The Texas Longhorns were coming off of one of the toughest losses in the last few years when head coach Vic Schaefer sat down for the postgame press conference after the SEC Championship. The Horns had just been demolished by the South Carolina Gamecocks in the conference title game, yet Schaefer took time out of the presser to acknowledge a special group in attendance.
A group of three University of Texas students, who write for The Daily Texan, drove over 16 hours from Austin to Greenville, SC to cover the SEC Women's Basketball Tournament, including the Championship game.
"I want you all to know that when it comes time to get a job, you put me on your resume," Schaefer said to the students. "I'm proud that you guys are here, and I'm proud that you take enough pride in your job that you would do that because you don't have to do that."
Schaefer went on to thank the group of students again and call more attention to the fact that every member of the media in the room should acknowledge the effort that they put in.
The three student journalists who made the journey from central Texas to Greenville were reporters Anna Ambrose and Zachary Davis as well as photographer Charlie Partheymuller.
While the title game didn't unfold the way that Schaefer, the Longhorns, or the student journalists had hoped, the students' commitment to their craft was truly remarkable and deserved the continued round of applause that the Texas head coach extended in their direction.
The Horns will most likely host first-round games of the rapidly-approaching NCAA Tournament, so those students will have a much easier commute from the Moody College of Communication to the Moody Center, where the Texas basketball teams play.