it back and not let Rice keep it for a second year. Last year's game was incredible. I think this year might be just as good. The last time Rice won back-to-Back was 1993 and 1994. RICE RICE RICE!!!



Uni Winners of Week 2
Uni Worthy Mentions
TEXAS TECH
Favorite all white Tech uniform ever.
BAYLOR
So... all white with stripes is just beautiful...
RICE
Never before worn combo with the striped silver helmet with the Old English R. But the ivy league collegiate dorm decals took away from it for me.
SMU
New red jersey made its debut - a very bright red and a very colorful uni. It's okay - would prefer traditional stripes. The fat double stripes continue to increase their presence.
ARKANSAS
Nothing really new except the black trim on the sleeve patch - but getting a mention because it is so classic and solid.



New SMU Red Jersey
Pretty much knew this was coming. Last worn in 2017. But this version is not as traditional as advertised. It has the modern stripes on the sleeves and is paired with the modern helmet and the modern white pants. The stripes on the sleeves are the exact same as on the white jersey. Not crazy about that but I realize Blue/Red/Blue would not look too god without some white. And when they wore the black modern jerseys, there was no sleeve striping. So I guess I am glad about the striping and I am glad there are no red pants. But I am warry that the traditional stripes on the blue and traditional white jerseys might eventually fall by the wayside - the white may already be gone (not worn in 2023). I think uni manufacturers have finally figured out how to have stripes but not look dated. Not sure how I feel about that. Yea, it looks good - but will we lose old school in the long haul? There is hope that does not happen - the brand new blue jersey and coordinating pants still have the traditional stripes. By the way, the traditional helmet stripe were lost in 2012 when they briefly went with northwestern stripes - and they not been seen since.

Uni Winners of Week 1
This week we will focus on the new changes and how they looked on the field.
TEXAS TECH
I mean, seriously!
TEXAS A&M
I really like the maroon facemask on the white helmet. Maybe it was just Kyle Field with 107,315. All majestic on the tv - except, of course, the play...
RICE
Added gray on jersey and Northwestern stripes on sleeves.
SMU
Small change to SMU font making all sets consistent.
BAYLOR
I am sad. I love this uniform - and in photos it is beautiful. But on tv it was such a dull, gross green. These stripes just do not compare to the old days rendered in these colors. And honestly, it just did not look like Baylor.
ARKANSAS
Not a single photo zoomed in enough to see if black trim on pants patch is even visible. Null
TEXAS
While a beautiful uniform any day of the week - one of the best - it has been sullied by an SEC patch.
TCU
I mean good God... what happened? Who approved this plain jane shit?




Even More Stripes
Rice rolls out new duds and the stripes keep coming! Northwestern style sleeve stripes! Hey, the stripes are nice. But the best part here is gray being re-integrated onto the jersey. This is a move I have wanted and I think they were warming up to over the last couple of years. Little disappointed no stripes on pants but the Old English R on the hip really is a signature look for Rice now (just like jicky ass weird shit is on TCU unis... except this year?).



The Tech Reveal
Tech social media guys were up late teasing the July 1st reveal with "Tomorrow." With the official departure of Texas and OU, I was in a pretty bummed mood. And anyone wearing this shirt should be publicly shamed! Anyway, back to Tech. So the social media team was up and tweeting so we were hoping it was midnight. There was a video of the team and it had one kid said "The stripes on the ... is tough". The stripe on WHAT is tough? Could it be? Could we really be going back to the throwback stripe look??? We started looking around and @TexasTechTweets had found a slip-up at Red Raider Outfitters. They had loaded the shop too early and were maybe only checking the code. But we had it - we had striped sleeves jerseys. I took a screen grab and tweeted it. Texas Tech Tweets did too. Then the Texas Tech football twitter team contacted both of us. And they were very nice. So we both took it down - but slept so well knowing adidas DID NOT f*ck this up. At 12 minutes after midnight, they finally let us know it was today, just not right now. They settled for 10am (after yet another teaser) which I think was a good idea and oh, what a treat we got. The video ripping the tape off the field was genius. And there it was. Stripes on the helmet, stripes on the sleeves, and stripes on the pants! A solid modern touch to our history. Actually focused on three different eras. Absolute beauties... and everyone agreed! And yes, there is only ONE THING that would make these better.


