2019 Edition
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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.


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
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
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































































































































































Mini Blog Comments
Full blog can be read here

Ninth Stop on SWC Stadium Tour
Coming Soon!

Week 14 SWC Matchup

[Helmet matchup from 1984-93]
Classic SWC matchup for the last stop in the #SWCstadiumTour of 2019. Texas and Tech have been flipping wins for the last five years. Tech has had a few great wins this year, but Texas s coming off teh Baylor loss and is likely to put up a good effort at home for the seniors. If we can't have Texas and A&M playing on Thanksgiving, I am good with Texas and Tech the day after Thanksgiving. Expecting a great game, but Texas probably edges out Tech.

Eighth Stop on SWC Stadium Tour
Coming Soon!

Week 13 SWC Matchup

[Helmet matchup from 1972-76]
With the loss to OU, I thought tickets would be easier. But then this tweet hit my feed on Sunday. But... Monday the UT alum with season tickets came through, Baylor finally sent him the tickets. It's an ugly seat, and expensive so not likely to trade up. But I am in without the need of scrounging for a ticket. Will be my first time at the new stadium, should be a great game! Stop 8 on the #SWCstadiumTour - last three games of the year are all straight-up #SWCmatchups. Just two left, it has been exhausting. The record.

Seventh Stop on SWC Stadium Tour
Coming Soon!

20 Years after the Bonfire Collapse

Hard to believe it has been 20 years. Yet, at the same time, seems like forever ago. It deeply impacted me back then. A&M was still A&M in my eyes and they played Texas on Thanksgiving. The bonfire was always before that game - that game DEFINED Bonfire. Now everything is different (not just bonfire but the whole SEC thing). But the Bonfire collapse remains a piece of my life frozen in place - seemingly a completely different life now. Texas stood with Aggies in the aftermath (hard to imagine now). I will leave you with some lasting images and articles. Full field view of the Bonfire Ribbon. Aggies left their cherished rings at the site of the collapse. An oral history. A new movie "13th Man" is out. This year students recreated the Remember'99 tribute from 20 years ago.

Week 12 SWC Matchup

[Helmet matchup from 1967]
Special matchup this week. Making the trip to my alma mater for the 7th stop on the #SWCstadiumTour. First time since they remodeled the stadium. It could really go either way... The record.

Sixth Stop on SWC Stadium Tour
Coming Soon!

Week 11 SWC Matchup

[Helmet matchup from 1966]
The rivavlry means a little more this year as Baylor tries to stay undefeated*. Can you imagine tattooing your body just because you beat TCU? #Revivalry I guess. Oooooooops, but I say prank! Some history. And the record.
* It was a fumble!

Fifth Stop on SWC Stadium Tour
I figured Rice would be pretty much the same. When I played on the Houston Energy, that was out home stadium in the early 2000s. But it seems even Rice changes... The new athletic center was built about three years ago on the grass hill opposite the endzone with the tunnel (where the home locker rooms were). The players now enter the field through a winding ramp where the grass hill used to be. Felt a little less like Rice for sure. Rice has a very small student body so the crowd and tailgating is never very big. So plenty of room to spread out in just about any seat you want - which is always nice. The campus store was well worth the short walk - as they had a ton of old school and new school gear to pick from. The half shirt is definitely back - every stop so far has had them in the store!
LINKS and PHOTOS Coming Soon

