The Longhorns have been a dominating force at the Big 12 Championships, winning every year since the conference formed in 1996, giving the Longhorns a total of 16 titles.

In terms of victories, this year is expected to be no different than the last 16. Senior Michael McBroom earned a mention on the Faces in the Crowd page in last week’s issue of Sports Illustrated for his record-breaking 1000-yard freestyle swim. Texas also has 11 swimmers ranked within the top 25 for 11 events, and on the diving side of things redshirt sophomore Will Chandler and sophomore Myles Herzog are expected to score high and carry the team.

The talented athletes of the Longhorn squad don’t appear to be the sole factor in earning the title every year. The leading determinant appears to be the award-winning leadership of head swimming coach Eddie Reese and head diving coach Matt Scoggin.

Eddie Reese has been the Texas swimming head coach for 35 years. He has been selected as Swimming Coach of the Meet 11 times out of the 16 Big 12 Championship meets, chosen as ASCA Coach of the Year three times and selected eight times as the NCAA Coach of the Year.

Matt Scoggin is in his 19th season as the Longhorns’ head diving coach. He has been selected as a NCAA Coach of the Year six times and is a 12-time Big 12 Conference Diving Coach of the Year.

With the combination of first-rate athletes and esteemed coaching, No. 1 ranked Texas, the 10-time NCAA champion, is likely to secure a 17th title. The Longhorns host the championship at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center. The meet begins Wednesday morning and ends Saturday evening.

Published on February 27, 2013 as "Sixteen Big 12 titles in, Horns hope for more".