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The Texas Longhorns men's basketball team has a rich history, with 25 individuals holding the head coach position since its inception in 1906. The current head coach is Sean Miller, who was hired in March 2025. The team represents the University of Texas in the Big 12 Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Texas has had some notable coaches and players over the years, including former head coach Rodney Terry, who led the team to the NCAA tournament in all three of his seasons at the helm, and players like Kevin Durant, D.J. Augustin, and Tristan Thompson. Texas has made impressive runs in the NCAA Tournament, reaching the Final Four in 2003 and the Elite Eight in 2006, 2008, and 2024. The Texas Longhorns men's basketball team is known for its talented roster and dedicated coaching staff, always striving for success in the highly competitive world of college basketball.
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What You'll Learn
History of the Texas Longhorns
The Texas Longhorns men's basketball team represents the University of Texas at Austin in NCAA Division I intercollegiate men's basketball competition. The University of Texas began varsity intercollegiate competition in men's basketball in 1906 under the direction of Scotland native Magnus Mainland, a graduate engineering student and lineman for the Texas football team who organised, coached, and played on the university's first varsity basketball team.
The Texas men's basketball team played home games in Gregory Gymnasium beginning with the 1930–31 season until moving into the Special Events Center (later renamed the Frank Erwin Center) for the 1977–78 season. The Texas men's basketball team opened the Frank Erwin Center on November 29, 1977, with an 83–76 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners. The 1977-78 Texas Longhorns produced one of the more successful seasons in Longhorn basketball history, posting another nine straight victories, including a 75–69 upset of third-ranked and eventual Final Four participant Arkansas. This win vaulted the team to a No. 15 ranking in the Associated Press Poll, Texas' first appearance in the poll since a one-week showing.
In 1988, Tom Penders was hired as the Texas head coach, and he rapidly revitalised the Longhorn basketball program. Penders set about reviving fan enthusiasm for Longhorn men's basketball, promising an exciting, fast-paced style of play. In 2015, Texas hired its 24th men's basketball head coach, Shaka Smart, who led the team to a fourth-place finish in the Big 12 Conference. The Longhorns moved to the Southeastern Conference (SEC) on July 1, 2024. As of 2025, the team is led by head coach Sean Miller.
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Former players and coaches
The Texas Longhorns men's basketball team has a rich history, with many notable former players and coaches. The University of Texas at Austin's basketball program began in 1906 under the direction of Scotland native Magnus Mainland, a graduate engineering student and lineman for the Texas football team. Mainland was a nationally known basketball player as an undergraduate at Wheaton College, where his team placed second in the 1904 Summer Olympics.
One of the most notable former coaches of the Texas Longhorns is Tom Penders, who was hired in 1988 to revitalise the program. Penders promised an exciting, fast-paced style of play and delivered on his promise to bring energy and enthusiasm back to Longhorn men's basketball. Under his leadership, the team was known as the "Runnin' Horns."
Another former coach worth mentioning is Shaka Smart, who became the 24th Texas men's basketball head coach in 2015. In his first season, the Longhorns finished 20-13, including a fourth-place finish in the Big 12 Conference. Point guard Isaiah Taylor led the team in scoring, averaging 15 points per game.
The current head coach of the Texas Longhorns is Sean Miller, who was hired in 2025. Miller previously served as the head coach at Xavier and Arizona. The team plays its home games in the Moody Center, which opened for the 2022-23 season.
While specific notable former players could not be found, the Longhorns rank 15th in total victories among all NCAA Division I college basketball programs and 23rd in all-time win percentage. As of the end of the 2024-25 season, the Longhorns have won 29 total conference championships, including regular-season and tournament titles.
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Home games and venues
The Texas Longhorns men's basketball team represents the University of Texas at Austin in NCAA Division I intercollegiate men's basketball competition. The team began varsity intercollegiate competition in men's basketball in 1906, playing their home games at Clark Field, an on-campus outdoor stadium.
Clark Field, originally known as Varsity Athletic Field, was not ideal for basketball due to its uneven surface and exposure to the elements. The Longhorns played just 10 of their 27 games under coach W. E. Metzenthin from 1909 to 1911 at Clark Field. In 1913, head coach Carl C. Taylor secured an agreement with the Ben Hur Temple in downtown Austin to rent their theater for basketball games and practice for the 1913 season. The team moved indoors to the new Men's Gym in 1917.