Fourth Stop on SWC Stadium Tour
One of my favorite places to go see a football game. Nice size stadium, airy with nice breezes, and they got a great hype game (even when losing). I ended up spending a good bit of time in the student section (more on why later) and had a blast. They had the world's largest t-shirt toss during half time which was insane - including their standard t-shirt gatling gun which is run by the ROTC students. That thing is a-maz-ing! They also fired off confetti webbing out of home made CO2 cannons for touchdowns. And I even got to clip the All State field goal net in one time. No one seemed to mind my SMU hat either. In fact every staff I encountered was super nice and even wished me to have a great game. Not one person said a single ugly word to me. Now for the best part and why I was down in the student section. UH was trolling SMU pretty hard by honoring the 1989 Cougar team that set all kinds of records against SMU in their first season back from the death penalty. So the Heisman Trophy was behind the student section for picture taking. They announced it on the jumbo screen. But by the time I got down there in the 2nd quarter, trophy was gone... I was crushed. But as a super hospitality aimed school (er, except for the trolling thing I guess), an usher assured me it was coming back after the half time honoring. And in fact pointed out it was just down there sitting in the endzone and told me to go on down there and see it. So that is how I ended up in the student section. So I grabbed some snapshots and am watching the team hang out in the endzone and this guy comes down the aisle next to me trying to get someone's attention. And the Andre Ware starts walking over to us. Wait, what? Is this really about to happen? I patiently stand there while they are talking, take a blurry photo, and have absolutely no intention of letting him walk away before I shake his hand. As soon as it seemed their convo was ending, I stuck my hand straight out in between them with a big ole smile and said hi. Sadly that is all I said, I was a bit stunned. But I got a lovely smile back and a nice handshake! I stayed in the student section for the rest of the game, but up under the overhang which was super convenient when the rain hit and emptied the seats onto the concourse, and watched SMU pull off another win. 8-0! Ran into the same cheerleaders I talked to at the TCU game and then headed over to get that autograph from Sonny (yes, I actually had a sharpie in my posession when I met Andre and never even thought to whip it out). Once Sonny came out, I screamed "Sonny, I didn't forget my pen this time" and he came right over. I also showed him the ticket I had his dad sign a whole bunch of years ago. One curious bit of unhospitality was that the SMU band (who travelled and sat in the opposite endzone in the lower deck) was not allowed to perform at half time. Seriously though, that is one small band... But no time for them to perform, yet plenty of time for 1989 team to get honored. I think it was due to a bunch of soldiers getting sworn in - I hope it was anyway.
LINKS and PHOTOS Coming Soon

Week 9 SWC Matchup #2

[Helmet matchup from 1977-79]
I guess none of our SWC matchups this year will be classic looking games... I knew something was under wraps... but this is just stupid. Patterson said everyone under 25 likes it, everyone over 25 hates it. But at some point, bad design is just BAD DESIGN. I am not alone, by the way. The whole spitting blood thing is just dumb. Horny toads do that only when they are defenselss. But... they will be against Texas. So should be a lot of TCU blood left on the field! But no Horns Down! Series rundown here.

First Week 9 SWC Matchup

[Helmet matchup from 1979-86]
Thirty years ago Houston played SMU in the Astrodome in their first season after the death penalty. UofH with Andre Ware scored 95 points and racked up over 1000 yards. Two years ago I met Paul Smith at a Houston game and wrote about him here on my site - he holds the SWC record for most yards receiving in a single game. Jack Pardee did pull Ware out at the half, but SMU coach Forrest Gregg was still upset. SMU will wear the Dallas unis in support of the city in the wake of the tornado. Even though they pretty much said earlier in the year that they expected to wear them in Houston. Can SMU win two in a row?

Third Stop on SWC Stadium Tour
I had not been to SMU since it was Ownby Stadium I think. Same stadium, just made it look newer and added on some atheltic facilities. Another very nice stadium. Pretty much opposite fan base than at TCU. I mean, wow. At SMU they "Boulevard". Kind of a super odd place for tailgating, but works out well and I guess plenty of room because it goes down quite a ways from the stadium. Not many freebies/samples here though... just a bunch of food trucks for the non-tailgaters. Definitely a different scene. Very Dallas. As fo rthe game experince, the stadium staff does a great job of putting the content out there, peruna running across the field, fan cams and all that - but the seats are empty. 8-0 and the seats are empty. SMU only has 6000 students so part of that is understandable. But there should be a load of Dallas people with no SMU ties rolling up in that stadium to see a good football game. I guess the marketing stunt to become more of Dallas's team is probbaly more to get people caring about SMU and get their butts in the stands. Temple did not bring their band, but they usually sit in a prime area of course in the lower deck.
LINKS and PHOTOS Coming Soon

1969 Throwbacks

Texas is honoring the 1969 National Championship team this week with throwbacks. Nice touch setting the throwback uni on a 1969 photo. I like how they updated the 100 years of college football decal to be 150 since we have already worn the exact throwback before (in 2015 honoring Freddie Steinmark for the movie "My All American". With the exception of the 150 decal, it is pretty much the same uniform and pretty accurate. No player name on back, no TV numbers, no jicky longhorn on front, no block Texas, and black shoes. Only details missing: the proper socks and white shoelaces - let's see if they are present on game day. Also really, really love the setting of the photos - in an old school locker room. Wondering if that is the visiting locker room. Ted Koy and Bob McKay from the 1969 team attended practice to talk to the team.

