University of North Carolina Athletics
Congratulations to Mack Brown and the Longhorns
January 5, 2006 | Football
Jan. 5, 2006
It's somewhat ironic, and certainly fitting, that Mack Brown led the University of Texas to the 2005 college football national championship by beating the USC Trojans in a Rose Bowl classic. After all, it was a 1993 win over the Trojans that was arguably the signature triumph of Mack's 10-year career as head coach of the Tar Heels.
Carolina whipped the Trojans, 31-9, in the Disneyland Pigskin Classic, right in USC's backyard behind the option genius of junior quarterback Jason Stanicek. That win, on a national television stage to kick off the season, came on the heels of an exhilarating Peach Bowl win over Mississippi State and signaled the return to the national spotlight for Carolina football.
On behalf of the University of North Carolina, congratulations to Mack and the Texas Longhorns for winning one of the most memorable national title games ever played and reigning supreme as the 2005 national champions.
Mack came to Carolina in December 1987 and led the Tar Heels to 69 wins in 10 seasons, including eight winning records in a row, six bowl appearances, four postseason wins and Top 10 national finishes in 1996 and 1997. He is the second-winningest coach in Carolina football history and has continued that success in Austin.
Congratulations also go out to former UNC offensive coordinator Greg Davis, and Tar Heel staffers Jeff Madden, Cleve Bryant, Jean Bryant and Brian Davis, all current members of the Longhorn family.
Greg Davis oversaw the Tar Heel offense that averaged 30.6 and 27.8 points per game in 1996-97 and has developed Longhorn quarterback Vince Young into one of the most remarkable offensive talents the game has ever seen.
So hats off to Mack and the Longhorns.
The NCAA's two most prominent national champion coaches -Roy Williams and Mack Brown - now both have special ties to Chapel Hill. They're two guys with a lot in common. Both have been successful at two schools and went through the emotional turmoil of moving on from a place they loved dearly. Both were very successful coaches who won their first national championship after years of competing with previous great teams. And both are classy guys who run first-rate programs on and off the field, recruit good kids and emphasize family and academics.
For that, everyone at Carolina should be extremely proud!
