7 Best Texas Colleges for Football

The state of Texas eats, sleeps, and breathes football. The relationship began in 1893 when the University of Texas formed the first college football team in the state.

Since then, the state of Texas has won 43 national championships. Texas is the only state to have won national championships at every collegiate level — including all NCAA, NJCAA, and NAIA divisions.

If you want to play football at the college level, want the football atmosphere on campus, or simply love the game, you’ll find plenty of options in Texas. To help you sort through them all, we ranked the best Texas football colleges.

The first football team in the state, the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), also holds the title of the most decorated Texas college football team. The school has the fifth-best record in NCAA football history, with more than 900 wins and a .701 winning percentage.

Among the many Longhorn traditions, UT Austin has the recognizable Hook ’em Horns hand symbol, Bevo the Longhorn steer, and the lighting of the tower. The Longhorns play in one of the largest stadiums in the country, which regularly hosts over 100,000 fans.

Football at Texas Christian University (TCU) began in 1896 when the school was called AddRan Christian University. TCU still carries traditions from its early days, including the century-old “Riff Ram” cheer.

Despite being a fraction of the size of many NCAA Division I schools, the Horned Frogs became the first Texas school to make the College Football Playoff (CFB) championship in 2023.

The year after football launched in Texas, Texas A&M University joined the league. Since 1894, the school has been a leader in Texas college football, with the second-most national championships in the state.

Texas A&M traditions run deep. Since 1907, the team has been accompanied by yell leaders instead of cheerleaders. The night before a game, students participate in a Midnight Yell, a tradition held since 1931. While the team has played on Kyle Field since 1905, renovations in 2015 made it the largest stadium in the state.

Since the program started in 1925, Texas Tech University (TTU) has compiled over 550 wins, 40 bowl appearances, and 11 conference championships. Among the many Texas Tech alumni, Patrick Mahomes stands out as one of the NFL’s current stars.

If you attend a Red Raiders football game, you will hear the school’s Fight Song and the Goin’ Band from Raiderland, which is as old as the university itself. You might even see a tortilla flying around.

While games between classes and students were played in 1895 at Baylor University, the school’s intercollegiate football program officially began in 1899. In its 124-year-long history, the team has amassed more than 600 wins and 10 conference championships, including the most recent in 2021.

Football has become entwined with many Baylor traditions, including the Golden Wave Band, the Bear Claw and “sic ’em” yell, and the Baylor Line that welcomes the players each game.

Mike Singletary and Robert Griffin III lead the list of Baylor legends who became NFL stars.

The youngest team on the list, the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), launched its inaugural season in 2011. Attendance eclipsed 50,000 for the opening game and averaged over 35,000 for the season, both school records.

In 2021 and 2022, the Roadrunners repeated as Conference USA champions. UTSA plays its home games in San Antonio’s Alamodome, the stadium once used by the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs.

The intercollegiate football program at the University of Houston (UH) began in 1946. Since then, the team has won 11 conference championships and appeared in 30 bowl games. In 2023, UH officially joined the Big 12 Conference.

While average game attendance at UH sits around 25,000, the move to the Big 12 Conference should help one of the most diverse student bodies in the nation get closer to its stadium capacity of 40,000.

Including the seven schools on this list, Texas has 13 Division 1 college football teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The state has nine more schools in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).

The most popular college football team in Texas depends on where you are in the state. The Texas Longhorns (of UT Austin) are the most widely known Texas football team and attract fans nationwide. The Longhorns have a long history with several Hall of Fame coaches and national championships.

Like many larger states, Texas has two National Football League teams — the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans. The two teams are in different conference leagues and rarely play each other. As such, a rivalry between the two Texas NFL teams is nonexistent.

The biggest college football rivalry in Texas is between the Texas Longhorns and Aggies. UT Austin and Texas A&M have a long history of heated competition, dating back to 1894.

Despite the two teams playing in different conferences since 2012, the state maintains an annual football game between the Longhorns and the Aggies.