UT-Austin Tower Will Be Lit Burnt Orange For '69 Champs

AUSTIN, TX — The University of Texas at Austin Tower will be lit burnt orange, with the numerals “6” and “9” displayed in the windows, to mark 50 years since the 1969 Texas Longhorns football team won the national championship, officials said on Tuesday.

The lighting display will last several hours for a Longhorn Network photography shoot, officials added. The special lighting will occur on July 16 right after sunset.

Background

The 1969 Texas Longhorns football team, led by Coach Darrell K Royal, went undefeated that season, winning all 11 games to earn their second consensus national championship. The first was six seasons earlier in 1963.

The season featured what some consider the greatest game ever played. Dubbed the “Game of the Century,” it pitted No. 1 Texas against No. 2 Arkansas. The Longhorns came back from a 14–0 deficit in the fourth quarter to win 15–14. The team went on to win the Cotton Bowl against Notre Dame and were crowned national champions.

Also of note, the 2015 movie “My All American” featured the Longhorn’s 1969 season. The movie tells the story of Freddie Steinmark, the inspirational heart and soul of the Longhorns 1969 football team. After leaving the game against the University of Arkansas with an injured leg, Steinmark learned that the injury was due to a tumor in his left thigh bone. Though his leg was amputated within days of the diagnosis, he vowed to be on the sidelines of the Longhorns National Championship Cotton Bowl game three weeks later.

Sure enough, Steinmark made the trip and received the game ball from Coach Royal.