Texas Coach Makes Powerful Vow to Students Who Drove to Cover South Carolina SEC Game

The Texas Longhorns women's college basketball team came up short against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the SEC Conference Tournament championship game, losing by a score of 64-45.

Barring these two juggernaut teams facing off again in the NCAA Tournament (which could certainly happen), this March 9 defeat means that Longhorns head coach Vic Schaefer lost the season series to Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley, as they had split the regular season series and therefore had to have the SEC Conference Tournament's No. 1 seed decided by a coin flip.

After the defeat, Schaefer received criticism from South Carolina fans for calling the technically neutral contest a "road game", given that it was played at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, which is about an hour and a half's drive away from the South Carolina campus.

In contrast, Bon Secours Wellness Arena is approximately a 16-hour drive from Texas' campus. But that didn't stop three Texas student journalists from making the drive to cover the game in person.

Schaefer addressed these journalists with a powerful message when speaking to the media after Sunday's game.

"So if I'm not mistaken, are y'all my three that drove 16 hours?" Schaefer asked members of the media. After getting confirmation, he said, "I want y'all to know, when it comes time to get a job, you put me on your resumé.

"That's really unique, and I'm proud that you guys are here, and I'm proud that you take enough pride in your job that you would do that," he added. "Because you don't have to do that. And I think people need to know that, so thank you for being here."

It's really cool to hear Schaefer singling out these three extraordinary students and offering to assist them with future work pursuits.

Recommended Reading: