Doing Good

Former Baylor basketball star Isaiah Austin partners with Dallas Mavericks for major fundraiser

A standout on the Baylor basketball team, Isaiah Austin was considered a first-round NBA prospect when he received a life-changing diagnosis. Austin suffers from Marfan syndrome, a genetic disorder that can be life-threatening.

The rigor of professional sports would be too risky for Austin, who had already overcome losing vision in one eye and would have been the first partially blind NBA player. He's now turned his attention to running the Isaiah Austin Foundation, which will host its inaugural event at American Airlines Center's Audi Club in Dallas on October 24.

"I was blessed enough to play on one of the highest levels despite the odds that were stacked against me. Blessed is all I can say. Thankful is all I can be," Austin said in a statement.

The October event to raise Marfan syndrome awareness is sponsored by Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks and hosted by Baylor head coach Scott Drew.

"Isaiah is one of those guys that can take advantage of any situation," Drew said. "His focus is now on making people aware of Marfan syndrome and being a positive role model. He is a team guy that has always been worried about others."

In addition to speeches from Austin and Drew, the event will include dinner and live and silent auctions. Other athletes and celebrities are expected to make an appearance at the fundraiser, but the foundation is staying mum on the lineup for now.

Robert Griffin III is a possible big-name attendee. Also a former Baylor Bear, Griffin is a board member of the Isaiah Austin Foundation. The Heisman Trophy winner will already be in Dallas in late October when the Washington Redskins take on the Cowboys on October 27.

Individual tickets start at $500 and sponsorships are still available. Foundation spokesperson Phil Hetu says they are expecting around 250 for the event.

Isaiah Austin played basketball at Baylor before declaring for the NBA draft.

Photo via Facebook

Isaiah Austin played basketball at Baylor before declaring for the NBA draft.

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Texas Touchdown

This new interactive exhibit captures a century of Texas football history

Photo courtesy of Dallas Cowboys

Football season is just weeks away, and a new online exhibit from the Texas Archive of the Moving Image explores more than a century of the sport's history in Texas.

Football season is just weeks away, and before Friday night lights return and college stadiums roar back to life, Texans can get an early kickoff with Game Film: Texas Football Culture in Motion, a new interactive online exhibit. The project from the Texas Archive of the Moving Image celebrates more than a century of the state's high school, college, and professional football history.

The free digital exhibit uses archival game film, home movies, television broadcasts, and local news coverage to explore how football is woven into the fabric of Texas life. Rather than presenting a collection of videos, the archive has curated an interactive experience that lets visitors discover the people, traditions, innovations, and defining moments behind the state's football culture.

Game Film encourages exploration through interactive features. Visitors can follow a timeline of football milestones spanning high school, college, and professional football, click through an interactive state map highlighting archival footage available from schools and programs across the state, or browse themed collections devoted to Friday night culture and fan traditions.

This project, unveiled July 31, was curated by Katharine Austin, a longtime curator at the Texas Archive, as part of the Texas Film Commission's Texas Moving Image Archive Program.

The interactive timeline traces the sport from its earliest days through the modern era, spotlighting milestones including:

1894: the beginning of the Texas-Texas A&M rivalry
1900: the first Red River Rivalry
1914: the formation of the Southwest Conference
1921: the UIL's first state football championship
1938: TCU quarterback Davey O'Brien becoming the first player from a Texas college to win the Heisman Trophy
1959: the founding of the Houston Oilers
1960: the Dallas Cowboys joining the NFL
1987: SMU's NCAA "death penalty"
1996: Drew Brees leading Westlake High School to its first state football championship
1999: Houston being awarded the NFL expansion franchise that became the Texans

Many later entries include original television reports and archival footage from the events themselves.

An interactive state map offers another way to explore the collection, highlighting schools, colleges, and professional teams represented in the archive.

One click reveals a silent film of Austin High School's 20-7 victory over Sunset High in the 1942 UIL state championship, while another captures Timpson High School's homecoming celebration in East Texas, complete with parade floats, marching bands, and community festivities. Other sections spotlight Friday night traditions, Darrell Royal's wishbone offense, Bill Yeoman's Veer defense, behind-the-scenes stories from the Houston Oilers, and the invention of the quarterback flak jacket.

Game Film is the latest in a series of interactive exhibits from the Texas Archive of the Moving Image, joining projects including Women on the Move, Journey to the Moon Through Texas, Meet Me in San Antonio, La Frontera Fluid, and Breaking News: Rescuing the First Draft of History.

The archive's broader collection and the nonprofit both accept public donations of historic films, videotapes, photographs, and other moving-image materials, helping preserve Texas stories for future generations.

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