It was a fumble!
Had it been called right, it would have Tech ball and at a minimum we would have won on a field goal. At least they admitted it. Baylor fans crying over this blurb - but it seems pretty accurate to me. But let's look forward. Fifth time in this decade Baylor starts 6-0. The last instance Baylor ended up 7-6. And I predict a similar fate this year. At best they end 9-3 and maybe 8-4 if they cannot beat WVU. I usually pull for all SWC teams, but right now I am wearing the #MakeBaylorSuckAgain hat. #Salty

Week 5 SWC Matchups

[Helmet matchup from 1970-71]
Three straight weeks of SWC matchups gives us Tech at Baylor with Baylor on a roll, but Tech coming off a big win against Okie State. But, flat out dead even. Best news of all... #SailorBear - on green this time! I am not seeing a lot of smack talk either... should be a good game. Probably would have been a really good one or the stadium tour, but... Texas OU.

And OU still sux!
OU will be riding some Texas talent... yet again. Don't be a Sooner! Great story on last year's game saving hero Dicker the Kicker. With the exception of two of 2011 and 2012, looks more like a bunch of "barely skated by" to me. Matchup history here.

What time is it?


Wow, SMU is 6-0!!!
What. An. Incredible. Comeback. Holy hell, what a game! I was praying for divine intervention on that Tulsa field goal kick. And what a toe drag catch that was! Wow! And did you know it turns out that SMU is ACTUALLY a P-5 school?

Week 5 SWC Matchup

[Helmet matchup from 1978]
Arkansas wearing those classic beauties for this game. They have a chance, Aggies are just not playing as good as they should. Tusk selfies never get old.

RIP E.J. Holub
We seem to be losing more SWC heros than normal this year. College Football Hall of Famer E.J. Holub died on the 21st. The Beast played both sides of the ball. He was the first Red Raider All-SWC player and he was the first Red Raider to get into the hall. He played for the AFL Dallas Texans and the NFL Dallas Cowboys splitting his time between the two leagues. He won Super Bowl VI with the Chiefs.

Transfer Portal Rant
Cougar High off to a bad start decides to call a mulligan on the season by redshirting star QB D'Eriq King and another senior so they can make a run next year. This is absolute bullshit. The NCAA needs to put a stop to this. He is even still practicing with the team. At least he will be making that run at UH instead of the immediately assumed OU when the news broke.

Stadium Tour Second Stop

You knew this one was a must! SMU always hangs in there only to lose in the end. Well, not this time! I had a great time at TCU. As with most of these trips, it has been decades since I have been to these stadiums. The Carter was impressive. Still has a small town vibe but it is a gem on the hill. They even have some permanent tailgating spots that you just drive up to and the grill is already there! Unfortunately the upper deck was still under construction - how do you not get that done prior to the season start? Well, it turns out no harm, no foul because TCU fans could care less. They have a great, high scoring, fast paced, entertaining product. But it seems the fans (who were a different demographic for sure) would mostly rather sit out at their tailgate and wath the game on tv... ??? Just bizarre. I had great seats close to the action and the TCU fans next to me could not wait to get back out to their tailgate - in an exciting game too (ncot a blowout at that point). As I find these stadium visits an excellent opportunity to pick up some cool old schools retro gear, I have been buying a shirt and a hat to root for the home team (until I go to a game that Tech is playing - will have to keep the cool retro gear in a sack for those). And I found some extremely awesome crusty old vintage horny toad graphics on some shirts at TCU. And also a signature white hat (these first games have been pretty hot). Decked out in my purple retro frog gear I confused nearby TCU fans because I was pulling for SMU. I mean, they literally just looked at me and gasped. They gasped more about that than actually losing... strange, strange fans. But I could not help it. I guess I am still scarred from from the Josh Doctson catch from a few years back. I was high fiving the SMU cheerleaders after the game (explaining to disregard the shirt and hat - it was a long complicated story...). It was pretty funny actually. #PonyUp

#VisitingBandWatch - I think we all know this unsportsmanlike trend started when DelConte was AD at TCU... upper corner.

SMU is 5-0!

