Retire #10
by acho81 on Jan 17, 2008 5:45 PM CST
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PrintThe Athletic department will not retire Vince Young's number because he did not win the Heisman Trophy.
Am I the only one bothered by the fact that the only numbers that the Athletic department has retired (or will retire in the near future) are Earl Campbell's #20, Ricky Williams' #34, TJ Ford's #11, Kevin Durant's #35 and Roger Clemens' #21, when Vince Young was without question the greatest and most popular athlete to come through the university save Major Applewhite, plus, unlike the other players on this list, he has actually delivered a championship. No disrespect to the other players on this list, they were great athletes and truly deserved their player of the year awards, but just because Vince didn't win the Heisman does not mean #10 should be on the field instead of on a banner.
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Yeah
I think it is a little ridiculous to let the Heisman voters decide what numbers we should retire. Honestly, that is the least we could do for the guy that gave so much to this university. With all due respect to Durant, he didn't do 10% for this school what Vince did. I could go on for hours, but Deloss Dodd is a man of priciples and tradition. And the same principles that keep the TX-OU game in Dallas (in stead of going home-and-home which actually makes more financial sense) keep Vince's number unretired. You just have to take the good with the bad.
Vince, Cat
The Athletic department will not retire Vince Young's number because he did not win the Heisman Trophy.
Is that your own conclusion, or is there a source for that?
For the record, Cat's number should be retired before Vince's IMO. KD's number being retired before Vince and Cat is a joke.
Also, you are not the only one, this topic comes up in diaries every month or so.
Bush scandal
Does Reggie Bush's scandal have any spin on this?
it very well might...
Surprisingly there has been little to no press around it, but there was at least one article I read awhile back that has mentioned that Reggie Bush may well be stripped of his Heisman; and IF that happens then it would HAVE to be given to VY as the 2nd highest vote getter no?
Amazing to me how this scandal in Hollywood's own 'backyard' has received less press than the much malingned arrests for various infractions by UT players. Not condoning what the UT players did but we're talking about Major NCAA violations here on Reg's part and misdameanors and moving violations by the UT players...
Some places just seem above it all, like Ohio State, Notre Dame, and USC. Oh well, I would LOVE to see VY get the Heisman after-the-fact if for no other reason than to qualify for getting his jersey retired.
p.s. for the record Ricky, D.J. and Major all had that number for awhile too so it should help lend credence to its retire-worthy-ness! :-)
I dont know
if it would go to #2 like the olympic mess they are trying to sort out or if it will be more like OU's 2005 season, no giving wins, just taking them away.
Why do we have this policy?
I agree completely. Why do we only retire POY's numbers? Do other top programs do this as well?
We should decide for ourselves who deserves to have their numbers retired at our school. Obviously we would attach more importance to leadership and winning than individual accolades.
the other reason I don't like it
Is that it gives importance to the Heisman. To me, the Heisman is a ridiculous ESPN-most-popular award. I just don't care who wins the Heisman. It would be like if I invented an award for the best armbands, and only that winner could have their number retired. What does that have to do with football?
I know my example is a bit exaggerated, but still. I think the university should just honor the people it wants to honor, regardless of a mostly meaningless reward.
so, basically what the athletic department....
is saying is that only RBs, WRs, mostly QBs, and the extremely rarely/occasional DB will get their number retired at Texas? Why not allow Maxwell winners as well (of which I think Vince won....the maxwell is the other outstanding POY award right? it's not qb only right?)
still though, relying on the Heisman voting process to determine the retired number criteria is an outdated tradition, because as we obviously know, an OL or DL will never win (well, maybe a DE due to sack statss, but definitely not a DT). This turned into more of an indictment of the process rather than a defense of Vince, so I'll state that UT should retire the number 10 in every sport, even intramurals.
by cowboyhorn on Jan 18, 2008 12:40 AM CST up reply actions
My thoughts
I posted something about this a while back, but I'll sum it up again.
To me, the fact that Kevin Durant's number was ever retired is just wrong. No disrespect to one of the very best basketball players to ever come through Austin, but how can you retire a guy's jersey who did nothing but win individual awards for one season? How can you retired the jersey of a guy who only stuck around for one season in the first place? Again, I am not criticizing his decision to leave, but a retired jersey should be honoring contribution's to the entire program. His contributions to the program were minimal. (Do not read that as me having anything at all against KD. I absolutely respect him as a player and thoroughly enjoyed watching him play. I wish him the very best in the pro's and am damn glad that he graced us with his presence for one year. His jersey, though, is nothing special to me.)
I'm sort of on the fence about whether or not the 10 should be retired (if it were, though, I certainly wouldn't fight it), but if Vince's is hung up, Cat's damn sure better be as well.
As far as only retiring Heisman winners or players of the year... if that rule is true, it should be done away with. Completely. It is absurd.
by Bdub on Jan 17, 2008 10:57 PM CST reply actions
Durant Rebuttal
On the other hand it is possible to make an argument that Durant's play at UT did a lot for UT as a basketball school. It helped to raise our profile and I'm sure his play at UT has helped to raise interest with other blue chip basketball players. While I can't say its a reason to retire his #, he certainly has helped make a contribution to UT athletics.
by utbiograd06 on Jan 18, 2008 12:26 AM CST up reply actions
Ehhh
Yes I suppose. So did Lamarcus Alderidge though, and no one in their right mind would ever suggest retiring his jersey.
The way we ended in the tourney last year, and just one year in the program, I agree. I loved that Durant came here, but retire his jersey for all time?
TJ got the player of the year, AND got us to the sweet 16, AND the final four, AND played here twice as long.
Thats a Jersey I can get behind hanging up, no disrespect to Durant, but big 12 runner ups, and an early exit, and no return. Thank you for coming to play here, I loved watching you, but I dont think his jersey should be remembered for all time.
by BoddickerIsClutch on Jan 18, 2008 8:39 AM CST up reply actions
My thoughts exactly
Well-stated, BIC. UT (fans) form a connection to these guys/gals that cannot be measured simply by the awards they've received by outsiders. I'm not sure any "formula" would work for all instances, but it's a discussion worth having.
No Retired Numbers
I do not believe in retiring numbers. Imagine 500 years from now when athletes will need 3 digit numbers because all of the 2 digit ones have been "retired!" Besides, another #10 might be exciting.
player of the year
Vince won the Maxwell in 05 right? If thats the case that award is given to the oustanding PLAYER OF THE YEAR, so there's your technicality for retiring the jersey.
I always thought
that it was NCAA policy not to allow teams to retire numbers without a heisman or POY, not the athletic department.
Uhm..
No. I don't know what made you think that, but to give you an example, Chauncey Billups at Colorado had his jersey number retired, and never won a player of the year award.
This is an easy topic
Retire #10 if we are in the business of retiring jerseys.
Reggie Bush won the award that was mostly decided by Kirk Herbstreit, and other sensationalists. The vote was mostly based on Reggie running around on Fresno State late in the season. The "tarnished" part is not even a factor in my mind, Mr. Bush still performed on the field, it's not like the money made him play better.
We got the ultimate satisfaction. We beat them heads up, and believe it or not we were the better team.
Retire the number or don't retire numbers at all.
Greatest and most popular?
As one who was on campus during the Earl Campbell era, I have to question that. Both are Texas legends, but Earl's has had longer to grow.
Changing rules for retiring numbers
can be dicey. How far do you go back? For the single most recent player?
If there were no POY or other restrictions for a player's number to be retired, number 10 for the University of Texas would have long been gone. In my life time, it would have been retired after the 1970 season by #10 James Street.
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