Latest / Austin Signal / Doula services growing, becoming accessible in Austin area

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Doula services growing, becoming accessible in Austin area · Austin Signal

• 0:09
  The growing body of evidence shows
• 0:11
  that doulas can improve health
• 0:13
  outcomes, especially for black
• 0:14
  women, who have a maternal mortality
• 0:16
  rate two and a half times higher
• 0:18
  than white women in Texas.
• 0:20
  Birth workers want their services to
• 0:21
  be accessible and understood by
• 0:23
  more folks.
• 0:24
  We've got more about them.
• 0:26
  And the Texas Dream Act gave
• 0:27
  undocumented Texans a chance to
• 0:29
  attend college at the cost of
• 0:30
  in-state tuition.
• 0:32
  Now Texas public universities are
• 0:33
  progressing through their first full
• 0:35
  academic semester under new tuition
• 0:37
  rules. We're going to hear from one
• 0:38
  UT Austin student about the
• 0:40
  adjustment and the future coming
• 0:42
  up on today's show.
• 0:44
  The Austin Signal is a production
• 0:45
  of KUT News, hosted by
• 0:48
  Jerry Quijano.
• 0:49
  And we're going to wrap up a busy
• 0:51
  weekend of sports across the
• 0:53
  Austin area.
• 0:54
  We've got those stories and more
• 0:55
  coming up next here on Austin
• 0:58
  Signal.
• 1:08
  Howdy out there, this is Austin
• 1:10
  Signal. Thank you for tuning in.
• 1:12
  It is the last Monday of February,
• 1:14
  2026.
• 1:16
  I'm your host, Jerry Kikano.
• 1:18
  Five days remain to vote early in
• 1:20
  the upcoming March primaries here in
• 1:22
  Texas.
• 1:22
  Republicans and Democrats across the
• 1:24
  state are deciding their party's
• 1:26
  nominees for this fall's general
• 1:27
  election.
• 1:28
  Several statewide races are on the
• 1:30
  ballot and voters are also choosing
• 1:32
  their congressional district
• 1:33
  candidates.
• 1:34
  And depending on where you live and
• 1:36
  your party affiliation, your ballot
• 1:38
  might also include one of two
• 1:40
  Travis County Commissioner races.
• 1:42
  We have voter guides with more
• 1:44
  information.
• 1:44
  Those are over at KUT.org.
• 1:49
  Austin is becoming a thriving hub
• 1:51
  for doulas, advocates who
• 1:53
  provide support for women during
• 1:55
  pregnancy and childbirth, and
• 1:57
  they're playing an important role in
• 1:58
  statewide efforts to maternal
• 2:00
  mortality rates.
• 2:02
  KUT's Olivia Aldridge spoke with
• 2:04
  Central Texas doulas about their
• 2:06
  efforts to advocate for the
• 2:07
  profession and the women that
• 2:09
  they care for.
• 2:14
  When Josephine Adegbate had her
• 2:16
  second baby last spring,
• 2:18
  all the stars seemed to align.
• 2:20
  At a birthing center in Maynor, she
• 2:21
  labored in a tub of water as music
• 2:23
  played, and just when it was time
• 2:25
  to push, a Yoruba gospel song
• 2:27
  began to play, one of her Nigerian
• 2:30
  grandmother's favorites.
• 2:31
  Fuck it
• 2:34
  And I was like, oh my gosh,
• 2:37
  like, what are the odds?
• 2:39
  While the timing may have been
• 2:40
  perfect, the playlist was planned
• 2:42
  with this day in mind.
• 2:43
  By Josephine's side the whole time,
• 2:45
  supporting her with water, towels,
• 2:47
  massages, and making sure the music
• 2:49
  kept rolling was her doula,
• 2:51
  Alicia Rivera Clemente.
• 2:53
  I was happy to be there and happy
• 2:55
  to see that she was so
• 2:57
  comfortable and felt safe
• 2:59
  and you know she was able to
• 3:01
  enjoy and really reflect on
• 3:03
  what she just did like the powerful
• 3:05
  thing that she just did.
• 3:08
  It wasn't like this during
• 3:09
  Josephine's first experience giving
• 3:11
  birth just a couple of years
• 3:12
  earlier.
• 3:13
  She ended up having an emergency
• 3:15
  C-section.
• 3:16
  She felt pressured and scared.
• 3:18
  I didn't know like the recovery.
• 3:20
  I didn't like the way I was
• 3:22
  treated in the hospital.