Stripe Fest
It is a beautiful new movement across all of football. The stripes are coming back. Except TCU didn't get the memo... Not at all sure what happened there. Baylor made a few "tweaks" which got them a whole lot better uni set except the stupid anthracite that came later. And they did pretty good - but still didn't get the stripes on the helmet. Texas Tech, however, knocked it out of the park with the sweetest uni reveal I can ever remember. Complete uni summaries in the In The Wash feature in the right column.

WHAT???
It was TCUs turn... would it be stripes? Would it be the Flying T? No. Nothing. Like, literally nothing. Except a circa Baylor 2015 chrome helmet. Not even a striped helmet option. Someone said they looked like someone took the wrapper off some crayons. I am beyond confused. A day later and I am still confused - the one thing TCU is known for is the jicky crap on their unis. I finally accepted it after two decades - that was their thing and they eliminated it all. The Flying T tease was just mean. Welcome to the practice squad.

Baylor Has Stripes!
While I thought this was a wholesale new uni for Baylor - Phil at UniWatch pointed out it is really just tweaks - but those tweaks improve the whole uni set magnitudes! Gone are the new fangled sleeve trim and no pant stripes and maybe matte helmets - hard to tell if the yellow and white are matte or not. Welcome back STRIPES!!! Hallelujah! Stripes on the pants, stripes on the sleeves! Just the way it should be. The green jersey is the best with no color contrasting Nike "look at me" template collar and also the numbers have gone to white instead of yellow. A++ improvement. The white is equally solid. But sticking with the modern number font and athletic yellow instead of gold. I guess that ship is never coming back to port... But the stripes make this yellow far more palitable! Let's hope a black one doesn't sneak in... Oh shit, it didn't even take a day. Absolute trash. They just couldn't stand not having one trash nike uni. And still the dated dated bear claw shit? And how in the world can they say honoring tradition with that tweet... because the word BAYLOR is on the front? Well if they hadn't put it you would have NO WAY to identify the team. So the past is 2018.

But hold on - let's talk about bear claws... Baylor wore beautiful bear claws on their shoulders from 1982 to 1998! Stripes on Baylor pants and helmets have been on Baylor unis more than not throughout their uni history.

Helmets 1963-1992 and 2003-2012.
Pants 1963 - 1989 (minus 74-76), and some form of a fake nike stripe from 2005 until 2019.

Bear Claws 17 years + new claws 6 years = 23
No claws = 38 years.
Helmet stripes = 38 years. No stripes = 21 years.
Pants stripes = 31. No stripes = 28.

What is really interesting is that Baylor has not had sleeve stripes since the 60s when football jerseys were 3/4 sleeves.




From 15 to 10
With Texas and OU deserting their history following in the Aggies and of course who started this whole mess Arkansas's footsteps, we will be down to only 10 Southwest Conference games this year. Even less than really expected because the Big XII is just too big that we can no longer play the regional teams of our storied history that are left in the conference every year. So in addition, this year Tech does not play Houston. There will be no double or triple headers this year - 10 games on 10 different weekends. It all just really sucks - this is going to be a hard year for me. They have RUINED college football in so many ways.

Follow me on Twitter
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COUNTDOWN
To 1st 2024 SWC Game

Ranked by Last Year's SWC Finish


   
   
   

Virtual SWC

2024 SWC Matchups
Houston - SEP 14 - Rice
SMU - SEP 21 - TCU
Arkansas - SEP 28 - A&M
TCU - OCT 4 - Houston
Tech - OCT 19 - Baylor
TCU - OCT 26 - Tech
Baylor - NOV 2 - TCU
Arkansas - NOV 16 - Texas
Houston - NOV 23 - Baylor
A&M - NOV 30 - Texas

Virtual SWC Records
3 - Baylor - 0
2 - Texas - 0
1 - SMU - 0
2 - Houston - 1
1 - Texas A&M - 1
1 - TCU - 3
0 - Rice - 1
0 - Texas Tech - 2
0 - Arkansas - 2

Overall Records
11 - Texas - 1
11 - SMU - 1
8 - Texas A&M - 4
8 - Texas Tech - 4
8 - Baylor - 4
8 - TCU - 4
6 - Arkansas - 6
4 - Houston - 8
4 - Rice - 8
* Denotes a Bowl Game
** Denotes Bowl Game & Championship Game


