In our new series SEC Connections, we take a quick look at coincidences, partnerships and parallels between The University of Texas at Austin and our sister schools in the Southeastern Conference. This week, Vanderbilt University.
* * *
Former Longhorn football coach Mack Brown started his college football career as a running back at Vanderbilt, where he averaged 4.4 yards per carry, including a 156-yard game against Tampa in 1969. At UT, Brown coached 16 years, played for two National Championships, and won it all in the 2005 season.
John Nance “Cactus Jack” Garner, vice president during FDR’s first two terms, was a Vanderbilt alumnus (attending one semester), and UT Austin owns and operates the Briscoe-Garner Museum, Garner’s historic home, in Uvalde, Texas. For more than 30 years, Garner and his wife, Ettie, lived in the two-story brick house until her death in 1948. In 1952, Garner donated the house to the City of Uvalde but continued to live in a small one-story cottage on the property until his death in 1967. The John Nance Garner House was named a National Historic Landmark in 1972. The next year, the Garner Museum opened with the mission to preserve and exhibit artifacts documenting Garner’s life and career. In 1999, the City of Uvalde transferred ownership of the Garner Museum to UT Austin as a division of the Briscoe Center for American History.
Speaking of vice presidents, Longhorn Lloyd Bentsen was a U.S. senator who ran for vice president with Michael Dukakis in 1988. Commodore Al Gore was a U.S. senator who ran and served two terms as vice president, from 1993-2001.
Both UT and Vanderbilt attract roughly $1 billion a year in research grants. The National Institutes of Health is the largest funder of research at Vanderbilt, while the National Science Foundation is the largest source of research dollars at UT.
Vanderbilt alumni include country and pop legends Roseanne Cash, Chris Stapleton, Dierks Bentley and Amy Grant. UT singers and songwriters have included Janis Joplin, Nanci Griffith, Kinky Friedman and Darden Smith. The Country Music Awards show is held in Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. The CMT Awards are held at UT’s Moody Center.
