Lubbock is one of the few sports hubs in West Texas, meaning college football games draw out-of-town crowds that fill local shops, restaurants and hotels. Some business owners and leaders there worry about lost revenue once the University of Texas and University of Oklahoma stop playing there.
Heidi Pérez-Moreno
Heidi Pérez-Moreno was a reporting fellow in 2021. A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she has worked as a production assistant for The California Report at the NPR and PBS affiliate KQED. She was also a reporter for The Daily Tar Heel, where she served as a diversity, equity and inclusion officer and assistant audience engagement editor this year. Before transferring to UNC last August, Perez-Moreno was editor-in-chief and social media director for The Reporter at Miami Dade College. Pérez-Moreno was also a member of UNC’s chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.
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Texas Legislature 2021
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Texas Abortion Restrictions
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Higher Education
University of Texas president defends decision to join SEC as lawmakers criticize timing and impact on other schools
Jay Hartzell said the switch to the Southeastern Conference was the best thing for UT-Austin’s student athletes and the university. Texas senators expressed disdain for the move and questioned how it came about.
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Demographics
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The decision comes just a week after news surfaced that the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma planned to leave the Big 12, sending shockwaves through college sports and many Texas lawmakers who feel the expansion will have drastic consequences on the remaining Texas schools in the Big 12.
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Texas Legislature 2021
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The bill is largely symbolic, as the Legislature is currently at a standstill, unable to move any legislation because House Democrats broke quorum two weeks ago when they fled to Washington, D.C., to block GOP voting bills.
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Higher Education
University of Texas officially asks to join the SEC
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Higher Education
After UT-Austin signals a Big 12 exit, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick moves to create a Senate panel focused on college sports’ future
The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Oklahoma are expected to leave the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference. The move throws the athletics future of several other Texas schools into uncertainty.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Texas lawmakers file bill to block UT-Austin from leaving Big 12 for SEC
The move is largely symbolic as the legislative session has been ground to a halt by the quorum-busting Democrats who fled Texas 11 days ago. Even if the Democrats returned, Abbott would have to add the item to his special session agenda for it to have a chance at passing.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Extra money for retired teachers in a “13th check” at center of Republican-Democrat shouting match
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