• 3:23
  I felt like
• 3:24
  I didn't really have a voice.
• 3:25
  That's why, when Josephine became
• 3:27
  pregnant again, she sought out a
• 3:28
  doula.
• 3:29
  She says having a judgment-free
• 3:31
  person to talk her through her fears
• 3:33
  and questions made a big difference.
• 3:35
  There is no shame and it's like,
• 3:38
  that's like your person.
• 3:39
  It's like an extension of you.
• 3:42
  Josephine's experience aligns with
• 3:44
  a growing body of research that
• 3:45
  shows doulas are associated with
• 3:47
  better birth outcomes.
• 3:49
  That includes reduced rates of
• 3:51
  premature labor and fewer
• 3:52
  C-sections, which can be
• 3:54
  lifesaving but come with increased
• 3:56
  risks when performed unnecessarily.
• 3:59
  These benefits have been especially
• 4:00
  noted for Black women, who have
• 4:02
  a maternal mortality rate two and
• 4:04
  a half times higher than white women
• 4:06
  in Texas.
• 4:07
  But doula services aren't
• 4:09
  always accessible for everyone.
• 4:11
  They've rarely been covered by
• 4:12
  insurance, meaning they've often
• 4:14
  been limited to people who can pay.
• 4:16
  But in the Austin area, there's a
• 4:18
  network of organizations that offer
• 4:20
  free services for black and brown
• 4:22
  women who could benefit from
• 4:23
  medulla.
• 4:24
  It's called the Maternal Health
• 4:25
  Equity Collaborative.
• 4:27
  Alicia worked with Josephine through
• 4:29
  one of the organizations in the
• 4:30
  group.
• 4:31
  You know, if one organization
• 4:32
  doesn't have the capacity, we're not
• 4:34
  just telling you no,
• 4:36
  or saying like, you know,
• 4:38
  better luck next time, we can refer
• 4:40
  you to somewhere else, and then it's
• 4:41
  not just that referral
• 4:43
  process of, hey, we just gave you
• 4:46
  the website, we're getting you
• 4:48
  in touch with somebody.
• 4:49
  Directly.
• 4:50
  It's an example of the kind of
• 4:51
  coalition building that doula
• 4:53
  leaders in the state want to see
• 4:54
  more of throughout Texas.
• 4:56
  Deanna von Bart held is vice
• 4:58
  president of the Texas Doula
• 4:59
  Association.
• 5:01
  She thinks Austin's proximity to the
• 5:02
  capital has bolstered the local
• 5:04
  doula network and motivated them
• 5:06
  to take an advocacy focused approach
• 5:08
  to their work.
• 5:09
  You have a freeing environment
• 5:12
  to provide the services that you
• 5:13
  need.
• 5:14
  You have local representatives
• 5:17
  who support and have a better
• 5:19
  understanding of the doula work.
• 5:21
  We would want to see what's
• 5:23
  happening in Travis County
• 5:24
  multiplied across
• 5:26
  The state.
• 5:27
  The Texas Doula Association recently
• 5:29
  released the results of a first of
• 5:31
  its kind survey of the Texas doula
• 5:33
  workforce, an attempt to get a
• 5:35
  picture of a profession that largely
• 5:37
  operates outside of the traditional
• 5:39
  medical establishment, with no
• 5:41
  one single credentialing agency and
• 5:43
  many training pathways.
• 5:45
  We wanted to reflect the reality
• 5:47
  of our community-based work,
• 5:49
  which includes, I'll say, informal
• 5:51
  care, unpaid labor,
• 5:54
  cultural responsiveness, and
• 5:56
  of course the emotional and
• 5:58
  financial toll of supporting
• 6:00
  families in a under-resourced
• 6:02
  system.
• 6:03
  The survey confirmed that Austin is
• 6:05
  a hotspot for birth workers,
• 6:07
  with almost 30% of doulas who
• 6:09
  responded saying they worked in
• 6:10
  Travis County.
• 6:12
  Rural doulas were more isolated,
• 6:14
  and indicated they could use more
• 6:15
  support.
• 6:16
  Across the board, doulas said they
• 6:18
  still encounter a lack of
• 6:19
  understanding from the public about
• 6:21
  what their job is and why
• 6:23
  it's important.
• 6:24
  Von Barthold and the Texas Doula
• 6:26
  Association want to make sure state
• 6:28
  policymakers are I'm educated about
• 6:30
  this too.