In the Wash
Arkansas
Keep it classic - don't touch it. Staying with Darren McFadden era uniforms - clean and simple jersey with fantastic double stripes on the pants. However, we have two tweaks for this year. The razorback logo on the sleeves of the white jersey now have a black outline. It seems they did not follow branding guidelines... I guess the white razorback with no black outline is in the style guide since that is on the helmet. So does that mean the white helmet will get a change too? This is the dumbest thing ever - add the red and white one to the style guide. Because of this change, they have made the logo a patch - on both jerseys. The pants logo has also been changed and moved to the other side. The black really muddies up a really clean and consistent look.

Baylor
Well, I guess last year's talk about new colors was indeed bringing the black back. Ugh. But the new set is covered with stripes on all but the helmets. These are actually pretty much the same unis as last year with stripes added on the pants and sleeves. In addition, the green jersey numbers changed to white which really pops. And the green jersey also lost the yellow collar. Massive improvement all around - except for the anthracite with the dated modern bear claw from 2013-2018 (honoring the past, lol). Look in the center column - I did a full review and I go through quite a bit of Baylor uni history observations. I also have done a full Baylor uni summary I will get in some kind of digital table form at some point.
Pants with yellow and green stripes and a gold helmet will always be the best look. With bear paws or not. But if we can't have gold helmets, the athletic gold is suitable for Sailor Bear - even if it is locked in a vault and only coming out for one game a year.




Houston
Looks like no changes. Have the red, white, black jerseys, pants, and helmets, and of course the Luv Ya Blue tribute that they say they will keep wearing despite the cease and desist. Still wishing they would go back to those beautiful double striped pants they are wearing during practice.

Rice
Rice continued last year having fun with the stripes on the silver helmet and some sweet throwbacks - not to mention the Luv Ya Blue tribute unis. But this year, they knocked it out of the park with the new set. Well, of course I would prefer stripes on the pants... They have brought northwestern stripes to the sleeves and added back in the gray - a welcome addition I have been wishing for! More details in the center column.

Update: Rice is still wearing Houston tribute uniform too. Different combo this time though (assuming to avoid the wrath of some assholes in Tennessee).


SMU
Staying traditional - but will be getting a new alternate this year. "We'll actually have a new uni this year. It's very traditional but we're gonna add another... kinda go back to a uniform style that's been worn here before..." So I am thinking a red jersey will be added. The best quote - "when you turn the tv on if you don't know who is playing, then you have gone too far with the uniforms". Thank you, Rhett Lashlee!
Update: SMU updated their blue jersey switching the SMU to Copperplate to be consistent with the rest of their set. They did this with the white jersey last year. Except they did not wear the white jersey with the traditional white helmet, only the modern two stripe one.
Update: The red jersey is back - but not how you think - it is more modern than traditional. See the middle column for a detailed review.


Texas
No changes except that the jersey has been sullied. Nothing ever needs to change here and fortunately Del Conte agrees. I do love the decade of thin double pant stripes after Darrel K Royal - but they matched the sleeve stripes, so probably would just not look good these days. Whether there is bevo on the hip or collar - doesn't matter. Clean, simple, and classic. That is all that is needed here.

Texas A&M
No changes to Slocum era inspired plain maroon jersey (without the white sleeve cuffs) and white facemask they adopted back in 2020. The "barbed wire inspired" (lol) number set is fortunately hard to see unless close up (and I can live with it since the bevel went away). But we have a new black uniform again... sigh.
Update: The white helmet is back (last worn in 2018) - but, it has a maroon facemask which has only been worn for 2 games in 2009.


TCU
What the hell happened? It's like they didn't get the memo that everyone was going to stripes. They have not been wearing any stripes on the helmets for the last two years - but I didn't think they would strip their unis of EVERYTHING! I finally accepted TCU has jicky stuff all over their unis - after two decades it is who they are now. That was their thing and they eliminated it all. No stripes, no horned frog neck pattern, no red (which is just stupid because horned frogs only split blood when they are defeated in their last defense). Numbers on the sleeves - which oddly enough most teams have been dumping. But a dated chrome helmet - so Baylor 2015. I guess the NIL has hit them hard and all they could afford were the helmets. Images linked in the center column.


