Mississippi State Matchup A Homecoming For Texas Longhorns, The Schaefer Family

AUSTIN - Ahead of their second straight road matchup, the No. 1 Texas Longhorns may feel oddly at home when they head to Starkville, MS to play the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Head coach Vic Schaefer left Mississippi State to take the job at Texas and is planning to take the team to his farm and "dream home" for a team dinner before their game.

Not only will it be a homecoming for Schaefer, but also for his daughter and assistant coach Blair. The duo led the Bulldogs to back-to-back national championship games with Blair as a guard and Vic as head coach. Shortly after she graduated, Blair would go on to join her father's staff as a player development coach.

"I've said this a lot, those eight years that we spent there, were the eight best years of the Schaefer family's lives," Schaefer said. "Both my kids are graduates of Mississippi State. They're Bulldogs. You know, we just had so much great fun, great success there, and again, still have so many good friends there."

Vic Schaefer hugs his daughter Blair after advancing to the Final Four. — Mar 25, 2018; Kansas City, MO, United States; Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs head coach Vic Schaefer and guard Blair Schaefer (1) embrace after the win over the UCLA Bruins in the championship game of the Kansas City regional of the women's basketball 2018 NCAA Tournament at Sprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

While they don't fully know what type of welcome they will receive, each hopes that it will be positive for the other. When Schaefer took the head coaching job at Texas, many Mississippi State fans were upset that he left the program.

"It's such an interesting feeling because I have so much love for Mississippi State and everything that it gave to me and my family during my career," Blair said. "(Vic) deserves the world in my opinion, he's done so much for Mississippi State, just in general as a university. I think his leadership and what he did with the women's basketball program is just remarkable, taking them from the bottom of the SEC to the top of College Basketball. That was really special to witness and then also to be a part of that."

While it is unknown how the Schaefers will be welcomed back to Starkville, the Schaefers will be taking the Longhorns to their family farm for a team dinner before the game. Vic believes that his farm outside of Starkville is one of the most beautiful places in the country, saying that "it was touched by God."

To prepare to have the team, his wife Holly has been there for the past week getting it ready to host the top-ranked team in the country. Blair thinks the girls will enjoy the farm as much as she did, saying that they will have games and other activities for the team to decompress while they enjoy their dinner.

"It's a sacred place in my mind," Vic said. "It's a special place. And you know, that's why we've, we've kept it to this day."

Even though it has been five years since the Schaefers left Starkville and moved to Austin, they will be returning to the place they call home, but this time as opponents.

The game between Texas and Mississippi State will tip off on Thursday at 6:30 PM on SEC Network+.

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