• 6:31
  Especially as several bills related
• 6:33
  to doula services have been filed in
• 6:35
  the past two legislative sessions.
• 6:37
  Having to.
• 6:37
  Sit across a policymaker that's
• 6:40
  going to say, okay, I'm gonna vote
• 6:42
  on this bill, but I still don't know
• 6:44
  what you do, is alarming.
• 6:46
  The push to cover more doula
• 6:47
  services through Medicaid has gained
• 6:49
  momentum in recent years.
• 6:51
  So far, bills in Texas that would
• 6:53
  have introduced a Medicaid pilot
• 6:55
  program have stalled in committee.
• 6:57
  But other states have already made
• 6:58
  it happen.
• 6:59
  Around half of U.S.
• 7:01
  States now offer reimbursement
• 7:02
  through their Medicaid programs.
• 7:04
  And for the next Texas legislative
• 7:06
  session, the Texas Doula Association
• 7:08
  is hoping to get more individual
• 7:09
  doulas involved in advocacy.
• 7:12
  Dula Alicia Rivera-Clemente
• 7:14
  says that's something she's
• 7:15
  interested in.
• 7:16
  I'd like to get more involved
• 7:19
  and become more knowledgeable
• 7:21
  about how these things can
• 7:23
  change and why they're
• 7:25
  remaining the same.
• 7:27
  The compensation to me doesn't
• 7:28
  equate to the work that's being done
• 7:30
  and the impact that's been made.
• 7:32
  So I'd to see change there for sure.
• 7:34
  But in the meantime, Alicia loves
• 7:36
  the work she's doing, and that work
• 7:38
  has been motivating for Josephine
• 7:40
  too.
• 7:40
  She wants other women to have
• 7:42
  positive experiences with
• 7:43
  childbirth.
• 7:44
  It was so good, it felt
• 7:46
  like I could do
• 7:48
  it. I knew what I was doing, I had
• 7:50
  support.
• 7:51
  I felt heard, I felt seen.
• 7:54
  And that's really what every woman
• 7:56
  deserves.
• 7:57
  As Josephine parents her two little
• 7:59
  girls. She's also back in school,
• 8:02
  hoping to work towards becoming a
• 8:03
  labor and delivery nurse.
• 8:05
  I'm Olivia Aldridge in Austin.
• 8:10
  Oh
• 8:15
  For over two decades, the Texas
• 8:17
  DREAM Act gave undocumented Texans
• 8:19
  a chance to attend college at the
• 8:21
  cost of in-state tuition.
• 8:23
  Now Texas public universities are in
• 8:25
  their first full semester under new
• 8:27
  tuition rules, which are at the
• 8:28
  center of a federal court fight.
• 8:31
  A lower court order siding with the
• 8:32
  Justice Department challenging the
• 8:34
  DREAM act is under appeal right now
• 8:35
  at the Fifth Circuit.
• 8:37
  And on campuses like UT Austin,
• 8:39
  this legal battle isn't just some
• 8:41
  legal abstraction.
• 8:42
  Spring tuition bills have already
• 8:44
  gone out under the new rules, and
• 8:46
  students here in Austin and across
• 8:48
  the state are adjusting in real
• 8:49
  time.
• 8:50
  Marco Julian Gonzalez is a
• 8:52
  dual-degree double honors junior
• 8:53
  here at UT.
• 8:55
  He's also a member of Sigma Lambda
• 8:57
  Beta, a Latino-founded fraternity
• 8:59
  whose chapter has stepped into this
• 9:01
  legal fight.
• 9:02
  Gonzalez stopped by the Texas
• 9:04
  Standard to speak with host David
• 9:06
  Brown.
• 9:07
  For listeners who may not have
• 9:08
  followed every turn of this case,
• 9:09
  I'm not going to ask you to try to
• 9:11
  rebuild that, but can you briefly
• 9:12
  explain in real
• 9:14
  terms, everyday terms, what's
• 9:16
  changed this semester and what
• 9:18
  students are seeing in their tuition
• 9:19
  bill?
• 9:20
  Yeah. And I guess I'll pick
• 9:22
  up in what we're not
• 9:24
  seeing is, uh, thousands
• 9:26
  and thousands of students all over
• 9:27
  the state of Texas attending
• 9:29
  these end state public universities
• 9:31
  that they're admitted to because
• 9:32
  they can't afford the cost of
• 9:34
  tuition.
