The men's sports teams are called the Longhorns, and the women are the Lady Longhorns. A charter member of the Southwest Conference until its dissolution in 1996, Texas now competes in the Big 12
Conference (South Division) of the NCAA's Division I-A.The University has traditionally been considered a football powerhouse; the
football team frequently ranks in the top 10. The Longhorns have won National Championships in 1963, 1969, and 1970. Under the current
system, the Longhorns played their first Bowl
Championship Series game in 2005 at the Rose Bowl against the University of
Michigan. The game was the first meeting between the two storied teams and the Longhorns' first trip to the Rose Bowl or a
BCS game. The Longhorns defeated the Wolverines 38-37.In recent years the men's basketball team has gained prominence. In 2003,
the basketball team advanced to the NCAA Tournament Final Four
round, and in 2004 advanced to the Sweet Sixteen round. The women's
basketball team has long been a national power, especially during the late 1980s and through the 1990s.The University's major rival in almost every sport is Texas A&M University, and these two universities are mentioned in each other's fight songs (A&M isn't too friendly about it either). Further visual evidence comes
in the form of the UT Tower -- the top portion of the tower is lit burnt orange when the University wins a football game. But
when the University wins against A&M, the entire tower is illuminated in orange light. In 2004, sports events between the
University of Texas and Texas A&M University
became known as the "Lonestar Showdown". The most-watched part of
this rivalry is the annual football game the day after Thanksgiving each
year.There is also a longstanding rivalry with the University
of Oklahoma (phrase heard at football games: "What time is it?" "I don't know, but OU still sucks!" and "Why doesn't Texas
fall into the ocean?" "Cause OU sucks!"). In recent years, this rivaly has taken on added significance since both football
programs have been highly ranked. The football game between University of Texas and Oklahoma is known as the "Red River Shootout" and is held annually in Dallas, Texas at the Cotton Bowl. The rivalry is so intense that many textbooks authored by UT professors include
references to UT beating OU.Many other schools consider UT to be their biggest, or among their biggest rivals. This list includes Baylor (located just up Interstate 35 from UT),
Texas Tech (a large state sponsored school that does not receive the same level
of attention as UT and Texas A&M) and the University of
Arkansas. This last rivalry may be attributed to their long tenure as the two epynonymous states schools of the former
Southwest Conference, or to the 1969 game between the two, which decided the national championship in favor of the Longhorns.The University's baseball team has more years of participation in the College World Series than any other school, extending their record in 2004 to 31 appearances.