For real. From the Austin-American Statesman's Cedric Golden:
the university's policy ... honor[s] football players' jerseys, but only retir[es] the numbers of Heisman Trophy winners. That policy was amended to include Wooden Award winners in basketball after T.J. Ford led the Longhorns to the Final Four. Durant met the criteria when he became the first freshman ever to win the Wooden Award.
So the Texas athletic department has retired the numbers of the program's two Heisman Trophy winners, Earl Campbell (No. 20) and Ricky Williams (No. 34), but is apparently unable to retire the No. 10 of the most dynamic guy to ever play here, Vince Young.
Nine times out of ten, a Heisman Trophy is a sound standard for uniform retirement at a major program like Texas. However, accommodations should be made for that other time when guys like Vince Young come along. He's a hero with a cult-like following and is responsible for the program shrugging off near-ownership by Oklahoma and winning its first football title in 35 years.
The policy has also left Longhorn greats like Bobby Layne, James Street and Tommy Nobis without an officially retired uniform. As argued at BurntOrangeNation, retirement decisions should be in the hands of the athletic department, not absurdly under the control of local media.