• 9:35
  Uh, what we have seen is,
• 9:37
  uh, some of the people that we know,
• 9:38
  uh their tuition bills have spiked
• 9:40
  from some, I
• 9:42
  don't know, $7,000 for
• 9:44
  a semester to about
• 9:46
  $22,000 a
• 9:48
  semester.
• 9:49
  Uh, seemingly overnight.
• 9:52
  You've described this as a
• 9:54
  rare moment where student
• 9:55
  organizations move
• 9:57
  from legislative advocacy to
• 9:59
  state rulemaking to now here
• 10:01
  you are in a live federal appeal.
• 10:04
  What did that journey look like from
• 10:06
  your vantage point as a member of
• 10:08
  this fraternity joining into
• 10:10
  this
• 10:11
  huge legal fight?
• 10:12
  Well, I guess to say is we know many
• 10:14
  people who are affected by the
• 10:16
  end of the Texas Dream Act.
• 10:18
  And I guess not the end because it's
• 10:20
  still in litigation, but right now
• 10:21
  it's not an enforcement, right?
• 10:24
  And 57,000 students
• 10:26
  across the state of Texas,
• 10:28
  many of these students feel that
• 10:30
  they can't speak and share their own
• 10:31
  testimonies because of the
• 10:34
  predicament that they're in.
• 10:36
  So we feel the need to step in and
• 10:38
  be able to speak for them, for the
• 10:39
  people that now.
• 10:41
  For the people that are being
• 10:42
  called, I would say,
• 10:44
  unjust labels, right?
• 10:46
  These are members of Trinde Agua
• 10:48
  or MS 13.
• 10:49
  These are students that study in the
• 10:51
  same libraries, go to the same
• 10:53
  dining hall, go to
• 10:55
  same rec here at UT
• 10:57
  Austin alongside of us.
• 10:58
  We know who they are.
• 11:00
  We know they aren't.
• 11:02
  Here we have the situation in
• 11:04
  the court's Fifth Circuit appeal
• 11:06
  still pending.
• 11:07
  Can you give me an example of how
• 11:09
  this is affecting the lives
• 11:11
  of some of your fellow
• 11:13
  students? Yeah.
• 11:13
  Time.
• 11:14
  I can give a testimonial, for
• 11:17
  example, I have a friend who,
• 11:19
  you know, she dreams of being a
• 11:20
  doctor, right? She was brought here
• 11:22
  when she was really young, went to
• 11:24
  our Texas public schools,
• 11:26
  graduated from Texas high schools,
• 11:28
  remembers the Alamo, remembers
• 11:30
  everything about Texas,
• 11:32
  and they got here to University
• 11:34
  of Texas at Austin.
• 11:36
  This was supposed to be their senior
• 11:38
  year.
• 11:39
  They were expecting to apply to,
• 11:41
  you now, different medical schools
• 11:43
  to be a doctor because they want to
• 11:44
  help save lives in the state of
• 11:46
  Texas. And because of this,
• 11:48
  she has all of her requirements for
• 11:50
  her degree met except
• 11:52
  for some semester or two.
• 11:54
  And that semester or two is charging
• 11:56
  her about $22,000,
• 11:59
  right?
• 12:00
  She and her family weren't expecting
• 12:02
  that type of price, right?
• 12:04
  And so now she's had to unenroll,
• 12:07
  put her educational career
• 12:09
  on pause.
• 12:10
  Until we can see the outcome of this
• 12:12
  litigation.
• 12:13
  For me and my fraternity, it's not
• 12:15
  about politics, it's now about
• 12:16
  party.
• 12:17
  For us it's about the people, the
• 12:19
  people that we know in our lives who
• 12:20
  are affected.
• 12:22
  Marco, I know you mentioned
• 12:24
  specifically that this isn't a
• 12:25
  political thing.
• 12:26
  This is about the impact on
• 12:29
  others. And yet here we are
• 12:30
  in a very important
• 12:33
  election season.
• 12:35
  Do you imagine that there will be
• 12:37
  any political implication as
• 12:39
  a result of these changes or
• 12:41
  not so much?
• 12:43
  What do you think?
• 12:44
  To be honest with you, I never asked
• 12:46
  that question.
• 12:47
  It kind of goes back to as a, I
• 12:48
  mean, we never expected to be where
• 12:50
  we are today, right?
• 12:51
  We never expected testifying
• 12:54
  from the legislature, the state
• 12:56
  executive committees.
