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MAGAZINE STORIES

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Run It Back: Baylor basketball hungry for second chance at greatness (Texas Basketball)

The pandemic prematurely ended what should have been a historic NCAA Tournament for Baylor basketball. But with Jared Butler and MaC​io Teague's decision to bypass pro basketball to return to Waco, the Bears have a rare second chance at getting to the top. (READ FULL STORY HERE)

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Hilltop Revival: How Shane Buechele transformed SMU (Texas Football)

SMU quarterback Shane Buechele was chosen as the Coverboy of Dave Campbell's Texas Football Magazine because of the way he's helped change the trajectory of the Mustangs football program. My cover story chronicled his path from SMU to Texas and how he turned into the state's best quarterback. (READ FULL STORY HERE)

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Next In Line: Lauren Cox is poised to lead Baylor back to the top (Texas Basketball)

WACO -- Baylor forward Lauren Cox was chosen as one of the top players in America right out of high school. After winning a national championship with the Lady Bears as a junior, she is ready to be the face of the program. (READ FULL STORY HERE)

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How Sam Ehlinger tuned out the haters and became a rising star (Texas Football)

AUSTIN, Texas -- All eyes have been on Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger since his days at Westlake High School. When you're the quarterback at the University of Texas, people are going to talk about you. The hometown kid is prepping to take his Longhorns back to the top. (READ FULL STORY HERE)

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Dream Big: How Ryan McGuyre turned Baylor volleyball into a winner (Baylor Line)

To understand how Baylor volleyball became the No. 1 program in America, how it reached a Final Four and how Ryan McGuyre's prayers became premonitions, one must dig into the foundation. The concrete was poured with McGuyre's first three months on campus. (READ FULL STORY HERE)

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ENTERPRISE

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College football 2.0: Projecting the future of college football (CBS Sports)

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

CBS Sports recognizes the first anniversary of name, image and likeness rights being granted to athletes as a jumping off point for a three-part series taking a more intensive look at the state of college football and future of the game.

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Big 12 expansion: How league newcomers are preparing for life within prestigious Power Five universe (CBS Sports)

On July 1, the "Freshman Four" step into the brave new world of Power Five college athletics, the first to join the top half of college football's top division since Rutgers moved from the AAC to the Big Ten in 2014. But with a fancy new logo on the jerseys comes big money, resources and prestige that all four schools are hoping can set themselves up for the murky future of college football. (READ FULL STORY HERE) 

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Inside SMU's campaign to become Dallas' college football team (Texas Football)

DALLAS, Texas -- When Sonny Dykes arrived at SMU, he quickly realized that there was a disconnect between the university and many of the surrounding areas. Here's how the university went all-in on trying to pull college football fans from all over the Metroplex. This story received honorable mention in the enterprise category at the Football Writer's Association of America awards. (READ FULL STORY HERE)

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Inside the chaotic transfer portal recruiting process consuming the college football offseason (CBS Sports)

Over a six week period at the conclusion of the regular season, nearly 2,000 FBS players -- from seasoned veterans like McGill to redshirt freshmen seeking playing time -- entered the transfer portal in search of new homes. Amid the chaos, behind the scenes, college football coaching and support staffs are tasked with cutting through all the noise in hopes of finding diamonds in the rough. Welcome to the transfer portal carousel. (READ FULL STORY HERE)

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PROFILES

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Why UTEP football will never, ever forget Luke Laufenberg (Texas Football)

Why did former UTEP and Texas A&M tight end Luke Laufenberg want to play football so desperately? Why did he play in a bowl game while cancer took over his bones, and fight all the way back to earn a coveted Division I scholarship, and practice against elite athletes while cancer spread again? I spent a month trying to answer that question. (READ FULL STORY HERE)

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How East Texas Baptist built Scotty Walden into a rising star (Texas Football)

Scotty Walden is the youngest head coach in the FBS. Officially, he's an interim coach tasked with holding. aprogram together. Ask those who know him best and the message is clear: Walden is ready. "Idon't know if there's any more of a right man for that job than Scotty Walden." (READ FULL STORY HERE)

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How faith, community and Aaron Jones brought Deion Hankins home (Texas Football)

EL PASO, Texas -- To find the future of UTEP football, you have to drive Northeast up Highway 54, past the Biggs Army Airfield and into the shadow of the Franklin Mountains. Deion Hankins is the pride of Northeast El Paso, and one of the best players ever from the city. And now, he's staying home to try and change his community. (READ FULL STORY HERE)

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Connecticut to Cowtown: Why Michael Collins spurned Ivy League for TCU (DieHards)

