No. 3 Texas Rowing will compete at the 2026 NCAA Championships in Gainesville, Georgia, on May 29 and May 31 at Lake Lanier. The Longhorns have won three of the last five NCAA titles and are aiming for their fourth overall championship this weekend.
Texas secured three No. 2 seeds for this year’s national regatta and has qualified for the NCAA Rowing Championship for the eleventh consecutive year. The competition begins with the Longhorn First Varsity Eight racing in Heat 2 on Friday morning, followed by races from the Second Varsity Eight and Varsity Four later that morning. Due to forecasted inclement weather on Saturday, A/B semifinals have been rescheduled to Friday afternoon.
The format advances the top three boats from each heat to A/B semifinals, with remaining boats moving to C/D semifinals. Teams advancing through semifinals will compete in upper or lower finals scheduled for Sunday, May 31. The championship field includes 22 teams: nine received automatic qualification through conference championships while twelve earned at-large selections based on season performance.
Scoring is determined by points assigned according to finish position in each race category: First Varsity Eight winners receive 66 points; Second Varsity Eight winners get 44 points; Fours winners earn 22 points; subsequent places earn incrementally fewer points per event rules. Ties are broken based on results in the First Eight event.
Historically, Texas has achieved a top-eight result at each of its last ten national regattas and finished among the top four teams over eight consecutive championships. Under head coach Dave O’Neill, Texas has placed inside the top three six times over seven years—including winning national titles in 2021, 2022, and most recently in 2024, when both their I Eight and I Four boats claimed first-place finishes.