And in posession of a certain skillet. An #IronSkillet. What a game! Some truly inspired ball playing. I have been waiting on this win for many years. SMU has breakfast covered this morning and is indeed cooking up something special! Sonny Dykes is my hero.

Week 4 SWC Matchups

[Helmet matchup from 1985]
Baylor is playing good this year - I am waiting for #MakeBaylorSuckAgain chants and tweets to start up again. Poor Rice - so close so many times this season. But winless. With Baylor being loss-less, this looks to be more of the same. Rice is donning a sharp, new helmet decal though.


[Helmet matchup from 1989-90]
The Iron Skillet. SMU is playing good, TCU seems to be on a down kick. So many years SMU gets so close. Thought Chad Morris was gonna get one, but as we see with Arkansas now, his slogans don't seem to be able to outlast a team and pull in the W. Series History here. We need more shenanigans like the old days...

Week 3 SWC Matchup

[Helmet matchup from 1976]
Starting off the season with "Why Rice plays Texas?". First meeting since 2015 and it has actually been 25 years since Rice beat Texas... I guess maybe the old addage is less realistic these days in the current world of college football. Power 5 versus the little guy... no, it can definitely still happen. So... I missed an opportunity to get this beauty just for buying a ticket to the game... I was a little busy with other Apollo 50th events and missed the tweet. I guess I should have used helmets from 1969, huh?


Merit Decals for Baylor
Merit Decals are back for Baylor. Historically they have worn green stars in the late seventies to mid eighties which complimented the helmet style back then (stripes) very well. Too bad it is that dumb new bear...

SMU Surprise Unis

SMU completely succeeded at hiding special new unis for over six months by keeping them boxed up and locked the doors with a chain while adding decals to helmets in the dark of the night. Unfortunately, I am not crazy about the whole campaign. While some of the design elements and nods to other teams in Dallas are neat, it is just a gimmicky uni. Trying to be Dallas's college football team - is that necessary? The uni tries to stay classic, but there is just not enough SMU. Don't get me wrong, they looked good - but now there is mention of wearing them at away games (two SWC matchups that I will be attending as part of my #SWCstadiumTour of 2019 (which makes zero sense and will not make me happy hoping for some nice SWC era threads for those games. I personally think the dallas skyline in the Peruna helmet decals was more effective at linking SMU to Dallas. Wearing "Dallas" on the front of the jersey just invites some bad ideas.
UPDATE: these unis may be more than an alternate... let's hope not.

Stadium Tour First Stop

I picked the Texas State game for Kyle Field - figured it would be less crowded and I would not have to deal with #SEC #SEC #SEC crap. Can I tell you I really didn't think I was in the right place. That campus looks nothing like it did. Hoenstly, I could have been at any campus in the country with all the new cookie cutter building and this stadium that really looked more like a baseball stadium to me. I am very bitter about the traditions A&M has tossed aside since I attended there due to chasing the football greed of SEC. Sure, get off my lawn. I am only 54, but I don't like what college football has become. All the merchandising and player transfers. To me college football has always been better than that. Loyalty to a team - a bigger bond, a passion that stays with you your whole life. It was hard to put all of that aside and just look at the stadium without the emotional baggage. But alas, they seem to miss their stadium too based on this year's Maroon Out shirt... ha ha.

#VisitingBandWatch - I am happy to report the visiting band is in field level seats!

#SWCstadiumTour of 2019

It has been 10 years since my dad died - he gave me my passion for the SWC. I have not attended many games at all since he died - hard to see me sitting in the Cotton Bowl at Texas-OU without him. I did attend the last two Texas-Texas A&M games before... well, you know. And a few years ago I finally broke my blackball of UH with the new stadium. The last time I had been there, UofH came from behind and delivered a shocking and unexpected defeat to my Red Raiders. I vowed never to go back - just like a similar experience at Floyd Casey in Waco. Maybe I was just itching to see some SWC football. Maybe I was intrigued by the new stadium. But Tech was coming to town and it was time. Robertson is a nice little stadium to go see a football game. Rice is too, if any of the old SWC rivals ever played there - usually ends up at NRG, bleh. All these big new stadiums, massive rennovations just kind of turn me off. I like my memories of those stadiums. But it is time. I will attend a game (preferably an SWC matchup if possible) at every old Southwest Conference school this year. That way I can see the new stadiums in all of their glory(?) and then decide if I ever want to go back or just watch games from home where I can be keyed into numerous games at one time.

