Schaefer is the only other coach besides Conradt to lead the Longhorns to a Final Four. Can he lead Texas to its first national title in 40 years?
Schaefer is the only other coach besides Conradt to lead the Longhorns to a Final Four. Can he lead Texas to its first national title in 40 years?Texas head coach Vic Schaefer reacts to play in the second half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Kentucky, Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Fort Worth, Texas.
But he also envisioned some weekly coffee dates he thought would make the task a bit less daunting., the first full-time women’s head coach at Texas, who coached the Longhorns for 31 seasons and led them to their only national title in 1986. “When I took the job, I envisioned me and her having coffee after games the next morning, talking about the game the night before,” Schaefer said Sunday morning. “I mean, I just have so much respect and admiration for her and what she’s done in her career.”Get the latest D-FW sports news, analysis and opinion delivered straight to your inbox. Plus, Kevin Sherrington's A La Carte.Six seasons later, Schaefer is on the verge of accomplishing what only Conradt has — leading Texas to consecutive Final Four appearances. All it takes is a win over 2-seed Michigan at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth Monday night. With three more wins, he’ll join Conradt as the second coach to lead the Longhorns to a national title. “Coach Conradt and how good they were for so many years and the elite level that they were at, that was kind of my charge — to try to get them back to that elite level,” Schaefer said.Conradt served as UT’s coach from 1976-2007, tallying 900 career victories by her retirement — second place all-time for an NCAA Division I coach. Between 1982-90, Texas had a 241-24 record, reached the Elite Eight or better seven times, made the Final Four twice and won the national championship in 1986 with a perfect 34-0 record. She led Texas back to the Final Four nearly 20 years later in 2003, its only other appearance before Schaefer took over. She was also inducted in the inaugural class of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999. After retiring from coaching, Conradt remained with UT’s athletic department in an advisor role. But on Dec. 31, she retired altogether, now just serving as a volunteer. Conradt, however, remains closely tied to Schaefer’s team, joining them in Fort Worth this weekend for the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight.“She’s always around us so much, but for someone of her caliber and her knowledge, she doesn’t give us enough advice,” Texas point guard Rori Harmon said. “When she’s around, she likes to keep her peace, keep her distance. She talks to Coach Schaefer, obviously, a lot. To feel her energy all the time, that’s something I think we need as a team.”Some combination of Schaefer’s own abilities as a coach, a talented roster and some words of wisdom from Conradt have allowed Texas to return to the national spotlight it lived in during her days. But it was a lengthy road back., the Longhorns have now advanced to their third straight Elite Eight and to the regional finals for the fifth time in Schaefer’s six-year tenure. That long-awaited return to the national championship is just within reach. Schaefer, who’s coached into late March and April plenty of times in his career at both Texas and Mississippi State, says those growing pains have been necessary. That included a“Sometimes those are growing pains and things that you have to go through,” he said. “You go through these stages. Again, I’ve said this a million times. The only thing harder than building it is sustaining it.” But Schaefer and his players are able to learn from the best, who found a way to sustain that success across decades.“I feel her presence,” Harmon said. “I feel that national championship presence. It’s that undefeated season presence around us. That’s almost like all you need.”Texas rides historic start past Kentucky, into Elite Eight for 5th time under Vic SchaeferLia Assimakopoulos covers the Dallas Stars, SMU and college sports for The Dallas Morning News. She joined The News in June 2022 as a high school sports reporter and previously contributed to Sports Illustrated, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and NBC Sports. A native of Bethesda, Md., Lia graduated from Northwestern University in 2022.Dallas police identify man who was detained at ‘No Kings’ protest in downtown
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