AUSTIN, Texas—The jersey numbers of nine former Longhorn greats spanning 60 years of Texas athletics, including former Texas football greats Bobby Layne, Tommy Nobis, and Vince Young, will be retired in ceremonies during the 2008-09 school year, The University of Texas Men's Athletics Department announced Friday.
The group also includes basketball greats Kevin Durant and Slater Martin, and baseball greats Burt Hooton, Greg Swindell, Scott Bryant, and Brooks Kieschnick.
Each of the three sports will conduct appropriate individual ceremonies honoring the players and their jersey numbers during their 2008-09 seasons.
The jersey numbers that will be honored are No. 10 (Young), No. 22 (Layne), and No. 60 (Nobis) in football, No. 15 (Martin) and No. 35 (Durant) in basketball, and No. 20 (Hooton), No. 21 (Swindell), No. 23 (Kieschnick), and No. 25 (Bryant) in baseball. The number "21" will receive dual recognition, since it was also the number worn by Roger Clemens and hasn't been issued since it was retired in the 1993.
Previously, only four Longhorn players—football Heisman Trophy winners Earl Campbell (20) and Ricky Williams (34), basketball's 2003 Naismith and Wooden Award winner T. J. Ford (11), and baseball's seven-time Cy Young award winner Clemens—had been honored with the retirement of their jersey number.
"We have given this a lot of thought over a number of years," said Dodds. "With the completion of renovations at our football and baseball stadiums, as well as Kevin's joining T.J. as a National Player of the Year in basketball in 2007, we feel now is the right time to appropriately honor some of the greatest of our many great players.
"As our staff, working with the T-Association, considered the individuals who should be eligible, our first criteria was that a player should have earned recognition as a National Player of the Year in his sport. An exception was made in the case of Layne, Martin, and Hooton, who were legends in their sports but competed before many of the current awards were established."
Young, who led the Longhorns to the 2005 National Championship, and Nobis, who was a star linebacker for the 1963 National Championship team, both were winners of the Maxwell Award, presented by the Maxwell Memorial Football Club of Philadelphia.
The honor, which recognizes the nation's Outstanding College Football Player, has been presented annually since 1937. Layne was a consensus All-American who has been inducted into both the College Football and the NFL halls of fame.
"We're really excited that DeLoss and The University have seen it fit to retire Bobby, Tommy, and Vince's jerseys," football head coach Mack Brown said. "They all certainly are deserving and what a great opportunity to recognize some of the greatest players from so many outstanding eras in Texas Football. We're looking forward to honoring them at a game this fall."
"Man, I'm speechless," Young said. "This is such an unbelievable honor, having my jersey retired along with a group of Longhorn football legends like Earl (Campbell), Ricky (Williams), Bobby Layne, and Tommy Nobis. I want to congratulate all of the UT legends who are having their jerseys retired in all of the sports. It's humbling to be among that group.
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