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Marcia Kirkland and Evelyn Barron needed to fill their days with something once they retired from teaching to fight any boredom.
“Let’s start following Texas women’s basketball,” Kirkland recalls.
Since they started following the team in 2004, the pair have missed a total of 30 games. They have traveled to Europe, Hawaii, Canada or “wherever” the Longhorns are playing to support the Longhorns.
Now they are in Phoenix for the Final Four to support the Longhorns.
Texas Longhorns guard Rori Harmon (3) takes a photo with the NCAA Fort Worth Regional Championship trophy after winning the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Elite 8 game against Michigan at Dickies Arena on Monday, March 30, 2026 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman)
Kirkland and Barron were traveling with other longstanding Austinites: David Wheeler, who graduated from UT, and Cassie Campbell.
The Texas Longhorns take a photo with the NCAA Fort Worth Regional Championship trophy after winning the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Elite 8 game against Michigan at Dickies Arena on Monday, March 30, 2026 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman)
Wheeler was a member of the Texas pep band and went to all the home games as a student. The band didn’t travel except for the postseason but because Wheeler was a freshman, he couldn’t make the trip to Lexington, Ky. to watch Jody Conradt’s team hoisted the championship trophy in 1986.
He and his friends hope to see the Longhorns do it again.
“It’s kind of a full-circle moment because I was a student at the time but it makes you realized how much the women’s game has advanced and grown,” he said.
MORE:1986 Texas champs send message to Final Four team
MORE: How to watch Texas vs UCLA in Final Four: March Madness schedule for Friday
Campbell, remembers what it was like watching games at the old venue, the Frank Erwin Center — a group of maybe 2,000 people she estimates watching games in a place with a maximum capacity of nearly 18,000.
“I’ve been a supporter for women’s sports, especially women’s basketball… I think it’s good that we can support them,” Campbell said.
Wheeler was hopeful he could see the success the team amassed four decades ago. But he wasn’t the only Longhorn alum that remembers the squad that went undefeated.
Cheryl Zaremba was a law student and started watching the team in 1980. Thinking about falling in love with basketball as and seeing Texas win a championship is the root of her fandom.
“Because hopefully I’ve lived long enough to see them win two national championships,” she said this week, resting her hand over her heart.
But it isn’t just a special moment for the more seasoned UT fans.
Lauren Cortinas and her mother Jennifer are from Texas, but Lauren is a law student at the University of Arizona. in Tuscon, Ariz. The pair are from the Dallas Fort-Worth area and her mom watched the Longhorns win in the Elite Eight.
“'I have to go. You gotta come out here for the Final Four’,” Lauren said
Lauren is a former basketball player from UT-Tyler and her mom played college soccer. They have a devout love as women's sports and they are seeing other people enjoy the game as well because, according to ESPN Press Room viewership, women's basketball viewership has increased up to 33% year-over-year.
"The fact that they're getting so much love from the community is just amazing," Lauren said.
Continue reading...
“Let’s start following Texas women’s basketball,” Kirkland recalls.
Since they started following the team in 2004, the pair have missed a total of 30 games. They have traveled to Europe, Hawaii, Canada or “wherever” the Longhorns are playing to support the Longhorns.
Now they are in Phoenix for the Final Four to support the Longhorns.
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Texas Longhorns guard Rori Harmon (3) takes a photo with the NCAA Fort Worth Regional Championship trophy after winning the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Elite 8 game against Michigan at Dickies Arena on Monday, March 30, 2026 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman)
Kirkland and Barron were traveling with other longstanding Austinites: David Wheeler, who graduated from UT, and Cassie Campbell.
You must be registered for see images attach
The Texas Longhorns take a photo with the NCAA Fort Worth Regional Championship trophy after winning the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Elite 8 game against Michigan at Dickies Arena on Monday, March 30, 2026 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman)
Wheeler was a member of the Texas pep band and went to all the home games as a student. The band didn’t travel except for the postseason but because Wheeler was a freshman, he couldn’t make the trip to Lexington, Ky. to watch Jody Conradt’s team hoisted the championship trophy in 1986.
He and his friends hope to see the Longhorns do it again.
“It’s kind of a full-circle moment because I was a student at the time but it makes you realized how much the women’s game has advanced and grown,” he said.
MORE:1986 Texas champs send message to Final Four team
MORE: How to watch Texas vs UCLA in Final Four: March Madness schedule for Friday
Campbell, remembers what it was like watching games at the old venue, the Frank Erwin Center — a group of maybe 2,000 people she estimates watching games in a place with a maximum capacity of nearly 18,000.
“I’ve been a supporter for women’s sports, especially women’s basketball… I think it’s good that we can support them,” Campbell said.
Wheeler was hopeful he could see the success the team amassed four decades ago. But he wasn’t the only Longhorn alum that remembers the squad that went undefeated.
Cheryl Zaremba was a law student and started watching the team in 1980. Thinking about falling in love with basketball as and seeing Texas win a championship is the root of her fandom.
“Because hopefully I’ve lived long enough to see them win two national championships,” she said this week, resting her hand over her heart.
But it isn’t just a special moment for the more seasoned UT fans.
Lauren Cortinas and her mother Jennifer are from Texas, but Lauren is a law student at the University of Arizona. in Tuscon, Ariz. The pair are from the Dallas Fort-Worth area and her mom watched the Longhorns win in the Elite Eight.
“'I have to go. You gotta come out here for the Final Four’,” Lauren said
Lauren is a former basketball player from UT-Tyler and her mom played college soccer. They have a devout love as women's sports and they are seeing other people enjoy the game as well because, according to ESPN Press Room viewership, women's basketball viewership has increased up to 33% year-over-year.
"The fact that they're getting so much love from the community is just amazing," Lauren said.
Continue reading...
