Texas football field renamed to honor Heisman Trophy winners Earl Campbell, Ricky Williams
Texas football field is being renamed after a pair of Longhorn Heisman winners.
University of Texas interim president Jay Hartzell announced the school’s plans to create “a more diverse and welcoming campus” via a press release on Monday.
The plans were focused on improving the school’s atmosphere for black students, including renaming the football stadium, Joe Jamail Field, to honor Heisman Trophy winners Earl Campbell and Ricky Williams.
Per Chip Brown of 247Sports, the changes come as a result of “demands laid out by 149 student organizations as well as black student-athletes for a more inclusive campus.”
While Hartzell did not reveal the new name of the football stadium, it appears that the change will be reflected by the start of the 2020 season. Per the school’s press release, the Jamail family requested the change.
At the suggestion of the Jamail family, rename Joe Jamail Field at the stadium in honor of Texas’ two great Heisman Trophy winners, Earl Campbell and Ricky Williams, two Longhorn legends with a record of commitment to the university
— UT Austin (@UTAustin) July 13, 2020
In addition to honoring Campbell and Williams, the Longhorns’ only Heisman Trophy winners, Hartzell revealed plans to build a statue of Julius Whittier, the school’s first black football letterman, in front of the stadium.
In light of racial inequality in the United States and the requests of the school’s students, it appears that Hartzell acknowledges the importance of recognizing the contributions of black students and making the campus more inclusive for them.
While the status of the 2020 NCAA football season still seems to be up in the air, with many conferences canceling non-conference games, the Longhorns appear to be moving in the right direction with regards to its off-field decisions.
Even in the event that the Longhorns’ season happens as planned, 2020 figures to be tumultuous. Head coach Tom Herman is firmly on the hot seat, and expectations are high. However, if the team can channel the tenacity that Williams and Campbell, their stadium’s new namesakes, played with, Texas may finally be “back” after all.
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