BEVO BEAT
Former coach David McWilliams to retire from UT athletics
Posted March 27th, 2015
David McWilliams, who played at Texas, eventually coached the team and has recently been working with former letterwinners, announced Friday he was retiring after more than 50 years with UT athletics.
“I never could have imagined that when I first set foot on The University of Texas campus in early September 1960, that almost 55 years later I would still be here,” McWilliams said in a statement released by the university.
“How fortunate I have been to work under men with great character and leadership qualities, beginning with coach Wally Bullington at Abilene High School, and then coach Darrell K Royal and coach Fred Akers at Texas,” he continued.
“My wife Cindy, my family and I have always tried to give the best we have to Texas, and certainly Texas has always given us the best it had. It is time now for me to go fishing.”
McWilliams was a center and defensive tackle on the 1963 national championship team. He graduated in 1964 with a mathematics degree. Upon graduating, McWilliams started his coaching career in Abilene but eventually joined Royal’s staff in 1970.
McWilliams left Austin to become Texas Tech’s head coach in 1986. But after one season in Lubbock, McWilliams came back to become Texas’ head coach and replacing Fred Akers.
Under McWilliams’ leadership, the Longhorns won the Southwest Conference title in 1990, going 10-2 in what was dubbed the “Shock the Nation” Tour. UT ultimately lost to No. 4 Miami in the 1991 Cotton Bowl.
McWilliams stepped down as the team’s coach after the 1991 season but stayed on as an administrator. He’s been working with the school’s T-Association in recent years.
McWilliams and his family will be honored at the Texas-California game on Sept. 19.
- From the archives: Statesman front page story covering McWilliams resignation as coach in 1991
- From the archives: Highs and lows of David McWilliams’ career
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