The Longhorns played their home games in various venues over the years, including the Men's Gym, and qualified for the inaugural postseason NCAA tournament. They have a rich history in basketball, ranking 15th in total victories among all NCAA Division I college basketball programs and 23rd in all-time win percentage.
Since the 2022-23 season, the Texas Longhorns have played their home games at the Moody Center, located in Austin, Texas. The team is currently led by head coach Sean Miller, who was hired in 2025 following the dismissal of former head coach Rodney Terry.
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Conference and championship wins
The Texas Longhorns men's basketball team has a rich history of conference and championship wins. The team represents the University of Texas at Austin in NCAA Division I intercollegiate men's basketball competition. The University of Texas began varsity intercollegiate competition in men's basketball in 1906 under the direction of Scotland native Magnus Mainland.
The Longhorns have had their fair share of success in the Big 12 Conference, which they were a part of until the 2023-24 season. They moved to the Southeastern Conference (SEC) on July 1, 2024. As of the end of the 2024-25 season, the Longhorns have won 29 total conference championships, ranking 15th in total victories among all NCAA Division I college basketball programs.
The Texas Longhorns men's basketball team has a storied history of conference championship wins. The first of these came during the 1914-15 season, when head coach L. Theo Bellmont directed the Longhorns to a 14-0 record and the inaugural Southwest Conference championship. This was the first of three consecutive Southwest Conference championships for the Longhorns, with Eugene Van Gent taking over as head coach in 1916 and leading the team to another conference title in the 1916-17 season.
The Longhorns' dominance continued in the 1917-18 season, with Roy Henderson taking over as head coach and leading the team to a 14-5 overall record. They missed winning the Southwest Conference (SWC) championship by just one game. However, Henderson and the Longhorns bounced back in the 1918-19 season, winning the SWC championship and claiming Texas' fourth basketball conference championship in the five years since the conference's formation.
In more recent times, the Texas Longhorns men's basketball team has continued to find success. In 2015, Texas hired Shaka Smart as the 24th men's basketball head coach. In his first season, the Longhorns finished with a 20-13 record, including a fourth-place finish in the Big 12 Conference. The team has also enjoyed success in their new home, the Moody Center, which opened prior to the 2022-23 season.
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The team's head coaches
The Texas Longhorns men's basketball team has had 25 head coaches since its inception in 1906. The current head coach is Rodney Terry, who was named interim head coach in December 2022 when Chris Beard was suspended following a domestic violence charge. Beard was fired in January 2023, and Terry was promoted to the full-time position in March 2023.
Terry was born in Angleton, Texas, in 1968 and played college basketball at St. Edward's University in Austin, where he was the all-time leading scorer. He began his coaching career as an assistant coach at St. Edward's in the 1990–91 season before moving to James Bowie High School, also in Austin, where he remained from 1991 to 1993. He then became a head coach for the first time at Somerville High School in Somerville, Texas, leading the team to a 49–21 record over two seasons and the Class 2A semifinals in 1994. Terry joined Texas as an assistant coach under Rick Barnes in 2002, helping to recruit players like Kevin Durant, D. J. Augustin, and Tristan Thompson. He then replaced Steve Cleveland as head coach at Fresno State in 2011, where he had a winning record over three seasons and made the College Basketball Invitational in 2013–14.
Terry was named the head coach of the University of Texas at El Paso men's basketball team in 2018, leading the team to an 8–1 start in the 2019–20 season but losing 14 of their last 23 games. He left El Paso in 2021 to return to Texas as an assistant under newly hired Chris Beard. After Beard's arrest, Terry led the Longhorns to their second Big 12 tournament title and their first appearance in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA tournament since 2008. As the head coach, he has led Texas to the NCAA tournament in all three seasons, including advancing to the round of 32 in 2024.
Before Terry and Beard, Texas A&M's Buzz Williams was the head coach of the Texas Longhorns from 2014 to 2019, leading the team to three consecutive NCAA tournaments. Sean Miller, a veteran coach with 13 NCAA tournament appearances, was named the new head coach in March 2025 after Terry's departure.
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Frequently asked questions
As of March 25, 2025, Sean Miller is the coach of the Texas Longhorns men's basketball team.
The previous coach was Rodney Terry, who was let go by the program after losing a game against Xavier in 2025.
The coach before Rodney Terry was Chris Beard, who was fired in January 2023 after being arrested on a domestic violence charge.
