These two Texas Longhorns were named to Sports Illustrated’s Top 50 Most Influential Figures in Sports

Not that anyone at Texas needed reminding, but Sports Illustrated highlighted the power of the Longhorns’ brand this week by naming their “50 Most Influential Figures in Sports.”

New Texas director of swimming Bob Bowman and Texas ex Scottie Scheffler were both named to a list alongside the likes of LeBron James, Tom Brady, Lionel Messi and Dawn Staley.

Bowman already knows the feeling of wearing the Longhorns logo just by attending the Olympics. Already known worldwide as one who coached Olympic icons Michael Phelps and Léon Marchand, Bowman is now eager to find and train more Olympians in Austin.

“What it has done is just, I think a lot more people are interested in coming here and training, right?,” Bowman said in late August. “They know that it's the best place to be. It's going to be the epicenter of swimming, we hope, in very short time.”

Related: Edrick Floréal, Bob Bowman ecstatic over the Texas Longhorns’ dominating show at Olympics

Sports Illustrated writer Pat Forde wrote the following about Bowman’s appearance on the Top 50 list:

“The coach who built Michael Phelps into a medal machine again showed his prowess in 2024 with an NCAA men’s title at Arizona State and a bountiful Olympics. If the United Nations of Bowman had been its own entry in Paris, its seven golds, three silvers and one bronze would have been third in the swimming medal table, behind only the U.S. and Australia. That was the haul for Bowman trainees Léon Marchand of France (four golds, one bronze), Regan Smith of the U.S. (two golds, three silver) and Hubert Kós of Hungary (one gold). Now Bowman is taking over at Texas and the next hotshot from France, 17-year-old Olympian Rafael Fente-Damers, has already committed to the Longhorns. So Bowman, 59, will continue to train international stars to beat Americans while also coaching many of the U.S.’s best.”

Not to be outdone, Scheffler is a powerhouse himself. He started 2024 as the world’s No. 1-ranked golfer and picked up wins at the Arnold Palmer Championship, the Players and then won his second green jacket at The Masters.

“A traffic misunderstanding at the PGA Championship that resulted in his arrest and brief detainment (charges were later dropped) might have derailed the season of a lesser player but only seemed to galvanize him,” Sports Illustrated wrote. “He capped a strong summer by shooting an airtight final-round 62 in Paris to win Olympic gold. As the tears flowed from Scheffler atop the medal stand, his competitors may have shuddered at the thought of just how much winning means to the most dominant player since peak Tiger Woods. Really, they’re the ones who should be crying.”