WHERE ARE THEY NOW? – COACH DAVID McWILLIAMS

For the past 50 years, David McWilliams has played an active role in Texas athletics — both on and off the field. He started his career as a Longhorn football player in 1960. A few years after captaining the 1963 National Championship team, McWilliams returned to Austin to serve as an assistant coach under Darrell K. Royal. He eventually became the head football coach, leading the Longhorns from 1987-91.

After his resignation, McWilliams continued his work with the Longhorn Foundation and now serves as….

[s2If current_user_is(s2member_level2)]..the executive director for the T-Association, which focuses on former Longhorn student-athletes (see below). Horns Illustrated caught up with the former coach to discuss the T-Association.

Tell us about the T-Association.

When I quit coaching, I led the Longhorn Foundation. DeLoss [Dodds] then said we needed work on bringing our former athletes back [to Texas]. We always had the T-Association, but we didn’t have anybody running it full time. So [Dodds] put me in charge of the T-Association.

Now we have reunions for every single sport. We also run the Longhorn Hall of Honor and organized the Longhorn chapter of the National Football Foundation. We might have a get-together for the letter winners in Dallas before the OU game, but we hold a reunion before most home games. Jill Sterkel came in after she quit coaching and has been a big help.

What’s the T-Association’s overall goal?

Our overall goal has nothing to do with money — most schools charge dues. We feel like the athletes paid their dues out on the court, in the pool, or wherever they competed. Our motto is “Longhorns for Life.”

When you come to Texas, you won’t finish your eligibility and never hear from us again. You’ll be invited back. We want to bring you back with all of your friends and teammates, and we’re not going to charge you dues. [Our goal] is to strictly say thank you to those who helped build this great tradition at Texas.

Where do you feel the T-Association is most successful?

I measure success as whether or not we get [the athletes] to come back. The best thing we do — which coach Royal started — is the T-Ring. To earn a T-Ring, you have to letter in a varsity sport, and receive your degree. We have people that left 15 years ago and came back to earn their degree just to get that T-Ring. You can win a National Championship with your team, but the T-Ring you have to do that yourself.

You have to get up and go to class, make your grades and compete on the field. You’d be amazed at how many people come back to finish up. And we can help them financially because of the NCAA.

How else does the T-Association help its members after college?

We started a group called TAPN. TAPN is a networking group for former letter winners to join together and help each other out. They have social interaction but also networking with occupational services. We started this a year ago, but it continues to grow. We’re also starting a group in Dallas.

MEET THE T-ASSOCIATION

The T-Association is an organization made up of former varsity athletics letter winners. An additional designation for the T-Association members is the T-ring, which is awarded to an athlete who lettered for two or more years, who did not compete the last two years of eligibility anywhere other than the University of Texas and who graduated from college. David McWilliams, former Longhorn head football coach, currently serves as the executive director for the T-Association. T-Association Mission – The T-Association mission is to create and maintain an enhanced atmosphere and structure whereby UT student-athletes become lifetime members of The University of Texas Athletics family and are welcomed, involved and encouraged to participate during and after their college tenure. TAPN Mission – The Letter Winner’s Professional Network exists to unite the members of the T-Associaton on a professional level by providing networking opportunities and a database of contacts thereby furthering the opportunities, community, education and success of Longhorn Letter Winners.

CONTACT INFORMATION: t-association@athletics.utexas.edu 512.471.6864

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