Texas Tech
How much do I love adidas right now? I was terrified they were going to f*ck this up. But just wow. Jackpot! Tech brought back the classic look we have been begging for for years and years and years. BOLD stripes on the helmets, pant stripes, and sleeve stripes. A beautiful combination of the modern and honoring past Texas Tech greats. Check the center column for an extensive review and how we managed to pull back the leak the night before because they had something really special planned.


Update: Just when I said there may not be a bad combo with this uni set - Tech had to reveal a Galvanized Gladiator Mahomes combo. Mono dark gray - dumb. And a giant TECH - also dumb. But if it is just one game, we will live with it. If they did the galvanized on black, it would have looked better.


Uni Combos by Week


























2023 SWC HoF Inductees
Baylor - Alfred Anderson
Houston - Jason Phillips
Texas A&M - Tony Franklin
Texas Tech - Brad Hastings

SWC Football Passings
Texas - Mike Cotten
Texas - Edith Royal
Texas A&M - Darren Lewis
Texas A&M - George Woodard
Texas Tech - Steve Sloan

SWC Football Archives
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014 (In Work)
2015 (In Work)
2016
2017
2018
2019 (In Work)
2020 (In Work)
2021
2022
2023

In Loving Memory
This website is in memory of my father, Bill Freeman, who gave me my passion for the SWC.


Kudos
12.29.22 - I love your website and the work you've done to preserve the SWC. Love your tweets and SWC updates too. Much appreciated and fun. - @Appo101424

08.19.11 - VERY COOL WEBSITE!!! I'm not sure I could put it more succinctly or accurately than that. - Robert D

08.15.11 - Your Southwest Conference web site is absolutely fantastic. - JDD

02.12.11 - Thanks again for putting this website up and keeping the memory alive of the SWC - Walter F.

09.01.10 - You do have a most interesting website - Bob J

11.24.09 - Fantastic website, btw -- I remember the SWC fondly...and sometimes not so fondly ;) -Jason S

11.01.09 - I found your SWC link and forwarded it to 20 friends from the UofArkansas. You have done a wonderful job. Very best regards, Uof A Razorback 66-72 -David E

10.29.09 - I just stumbled across your website... it's great!! -Eric

10.13.08 - Susan, I love your web-site, SWCFootball. -Jay B

09.03.08 - I had to chuckle whena I read that SMU is going back to their "roots" by sporting white helmets. If they truly wished to go back that far, they'd wear all red (leather or plastic). As a native San Antonian, I remember their uniforms from the Doak Walker-Kyle Rote-Pat Knight era: red helmets (no stripes), red jerseys (no stripes), white numerals, and gray pants. No blue at all to be seen. (For what it's worth, in the 1940s I watched many a high school game with Rote and Knight in the backfield for the Jefferson Mustangs.) Much to my father's annoyance, each football season I'd plaster the windows of the family car with those Humble Oil giveaway pennants in SWC team colors. As I recall they were placed on the outside of the windows and made for difficult removal (once the season was over, that chore was mine). Keep up the good work. -Warren Thompson, Lebanon PA

09.03.08 - BTW, Susan, that's an amazing site on SWC you have. Good work. -Justin in AR (via Uni Watch)

07.04.08 - I love your SWC site. I've put up a season-ending wrap the last two years: the final SWC standings, using Jeff Sagarin's rankings. Hope you'll check it out. Go Owls! -John Cunyus


2024 Matchup Collectibles
Each week on Twitter I post a collage of vintage SWC awesomeness for each #SWCmatchup. This year it is focused around an original set of SWC pennants that would hang at the Humble gas stations.

Week 3


Week 4


Week 5


Week 6


Week 8

Week 9

Week 10

Week 12

Week 13

Week 14




























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































I WILL BUY YOUR SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE COLLECTIBLES

Mostly Older SWC Gas Station Giveaways
Frosted Pennant Glasses
Humble Oil Metal Pennant Stick Pins
Humble Football Schedule Decals
Humble Football Schedule Gold Colored Coins
Humble String of Felt Pennants
Antique Linen Postcards of Stadiums and Scool Buildings
And Other Unique Items...

 



Susan N. Freeman
susan@southwestconferencefootball.com

LAST UPDATE: 03 DEC 24