Longhorns Motivated To Win For Beloved Coach Vic Schaefer: ‘He’s why we came to Texas’
Plus, Madison Booker and the Horns get the red carpet treatment at the NCAA Women’s Final Four.
Texas head coach Vic Schaefer and players celebrate with the trophy after they defeated TCU…
Texas head coach Vic Schaefer and players celebrate with the trophy after they defeated TCU in the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Monday, March 31, 2025, in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)(Butch Dill / AP)
TAMPA, Fla. — Texas Longhorns coach Vic Schaefer said he’s “chasing the final game.”
He has reached his first NCAA Women’s Final Four at Texas. Twice at Mississippi State (2017-18), Schaefer’s teams played in the championship game.
As the Longhorns (35-3) prepare for Friday night’s national semifinal against the South Carolina Gamecocks (34-3) at Amalie Arena, Texas players said they’re motivated to win a national title for their beloved head coach.
How close has he been? Schaefer’s teams have reached the Elite Eight in seven of the last eight seasons.
“A lot of knocking on the door,” Schaefer said.
Texas guard Bryanna Preston (1), head coach Vic Schaefer, forward Madison Booker (35) and…
Texas guard Bryanna Preston (1), head coach Vic Schaefer, forward Madison Booker (35) and guard Jordan Lee (7) celebrate a win against LSU during an NCAA college basketball game in Austin, Texas, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephen Spillman)(Stephen Spillman / AP)
“He’s why we came to Texas — because he knows how to win,” Longhorns point guard Rori Harmon said. “He’s quite legendary. We want it for ourselves, but we want it for someone [Schaefer], who sacrifices his sleep most times. We just want to do it for him.”
Staley On Booker: Longhorns sophomore Madison Booker has earned plenty of accolades, including SEC Player of the Year and All-American honors. Count South Carolina coach Dawn Staley as one of Booker’s greatest admirers. Staley said Booker will be a major problem for the Gamecocks.
Booker, a 6-1 forward who took over point-guard duties last season after an injury to Harmon, has proved to be one of the nation’s most accomplished and versatile talents. She’s averaging 16.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists, while shooting 41% from 3-point range.
“She’s a bona fide scorer,” Staley said. “Not even a bona fide scorer, she’s a playmaker. She can score the basketball with the best of them. She can play multiple positions, so she’s versatile.
“She’s a difficult, difficult matchup. You have to guard her with one-and-a-half players and you can’t play her straight-up because when you close her space off, she can rise above that. She’s a big guard who can get her shot off any time she wants. She’s just really, really good.”
Red-carpet treatment: The Longhorns have been treated like royalty since their Tuesday night arrival in Tampa, where they were greeted by a red-carpet entrance into the team hotel, a 50-piece pep band from Tampa’s Plant High School and individual boxes of gourmet chocolates that came with their room keys. The team also posed by a Longhorn sand sculpture in the lobby.
Tampa is the first team to host the Women’s Final Four for a fourth time, so local officials are intent on making it the most memorable event ever. So far, so good, Schaefer said.
“It’s gratifying to see our kids get to experience something like this,” Schaefer said. “If you ask coaches in the WBCA [Women’s Basketball Coaches Association], they’d like to see this event rotate between about four cities — and Tampa is definitely one of them. By this time of the year, we’re all stir crazy. So it’s nice to be in an environment where it’s warm and welcoming.”
Potential good-luck charm: In 2023, the Texas volleyball team won a national championship at Amalie Arena.
Here comes the bus: Schaefer said Booker and Harmon financed the tickets and hotel rooms for several dozen University of Texas students, who are making a 17-hour bus ride from Austin to Tampa.
“We are thrilled to have some students here,” Schaefer said