RIP Cedric Benson

Damn... Only 36 years old and killed in a motorcycle crash at a dangerous Austin intersection. Thanks for the memories! Mack Brown comments here. Collection of comments at DMN article. Made the front page of the MRT. Wonderful personal story about his play at Midland Lee. Cedric Benson helmet decal for the rest of the year.

Arkansas Gets Grass

Natural grass for the Natural State. Artifical turf has been replaced with grass! The new grass field will mark the first time in a decade Arkansas football has played on grass at home. It is the fourth surface change since 1938 (which was of course grass). Cool timeline graphic here. Check out the new paint scheme and endzones on twitter - and oh, look at the comments regarding the stupid font!

Start Out with the Dumb

So I am super happy Baylor is bringing back the brighter GREEN and YELLOW. However, I have to dog the whole "Baylor United" campaign. Stupid marketing stunt directed by a stupid uniform manufacturer. And that bear... really? We all know that is just so that Nike can copyright a piece of Baylor and get a cut. Stop it already. And now we have stupid notched Baylor trademarks to go with tired College Gameday notched numbers. They notched the interlocking BU for God's sake. Sigh... again, so Nike can get their cut. Still not green enough (I am sure Nike is incapable of making that color of fabric...), but we are getting closer to the way it should be. Gotta get some stripes back...

Follow me on Twitter
@SWCfootballNow





COUNTDOWN
To 1st 2019 SWC Game

Ranked by Last Year's SWC Finish

   
   
   

Virtual SWC

2019 SWC Matchups
Rice - SEP 14 - Texas
Rice - SEP 21 - Baylor
TCU - SEP 21 - SMU
Arkansas - SEP 28 - A&M
Baylor - OCT 12 - Tech
Houston - OCT 24 - SMU
TCU - OCT 26 - Texas
TCU - NOV 9 - Baylor
Tech - NOV 16 - TCU
Baylor - NOV 23 - Texas
Texas - NOV 29 - Tech

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

Overall Records
11 - Baylor - 1
10 - SMU - 2
7 - Texas - 5
7 - Texas A&M - 5
5 - TCU - 7
4 - Tech - 8
4 - Houston - 8
2 - Arkansas - 10
3 - Rice - 9
* Denotes a Bowl Game


In the Wash (in work)
Arkansas
A beautiful new home red uniform based on classic razorback uniforms meant to throwback to the Darren McFadden era. The thick double red pants stripes are back. The jersey is solid with just team name on front in a traditional athletic font and pig sooey on the sleeve. The helmet seems more red but this may be the same non-matte helmet from last year. The uni is actually called a throwback alternate. Which unfortunately means we may still see the red tusk unis. I am just left wondering where the away version is? Let's hope this is a sign of righting the ship that went down in 2008 when the unis shifted to trendy garbage.

Baylor
Baylor finally gets a new look. There is good and bad news here. The good news is athletic gold is back! Since the gold helmet is dead - why not? Visics claims they cannot make gold shells - however in last year's blog you can see a gold vicis prototype for Baylor. Yellow was never a prominent color for Baylor but it harkens back to the old yellow stripe on the pants, number and name trim, and old school striped socks. Of course on fan gear, yellow is prominent - particularly with the yellow mesh jerseys the seniors wear for the Baylor Line. The bad news is Baylor let Nike take advantage of them and designed a new interlocking BU with a stupid wordmark to go along with it and all incorporate the ridiculous notched font. Not to mention the most uninspiring Baylor Bear I have ever seen. So... unis=better, logos and font=worse. It's a push.

SWC Football Passings
Texas - Cedric Benson

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

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

2019 Matchup Helmets
All the throwback helmet matchups from the the middle column togeher here.

[Helmet matchup from 1976]

[Helmet matchup from 1985]

[Helmet matchup from 1989-90]

[Helmet matchup from 1978]

[Helmet matchup from 1970-71]

[Helmet matchup from 1979-86]

[Helmet matchup from 1977-79]

[Helmet matchup from 1966]

[Helmet matchup from 1967]

[Helmet matchup from 1972-76]

[Helmet matchup from 1984-93]


Kudos
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























































































































































































































































































































































































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: 4 DEC 19