Texas has the fourth most wins in college football history, one ahead of Notre Dame after the 2025 season, and a winning percentage of .705 that ranks in the top ten. The Longhorns did not have a losing season until 1933, and did not have a genuinely bad decade until the 2010s.
| Record through 2025 | 974, 397, 33 |
| Winning percentage | .705 |
| All time rank by wins | Fourth, behind Michigan, Ohio State and Alabama |
| First season | 1893 |
| National championships | Four claimed |
| Conference championships | 33, including 27 in the Southwest Conference |
| Bowl record | 33 wins, 27 losses, 2 ties |
The win total follows Winsipedia’s ranking, which places Texas fourth. Some sources list 972 or 973 depending on how they treat early season games; the difference does not change the percentage.
Texas and Notre Dame
Texas passed Notre Dame into fourth place during the 2025 season and the two are separated by a single win. They had swapped the other way during the 2024 playoff, and a one win gap between programmes playing similar schedules will flip most years. Our winningest programs page has the full top 20.
The 38 Year Streak
From its first season in 1893 through 1932, Texas never had a losing year. That is 38 consecutive winning seasons, and when Clyde Littlefield finally went under .500 in 1933 he was dismissed for it despite a 44, 18 and 6 career record. The programme then had four losing seasons in the next five before Dana X. Bible steadied it.
The Coaches Who Built It
| Coach | Seasons | Wins |
|---|---|---|
| Darrell Royal | 1957 to 1976 | 167 |
| Mack Brown | 1998 to 2013 | 158 |
| Fred Akers | 1977 to 1986 | 86 |
| Dana X. Bible | 1937 to 1946 | 63 |
| Steve Sarkisian | 2021 to present | 48 |
| Clyde Littlefield | 1927 to 1933 | 44 |
Royal and Brown account for 325 of the wins and all four national championships. Our head coaches page has all 31 with records.
The Lost Decade
Between 2010 and 2020, Texas had one season of ten or more wins in eleven years, and Charlie Strong’s 16 and 21 from 2014 to 2016 is the only losing tenure of any length in programme history. The 2010 team went 5 and 7 a year after playing for the national championship, which remains the sharpest single season decline the programme has had.
Steve Sarkisian’s playoff seasons in 2023 and 2024 were the first back to back years of twelve or more wins since 2008 and 2009.
The Percentage
Texas’s .705 is lower than the programmes above it on the wins list, all of which are above .730, and the explanation is the Southwest Conference. Texas dominated it for 80 years, but the SWC’s weaker years dragged on strength of schedule, and the Longhorns’ bowl record of 33, 27 and 2 is the weakest of the top four. Our bowl history page covers every postseason game.
The Bottom Line
Texas is 974 wins, 397 losses and 33 ties all time, fourth in college football and one win ahead of Notre Dame. Darrell Royal and Mack Brown produced 325 of those wins and all four national titles, the programme went 38 years without a losing season at its start, and the 2010s were the only genuinely bad decade in 133 seasons.