Working from the Stark Center archives and its various collections, I researched, wrote, designed, and installed a new exhibit called, “Longhorns v. Aggies.” The 2025 Texas v. Texas A&M football game was the 120th matchup between the two teams. It was the first time in fifteen years that a game between the Longhorns and Aggies was played at DKR-Texas Memorial Football Stadium. Because of that hiatus, most of our current undergraduate students had no personal ties or first-hand connection to this historic game, commonly referred to as The Lone Star Showdown. So, when I sat down with Stark Center Museum Director Jan Todd and we began having conversations about an exhibit covering the long feud between Aggies and Longhorns, we decided that current students deserved to know about the highs and lows of this game’s past, as well as its influence on the cultures, traditions, and identities of each school. The result is an exhibit which that attempts to show all the complexities of a the renewed rivalry by way of public history.

Once it was complete, I began the second half of the project, which was to publicize and promote the new exhibit. I developed content and lead campaigns to bring as many visitors as possible in the lead up to the game.

IN THE PRESS:

KXAN, NBC State-wide News Feature
FOX7 Austin News Feature
KEYE-CBS Austin News Feature
The Daily Texan Article

SHOUT OUT THE TEAM:

This past summer I was blessed with research help from Valeria Misakova, an undergraduate Stark Center intern, who normally attends Notre Dame University. Val gave me her greatest effort and was dedicated to researching the history of the rivalry and narrowed in on the aspects and details we found worthy of our attention. She flipped through so many issues of The Daily Texan articles and copies of The Cactus yearbook for information. And, she spent immense amounts of hours scanning gameday programs, photographs, personal papers, and other materials. Her contributions were critical in giving this exhibit its shape. Stark Center Archivist Caroline De La Cerda was also a tremendous resource on the project, especially with her ability to connect me with archivists at Texas A&M’s Cushing Library who helped accumulate assets related to Aggie history and culture that can’t be found in The Stark Center’s archives. Sports archivist Patty McCain and Stark Center Associate Director Kim Beckwith also contributed to helping find artifacts to display and getting the history “right.”