Texas Longhorns' Steve Sarkisian Celebrates 100th Birthday of Darrell K. Royal Stadium

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian spoke about what the history of the stadium means to him and how it shapes his perspective every game day.

A new memorial with the names of former UT students who died while serving in WWII is dedicated at the University of Texas annual Veterans Day wreath-laying ceremony at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium Thursday November 7, 2024. The annual wreath-laying ceremony honors the service and sacrifice of Longhorn veterans and their families. / Jay Janner/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Texas Longhorns football program will be celebrating a very special birthday today, one that has seen generations of Longhorn greats and thousands upon thousands of lifelong fans walk through its corridors.

Darrell K. Royal Stadium is officially 100 years old this year, and while many aspects of its construction have changed since it was first introduced in 1924, the legacy of those who have stood on its sidelines remains.

The games in November are the ones you remember 🤘 pic.twitter.com/kmEODZ3ci4

— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) November 8, 2024

Head coach Steve Sarkisian has made it a game day priority to take in all that is encompassed inside its concrete walls by taking a lap around the field every Saturday. He said it reminds him of how he has proceeded some of the best college football coaches in the history of the game, most notably the one that got a stadium named in his honor.

"When you have a program like ours, University of Texas, you think about the great teams, the great players, the great coaches that have competed in the middle of that field, that have walked those sidelines," Sarkisian said during Thursday's media availability. "That's kind of what I do every Saturday when I show up to games. I don't know if you all know, but I go for a walk, and it's just to kind of get myself to be where my feet are. And I have moments of reminiscing, I like to think about Darrell K. Royal on the sidelines, or Mack Brown."

Darrell K. Royal served as Texas' head coach from 1956-1976, and the Longhorns never had a losing season. He coached them to three national championships, 16 bowl appearances, and had two undefeated seasons. The university honored him in 1996 when they renamed Texas Memorial Stadium to the Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.

Mack Brown was the next coach to see an undefeated season and a national championship with Texas, but it wouldn't come until 2005. Brown led the Longhorns to a 128-27 record from 1998-2009, including two Big 12 conference championship titles.

Not only has the structure harbored the products of these iconic coaches, but it's seen two Heisman Trophy winners in running backs Earl Campbell in 1977 and Ricky Williams in 1998.

While Texas hasn't seen a Heisman winner since, the players that have represented the Longhorns have always been known to put on a show for their fans year in and year out, no matter the accolades or rankings.

Sarkisian said one of his goals for the team during each home game is to create an environment worth being in, just how each generation has before them.

"I didn't get to see Earl Campbell run. I didn't get to see Ricky Williams run. But what was it like, and how electric was the stadium for some of those moments?" Sarkisian said. "We try to create a great atmosphere for our fans. We try to play football the right way to where they're proud of the way that we play the game. We're not going to win them all every week, but we try to play in a way that our fans and those that are in attendance are proud of the way we play and that we're representing Longhorn nation the right way."

Although Sarkisian has a long way to go before reaching Mack Brown's status, let alone Darrell K. Royal's status, his strides within the last three seasons haven't gone unnoticed. Having brought the program from a 5-7 record in 2021 to a 12-2 finish last season, Sarkisian is on the right path to becoming the next-best coach Darrell K. Royal has ever seen.

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