The Texas Longhorns football program is a college football team that represents the University of Texas at Austin in the South Division of the Big 12 Conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The team has had 28 head coaches since it started playing organized football in 1893 with the nickname Longhorns, although they played without a head coach in their first season. Texas was an original member of the Southwest Conference, joining in 1915. The Longhorns became a charter member of the Big 12 in 1996 when the Southwest Conference disbanded. The Longhorns have played in 1,200 games during their 117 seasons. In those seasons, eight coaches have led Texas to postseason bowl games: Dana X. Bible, Blair Cherry, Ed Price, Darrell Royal, Fred Akers, David McWilliams, John Mackov