In its inaugural season as a conference-sponsored sport, Texas rowing claimed the first-ever Southeastern Conference championship before placing third nationally.
Prior to this season, Texas claimed three of the last four NCAA Championships, most recently in 2024. With the 2025 SEC title and NCAA podium finish, Texas earned its 10th consecutive conference title and 14th overall, while also earning its 8th consecutive top-four finish in the NCAAs.
Despite the result for the defending national champions, head coach Dave O’Neil remains proud of the work his Longhorns have achieved over the past couple of seasons.
“I’m really proud of this team and this ultimate result,” O’Neil said. “We know how hard it is to get the team onto the podium, and we never take it for granted.”
In the SEC Championship on May 11, No. 2 Texas competed against No. 4 Tennessee, No. 24 Oklahoma and Alabama in six races. The Longhorns began the contest in a deficit after the first two races before their first victory in the second varsity four.
“Being the first SEC Championship held, we wanted to win this one, and it’s also satisfying because it was the toughest race,” O’Neil said. “We knew we were going to be tested more than ever before, and that certainly proved to be the case.”
Texas took the lead with a victory in the first varsity four, but it was short-lived. With a win in the second varsity eight, Tennessee retook the lead.
It would all come down to the final race.
The race unfolded similarly to how the meet had gone up to that point. Tennessee took a definitive lead before Texas began to battle back.
It was ultimately the race’s final 500 meters where the Longhorns’ first varsity eight — which earned all-conference honors — surpassed the Volunteers and finished 250 meters ahead of them, claiming the first-ever SEC rowing championship.
Just weeks after their five-point victory over the Vols, the Longhorns made a podium third-place finish at the NCAA Championships at Mercer Lake, New Jersey.
Stanford, the second-place finisher from 2024, outpaced Texas this year, claiming the 2025 NCAA Championship with 129 points. Texas inched past fourth-place Washington by one point, but fell three points short of second-place Yale.
“All of our crews raced really hard and did all they could. There might be a hint of disappointment from some, and that can be expected when you’re so close to winning,” O’Neil said. “However, those crews that finished ahead of us were outstanding, and I’m confident we did the best we could have done.”
