San Antonio A Conversation With a Living Legend® slates UT’s Mack Brown, A&M’s R.C. Slocum

MD Anderson News Release October 06, 2014

Gridiron greats lend dual support of MD Anderson’s game plan to end cancer

MD Anderson News Release 10/06/14

Two of the greatest legends in Texas football coaching history, Mack Brown and R.C. Slocum, will be honored at the fifth annual A Conversation With a Living Legend® in San Antonio, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Nov. 10 at the Marriott Rivercenter. Former CNN News Group CEO Tom Johnson will interview the former sideline rivals in what promises to be an unforgettable three-way conversation. The luncheon, which already has more than $400,000, benefits The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Moon Shots Program, a comprehensive effort to accelerate the institution’s mission to end cancer.

Chairs Sonya Medina Williams and Gene Williams lead a volunteer committee of business and community leaders in the San Antonio area who have secured Valero Energy Foundation as presenting sponsor at the $35,000 level. Other major sponsors at the $25,000 level include the Mays Family foundation, the McCombs Foundation, HOLT CAT, Spurs Sports & Entertainment and Lewis Energy Group.

Honorary chairs are Peggy and Lowry Mays and Charline and Red McCombs. Kim and Clyde Johnson IV and Paula and Clyde Johnson III are founding chairs.

Mack Brown was the head coach of The University of Texas Longhorns for 16 seasons. With a mark at Texas of 158-48 (.767), the 2008 Bobby Dodd National Coach of the Year and the 2009 Big 12 Coach of the Year elevated the Longhorns program to new heights. The 2005 Paul W. “Bear” Bryant National Coach of the Year award winner and coach of the 2005 BCS National Champions, he is one of a handful of coaches in college football history to lead two separate programs, the second being North Carolina, to a top five national finish. A member of the Longhorn Hall of Honor, Coach Brown achieved 244 career victories, ranking 10th on the NCAA all-time list. He was one of just four active coaches to reach the 200-victory plateau at the end of the 2013 season. He was also one of only two coaches nationally to direct his teams. 

R.C. Slocum was the architect of the most successful decade to date in Texas A&M football history. Under Coach Slocum, the Aggies finished the 1990s with 94 victories, the most by any Division I football program in Texas. 

His last season at A&M was 2002. At that time, he was the sixth winningest active coach with a career record of 123-47-2 (.721). The 123 wins in his first 14 years ranks eighth all-time. Coach Slocum reached 100 victories faster than any other active head coach. He led the Aggies to defeat Oklahoma State 21-3 at Kyle Field in the eighth game of his 11th season as a head coach. Coach Slocum is a member of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame and the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame. 

Wyatt Thomas (Tom) Johnson Jr. was born in Macon, Ga. He attended Macon public schools, the University of Georgia and Harvard University. Johnson began his career as an intern on The Macon Telegraph. He later served as a White House Fellow, deputy White House press secretary and executive assistant to former President Lyndon B. Johnson. In 1971, he was named executive vice president of Texas Broadcasting Corporation. Johnson became editor of the Dallas Times Herald in 1973 and was promoted two years later to publisher and chief executive officer. In 1977, he was named president of the Los Angeles Times, rising to the position of publisher in 1980. In 1990, Johnson became president of CNN. He later was promoted to chairman and chief executive officer of the CNN News Group. He retired in 2001 and lives in Atlanta with his wife of 50 years, Edwina.

For more information on this year’s event, call 866-262-9029 or email events@mdanderson.org.