First Month In Austin

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Georgi Djalev

Hello everybody,

My name is Georgi and I am an MBA exchange student at McCombs for the 2013 spring term. I am originally from Bulgaria, have lived eight years in Germany and am doing my full-time MBA at ESADE in Barcelona, Spain.

The reason why I came to McCombs was to experience the great and vibrant city and to get to know the local entrepreneurship and technology scene, which is famous all around the world.

During my first month my expectations were exceeded by far, especially by the incredible classmates, the most polite people I have ever met (the citizens of Austin), and the amazing nature and sights.

I will let the photos speak for themselves, and I hope you enjoy them – especially the ones form the Longhorns – Kansas college basketball game…

Longhorn Football is Back in Action!

Posted on September 5, 2012 by Courtney Blackburn

Well, I am officially back in Austin during the best time of the year to be in Austin. September 1st was our first game day of the 2012 Football season and as predicted, it was a blast… & the Longhorns won, obviously. Our MBA tailgate this year is actually on campus in front of the McCombs building, which we thought might be a little bit weird but it was actually awesome. So, so, so good to be back!

With my best girl friends Neka, Marissa, and Valerie at our tailgate!

Class of 2013 tailgate fun!

Excited to have one of my best friends from home in the new first year class!

I must admit, it is a little overwhelming to have a full new class of first years that I don’t know yet, but it is so exciting and fun to have that many new people to meet. Last year, we became really close with the Class of 2012, and I hope it will be the same way with the Class of 2014 this year!

Game days are easily my favorite part of the social aspect here at McCombs. It just doesn’t get any better than the school spirit for Longhorn football. It just doesn’t. Hook ‘em!

The Red River Shootout

Posted on October 13, 2011 by Courtney Blackburn

If Jim isn’t going to write about it, then I will! The results of this game are a touchy subject, so I’ll focus more on the weekend as a whole. To those unfamiliar with the Longhorns, one of our oldest and most passionate rivalries is with the University of Oklahoma. Yes, our rivalry with the Aggies is also huge, but the Red River Shootout against OU is the game of all games. Since I grew up with Longhorn parents, I’ve been watching this game my whole life. However, this is the first year that I have gone to Dallas for OU weekend as a student at the University of Texas.

Here’s how it goes, all students get the opportunity to purchase a ticket to the OU game separate from your season tickets. In my opinion, this is a must. All of the MBAs with tickets organized carpools to Dallas and drove up on Friday with burnt orange in tow. We had a fun get-together in Uptown Dallas that night organized by our amazing social chairs. We then woke up bright and early on Saturday to hop on the dart rail to head to the State Fair.

Hanging with some of my MBA girl friends before the game!

Now, we all came here to cheer on our beloved Longhorns, but yes, the State Fair is going on before, during, and after the game. In the same location. Feel free to wander back and forth from game to fair as you please, just incase the score of the game becomes too much for you to take. Ride the ferris wheel, eat a corndog, eat fried… anything. Literally. You’ll see signs for things like “fried queso” and “fried butter” and wonder how is that even possible?! The Texas State Fair makes it possible.

My classmate David enjoying a corn dog at the fair!

Desperately holding on...

Now, let’s say that hypothetically the body language shown above is a reflection of the score of the football game. Normally, a hardcore Longhorns fan might go home and cry themselves to sleep. This year, I think we did a great job of keeping our spirits up, despite the outcome of the game, and having a great time throughout the rest of the weekend. This trip was a perfect bonding opportunity for our class and has easily been the most fun weekend of the year. So, no matter how good or bad the team is, I would encourage all students to participate in this experience!

What it Means to be a Longhorn

Posted on February 8, 2011 by Morgan Brown

Bevo’s always a top-10 mascot

When you look at anyone’s list of the top mascots in college sports (Sports Illustrated, Fox Sports, ESPN, etc) Bevo (the real Texas longhorn that attends football games and other university events) is always in the top 10. But Bevo himself is just the tip of the iceberg – the Longhorn brand is so universally recognizable and unique that in the college football hall of fame, every school but one has letters representing their school’s logo. Texas has the Longhorn logo, as that’s all that’s needed to identify the university.

The power of the brand is evident – Texas is the #1 school in terms of raking in licensing royalties, according to Collegiate Licensing Company. The new Longhorn TV Network should only increase it. You want to study marketing? Read the Texas Monthly article from November about Texas AD DeLoss Dodds (you have to be a subscriber to read it, but I’m sure you can google around and find a copy); you’ll appreciate what a genius the Texas Athletic Department has been in handling its brand.

The fact that the shape of the longhorns’ head naturally lends itself to the greatest hand signal in sports doesn’t hurt. Nor does the accompanying “go!” phrase of “hook’em horns” either. The burnt orange color is unique as well – classier than traditional oranges, it is said to have been picked by Darrell Royal to match the color of a football in order to confuse opponents.

Especially if you went to a school with a color for a mascot (like I did), coming to Texas is like hitting the jackpot. You’ve got an endless supply of awesome swag to wear around, people on the street to flash the hook’em to, and a brand to be proud of.

Austin and Basketball

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Morgan Simental

Austin City

One of the great things about this program is the city of Austin. While school and interviews can be stressful, you can always step outside and take a break. I don’t think people in the northeast can say that right about now. Just think, at the end of January we already are getting 78 degree days! How awesome is this!!!

UT Basketball!

If you haven’t been to a UT basketball game, this is a sight to be seen. Thousands of screaming fans chanting “Texas…Fight!!!” in an indoor arena! To make things even better, we got to sit in the student section right behind the rim. Definitely a highlight for me this week. If you come to visit campus, try to see if you can be here for a game…it’s truly a memorable experience!

-Morgan

Football Surprises

Posted on September 29, 2009 by liz wetterhahn

Very little about this football season has been surprising thus far. Even the Detroit Lions defeating my beloved Washington Redskins wasn’t all that surprising (demoralizing, yes; surprising, no). The Longhorns have been reliable in destroying the first three teams they’ve played thus far (even reaching a basketball-like score of 64-7 over UTEP last weekend).

This season has been satisfying, but between last year and the beginning of this season, winning is beginning to be expected…I am becoming a little too comfortable with UT’s winning streak (and as a Redskins and a Baltimore Orioles fan, it’s safe to say I’m not used to being comfortable with my teams’ successes).

So you can imagine my excitement when something surprised me at the Texas Tech game a couple of weeks ago. To understand this, you first need to realize that the entire second year class was beyond excited for this game. A huge number of us were at Doc’s, a local bar, last year when we played Tech. Together, we went through a rollercoaster of emotions as we thought we lost – then thought we won – then lost again. It was painful to say the least, and we all had the taste of revenge bubbling up before this year’s game – this time at home. The game turned out to be not as exciting as last year’s, and in line with the experts’ predictions, UT prevailed.

But the excitement of this game for me didn’t appear on the field. It appeared about 100 feet above the field on the jumbo-tron between the first and second quarters. I was waiting for the legendary Bevo video they play each game (that I absolutely love), when instead I saw something that caught my eye: my Financial Statement Analysis professor, Michael Clement, appeared on the screen as one of the ING Professors of Excellence. I was so excited to see one of my McCombs professors displayed so proudly on the screen. Very exciting, indeed.

Jumbotron

Michael Clement

I’m hoping for an exciting (but winning) rest of the season, and am looking forward to the remaining home games, my trip to Dallas for the Red River Shootout (UT vs. OU), and perhaps another opportunity to visit a bowl game. I absolutely love football season and am so proud to be a Longhorn!

Texas MBAs Talk

Straight from the students

Tag Archives: longhorns