by Cheval John

Darrell K. Royal has been a person synonemous with the University of Texas Longhorns football for a long time.

Royal, who led the Longhorns to the National Championship in 1963, 1969 and 1970, passed away today at the age of 88.

He coached the Longhorns from 1957 to 1976. with a record of 167-47-5, the most in school history.

Under his guidance, they won 11 Southwest Conference titles, 10 Cotton Bowls and 3 national championships.

His record of 167-47-5 at Texas is the most in school history.

Prior to Texas, he coached at Mississippi State and the University of Washington.

“Today is a very sad day. I lost a wonderful friend, a mentor, a confidant and my hero. College football lost maybe its best ever and the world lost a great man,” current Texas coach Mack Brown said Wednesday to the Associated Press.

“His counsel and friendship meant a lot to me before I came to Texas, but it’s been my guiding light for my 15 years here.”

Royal was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983.

In 1996, UT-Austin renamed Memorial Stadium as the Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium to honor the man that turned the Longhorns into a national power.

The Longhorns will pay tribute to Royal on Saturday when they play host to Iowa State by wearing the DKR sticker on their jersey.