Mindful that you’re a student-athlete—and not just a student—we offer you the 4th Annual STACK Elite 50 Colleges, a ranking of the best schools for academically-minded athletes. After months of crunching numbers [wins, losses, championships, school rankings, academic progress and more], we improved on our prior years’ compilations to help you choose a school with the right balance of academics and athletics.
Coming in strong with a well-deserved #3 rank is the University of Texas.
Rank: 3
Total Points: 74.58
Top-15 Ranked Sports: 11
U.S. News Rank: 45
WHY THEY’RE ON TOP
The Longhorns’ cattle drive through the 2009-10 athletic season went off without a hitch, as they stampeded to third place. Texas hooked their horns in 11 out of 21 Elite 50 sports, with football, baseball, men’s track, men’s basketball, volleyball and men’s swimming posting Top 5 finishes—more proof that everything’s bigger in Texas.
Ranked Sports: Baseball [2], Football [2], Men’s Swimming [2], Volleyball [3], Men’s Track & Field [4], Men’s Basketball [5], Women’s Swimming [6], Men’s Tennis [6], Women’s Golf [10], Women’s Soccer [13] and Women’s Tennis [13]

GENERAL INFORMATION
Location: Austin, Texas
Enrollment: 37,389
Year founded: 1881
Percentage of freshmen in top 10% of their graduating class: 75
Application fee: $60
Acceptance rate: 44%
Average GPA of incoming freshmen: N/A
Male/female ratio: 48/52
Student/faculty ratio: 17/1
Percentage of students from out of state: 5
Tuition: $8,930 for residents; $30,600 out of state
Admissions contact:
Dr. Kedra Ishop, Vice Provost and Director of Admissions
The University of Texas at Austin
Office of Admissions/Freshman Admissions Center
P.O. Box 8058
Austin, TX 78713-8058
Phone: 512-475-7399

ATHLETIC INFORMATION
Nickname: Longhorns
Conference: Big 12
National championships: 47 [men 21, women 26] Longest coaching tenure: Eddie Reese, Men’s Swimming, 31 years
Nearest professional team: San Antonio Spurs [NBA], 81 miles
FUN FACTS
Notable alumni: Seven-time Cy Young winner Roger Clemens, NFL players Shaun Rogers, Vince Young and Cedric Benson, NBA stars Kevin Durant and LaMarcus Aldridge, actor Matthew McConaughey

Fast fact: When the students and other fans of your biggest rival [i.e., Texas A&M] raise their arms in unison to flaunt their signature gesture [the Aggies’ “Gig ’em”], you have no choice but to come up with your own we’re-cooler-than-you response. In 1955, with the Longhorns’ mascot as his inspiration, Texas cheerleader Harley Clark did just that. He introduced “Hook ’em Horns” at a pep rally, and the now-famous two-finger salute has been a Texas tradition ever since.


LINKS
University Website: utexas.edu
Wikipedia: University of Texas at Austin
Watch videos of the the high-powered Texas men’s track and field and men’s swimming teams as they train for another season of success.
Go to elite50.stack.com to read more on Texas and the rest of the STACK Elite 50 Colleges.
Previously posted:
#10 – USC
#9 – OSU
#8 – Texas A&M
#7 – Duke
#6 – UCLA
#5 – Virginia
#4 – UNC
Photos:  bealonghorn.utexas.edu