FORT WORTH, Texas — Michael Collins knows exactly what he gave up for a shot to play quarterback at TCU. His future was set. Collins was a quarterback at UPenn and on the path to potentially becoming a three-year Ivy League starter. He was studying at The Wharton School. But after quickly figuring out that he was good enough to play at the Ivy League level, Collins wanted more. (READ FULL STORY HERE)

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Taylor Young breaks conventions for Baylor football (Baylor Lariat)

WACO, Texas -- Taylor Young was the statewide defensive player of the year at DeSoto, but couldn't get any attention from major colleges. He was ready to play at the junior college level, until he got an afternoon phone call from an unexpected place. This story was a national finalist for Sports Story of the Year from the Associated Collegiate Press. (READ FULL STORY HERE)

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FEATURES

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How Kobe Bryant inspired a wave of Texas football stars (Texas Football)

Thousands of babies were named after Kobe Bryant between 2000 and 2002, as Bryant became an NBA superstar. Twenty years later, the new generation of Kobes are starting to take over college athletics. (READ FULL STORY HERE)
 

'They are the standard': How Matt Rhule won over Texas HS coaches (Texas Football)

WACO, Texas -- Matt Rhule arrived in Texas two short years ago as a carpetbagger from Philadelphia swooping in and stealing one of the state's premiere jobs. Now, Rhule trails only the 20-year Texan vet Gary Patterson among the most trusted coaches in the state. How did that happen? (READ FULL STORY HERE)

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How Matt Wells and Texas Tech became a perfect fit (Texas Football)

DALLAS, Texas -- Texas Tech athletic director heard of Matt Wells for the first time in 2013, and the story involves Lane Kiffin, nearly getting blasted by a Mountain West team. (READ FULL STORY HERE)

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Battle of the Alamodome: Rising programs ready to fight for San Antonio (Texas Football)

SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- There are only two Division-I football programs in San Antonio. When the two programs face off to open the 2019 season, there will be much more than just a win on the line. It's an opportunity to stake a claim in a football-hungry market. (READ FULL STORY HERE)

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GENERAL WRITING

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College Football Playoff: Lessons learned evaluating teams as a member of the mock selection committee (CBS Sports)

Twelve media members, myself included, were invited to participate in the annual mock selection held by the College Football Playoff. The exercise takes place behind the doors of the same swanky meeting room at the Gaylord Texan as the actual committee that holds the fate of countless athletic departments in its hands. For the day, I played the role of Navy athletic director and current CFP committee member, Chet Gladchuk. "Act a little crotchety to play Chet's role," joked one CFP staffer of the 72-year-old whose seat I inhabited. But if it was crotchety they wanted, a deep-throated rehashing of the controversial 2014 playoff was the perfect place to start. (READ FULL STORY HERE)

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Tilman Fertitta on Houston football's new era (Texas Football)

I shadowed University of Houston system chairman Tilman Fertitta on the day of the Houston-Oklahoma game and talked to him about the new era of Houston athletics that he brought on with the hiring of new head coach Dana Holgorsen. (READ FULL STORY HERE)

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Two stadiums. Two Golden Corrals: The wildest college game of 2018 (Texas Football)

MCKINNEY, Texas -- Oct. 6, 2018, was a great day for college football in Texas. It wasn't because of Red River, or Texas A&M beating a top-15 opponent. Instead, the best college football game of the 2018 season took place between a pair of Division-II teams across two days, two cities and two stadiums. Here's the inside story. (READ FULL STORY HERE)

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Air Raid on Hardwood: The story behind Baylor's 'football' inbounds play (Texas Basketball)

Baylor coach Scott Drew is known for strong inbounds plays, but this one was unexpected. All five Bears lined up out of bounds as guard Jared Butler received the ball to inbounds. Suddenly, four Bears sprinted down, and two turned back towards midcourt. Any Texan sports fans watching the game could immediately tell what happened – the Bears just ran a football play. “Down here in the South, people love their football, and so do we,” Drew said with a laugh. (READ FULL STORY HERE)

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'Doorway is open' after Mavericks select first Indian in NBA Draft (Dallas Morning News)

BROOKLYN, N.Y. -- With the 52nd pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, the Dallas Mavericks selected to make history. The Mavericks picked 7-foot-2 center Satnam Singh, who became the first Indian drafted into the NBA on Thursday night at Barclays Center. “We believe in creating legends and we certainly believe we did that today,” Mavericks owner Mark Cuban told reporters in Dallas. “There’s a billion new Mavs fans out there right now.” (READ FULL STORY HERE)

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