Touchdown Club of Houston

08/21/2026

Fort Davis will not take the field in 2026 after low participation numbers forced the program to cancel its season

08/20/2026

H-Town Basketball Tip-off Luncheon
presented by noVAR
launched by the Houston Athletic Committee

HOUSTON - The Houston Athletic Committee, the sister organization of the Touchdown Club of Houston, is proud to announce a first-annual event celebrating basketball in the City of Houston. The H-Town Basketball Tip-off Luncheon, presented by noVAR, will be an annual event celebrating basketball excellence in Greater Houston.
The 2026 Tip-off will be held at noon, Wed., Oct. 28, at the Bayou City Event Center, 9401 Knight Road. The annual luncheon will feature the head men’s and women’s basketball coaches from the University of Houston, Rice University, St. Thomas University, Houston Christian University, Texas Southern University and Prairie View A&M University. The event will also give fans an opportunity to hear the coaches speak about their seasons and participate in a panel conversation.
The luncheon will also feature the top 15 boys and top 15 girls preseason high school players in Greater Houston, as selected by local coaches, athletic directors and media outlets. These players will be on the initial watch list for the annual Guy V. Lewis Award, now and its 15th year, to be awarded in the spring of 2027. The award has previously been given to the boys player of the year and the girls top player is now being added to the Guy V. Lewis Award for 2027.
The inaugural event will feature ESPN college basketball analyst Fran Fraschilla. Fraschilla was previously the head basketball coach at Manhattan College, St. John’s University and the University of New Mexico. The event will also feature special guests and surprises from around the Houston basketball community.
“We could not be more excited to start this annual tradition in Houston,” said Mike Pede’, president of the Houston Athletic Committee. “Basketball is big-time in the Houston area, not only at the college level but at the high school level as well, and we want to shine a light on that excellence every year. I want to thank the coaches, in advance, for committing to make this a great event, and we look forward to a celebration of the game on Oct. 28. We expect this event to sell out, so we hope fans will jump on board immediately.”

Tickets per person are only $50 and full tables and sponsorships are available. Tables are 10 seats each. The event will go on sale on Wed., Aug. 19. The link to purchase tickets is: https://touchdownclub.org/product/basketball/
For more information on the 2026 H-Town Basketball Tip-off luncheon, please contact Neal Farmer, 713-899-0783 (cell), [email protected] (email); or Ricky Prine, 713-825-8228 (cell), [email protected] (email).

08/20/2026

Congrats to Dave Elmendorf, to whom the Touchdown Club of Houston gave the 61st Annual Touchdowner of the Year Award on Wednesday night.
The Touchdowner has been given annually since the Club was founded in 1966.
It is given for extraordinary contributions and outstanding achievement to football over a lengthy period of time. Past winners include Darrell Royal, Bear Bryant, Sammy Baugh, John David Crow, Bobby Lane, Doak Walker, Bill Yeoman, Jack Pardee, Earl Campbell, Spike D***s, Kenny Houston, Jerry LeVias, O.J. Brigance and Andrew Luck.
Pictured also is former Texas A&M football coach Jackie Sherrill, who spoke on behalf of Elmendorf.
Elmendorf was an All-America at Texas A&M on football, baseball and academics. He played pro football for the Los Angeles Rams. Dave is about to start his 37th year as a radio announcer for Texas A&M football.

08/18/2026

It is with a sad heart that we pass on the news that O.J. Brigance, 56, died on Aug. 17 from ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease. The Touchdown Club gave Brigance the Touchdowner of the Year Award in 2013. The Touchdowner is given annually for extraordinary contributions and outstanding achievements reflecting honor and sportsmanship to football over a lengthy period of time.
Brigance -- who played football at Willowridge High School where he was All-State -- was an All-Southwest Conference linebacker for the Rice Owls. He played professionally for the Baltimore Stallions in the Canadian Football League, where he was on the team that won the Grey Cup. And he was on the Baltimore Ravens team that played in the Super Bowl. He is the only person to play in those championship games for the same city.
Brigance could not attend the TD Club event in 2013 in Houston, as he was wheelchair bound. His father accepted the plaque on his behalf. He spoke over a Zoom call from Baltimore with a speaker using eye-tracking technology.
Former Willowridge football coach John Pierce coached Brigance in high school and spoke on behalf of Brigance at the Touchdowner Dinner in Houston in 2013. Pierce played Brigance at center before Brigance made the move to linebacker at Rice. Pierce moved on to the A&M coaching staff when they played Rice three years later. During a film session with other coaches, Brigance stopped an A&M running back on a goal-line play and made the RB fall backward. The video was played over and over. Then one of the A&M coaches got up, turned off the film, and asked in a loud voice as he got in Pierce's face, "Why in the world did you play him at center?"
The people who spoke on Brigance's behalf said he never was seen as upset or mad that he had the disease. Instead, he was called a beacon to Baltimore. He frequently would send notes of encouragement to the players on his team.
During his Hall of Fame speech in 2019, safety Ed Reed looked at Brigance in the audience and said, "You're the reason why I'm here, man. You're the reason I became a great professional."
He and his wife, Chanda, started the Brigance Brigade, which has raised millions to assist those with ALS.
Brigance was diagnosed with ALS in 2007 when he was 37. Most live two to five years after their diagnosis. Brigance lived for 19 more years.

08/12/2026

08/12/2026

For the first time ever, Texas will have 50 college football programs fielding teams in 2026 🤯

08/12/2026

08/07/2026

***7 p.m., Wed., Aug. 19, 2026***
Touchdowner of the Year Dinner, Bayou City Event Center, 9401 Knight Road
The TD Club will honor Texas A&M’s Dave Elmendorf as our Touchdowner of the Year. The Touchdowner award has been given out since 1966, and past recipients include Darrell Royal, Kyle Rote, Bear Bryant, Doak Walker, Sammy Baugh, John David Crow, Bill Yeoman, Tom Landry, Earl Campbell, Spike D***s, Ken Hatfield, Kenny Houston, Jerry LeVias, Andre Ware and Gary Kubiak.
Speaking on behalf of Elmendorf are Jackie Sherrill and Pat Thomas.
The All-Greater Houston Preseason UIL High School Football Team also will be presented at this gala. The dinner is one of the highlights of the year for the TD Club.
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We are proud to announce that Dave Elmendorf is the 2026 Touchdowner of the Year. Elmendorf was All-America at Texas A&M in football, baseball and academics. He played in the NFL for the Los Angeles Rams.