• 12:57
  We never expect it to be named the
• 12:59
  Mise Curiae and the federal
• 13:00
  circuit court.
• 13:02
  It just so happens to be, you know,
• 13:04
  one step along the way, here
• 13:06
  we are.
• 13:07
  We feel like we're here to defend
• 13:09
  meritocracy in America.
• 13:11
  We feel the political implications
• 13:12
  Is that Texas Pride itself?
• 13:14
  On the free enterprise system.
• 13:17
  And these students did everything
• 13:18
  that the state asked them to do.
• 13:20
  Got good grades, studied
• 13:22
  for the SAT, ACT,
• 13:25
  to get to where they are today
• 13:27
  because they're hardworking.
• 13:29
  They dream to be an American and
• 13:30
  they dream to a Texas
• 13:33
  citizen. And that's part of the
• 13:34
  implications of the Texas Dream Act.
• 13:36
  Is in order to be eligible, you have
• 13:37
  to commit yourself in sworn
• 13:39
  affidavit to pursue
• 13:41
  lawful.
• 13:43
  Status. These people want to be
• 13:45
  Americans.
• 13:46
  They're already tax contributing and
• 13:47
  so I feel the biggest implication is
• 13:49
  just that, you know a loss
• 13:51
  to the meritocracy in
• 13:53
  our state of Texas.
• 13:56
  That was Marco Julian Gonzalez.
• 13:58
  He is a junior at UT Austin and
• 14:01
  a member of a Latino-founded
• 14:02
  fraternity whose chapter has stepped
• 14:04
  into a battle over in-state
• 14:06
  tuition costs.
• 14:07
  We're going to have more in today's
• 14:09
  podcast, show notes and at kut.org
• 14:12
  slash signal.
• 14:14
  And coming up, we're going have some
• 14:15
  black Austin music history for you
• 14:17
  and a recap of the busy sports
• 14:19
  weekend that was here in Austin.
• 14:21
  That's after this break.
• 14:23
  This is Austin signal.
• 14:31
  This is Austin Signal, welcome
• 14:33
  back.
• 14:34
  It is the final week of February
• 14:35
  and all month long host Myles
• 14:37
  Bloxson has been chronicling Austin
• 14:39
  Music History for Black
• 14:41
  History Month.
• 14:42
  Today we're gonna hear about an East
• 14:44
  Austin club that became a hub for
• 14:46
  live music, dancing and
• 14:48
  Austin's black community.
• 14:55
  Charlie's Playhouse opened around
• 14:57
  1958 under the ownership
• 14:59
  of East Austin businessman Ernest
• 15:01
  Charlie Gilden, located at
• 15:03
  1206 East 11th Street in the
• 15:05
  historically black cultural
• 15:06
  district.
• 15:07
  The building had previously housed
• 15:09
  the show bar and the black cat.
• 15:11
  During segregation, the club became
• 15:13
  a central gathering place for
• 15:14
  Austin's black community, offering
• 15:16
  live music, dancing and nightlife
• 15:18
  in a city that actually limited
• 15:20
  where black residents could
• 15:21
  socialize.
• 15:22
  At a time when black musicians were
• 15:24
  restricted in where they could
• 15:25
  perform, Charlie's became part of
• 15:27
  the Chitlin circuit, the network of
• 15:29
  venues that actually welcomed black
• 15:30
  performers across the country.
• 15:33
  Throughout the 1960s,
• 15:35
  Charlie's hosted live bands five
• 15:37
  nights a week.
• 15:38
  Austin native and local legend blues
• 15:40
  boy Hubbard helped define the club
• 15:42
  sound, alongside groups like the
• 15:44
  Jets.
• 15:45
  National R&B acts also made their
• 15:47
  way through Charlie's doors,
• 15:48
  including Hank Ballard and the
• 15:50
  Midnighters. Famously known for
• 15:51
  recording the original version of
• 15:53
  the twist.
• 15:54
  Come on baby,
• 15:57
  let's do it!
• 16:11
  But in the mid-late 1960s,
• 16:14
  Austin itself was beginning to
• 16:16
  shift.
• 16:17
  While limited school integration had
• 16:19
  started in the 1950s,
• 16:21
  widespread desegregation of schools
• 16:23
  and businesses did not take hold
• 16:25
  into the mid 1960s.
• 16:27
  And full integration would be forced
• 16:29
  by federal intervention around
• 16:30
  1970s.
• 16:32
  As those changes moved through the
• 16:34
  capital city, White University
• 16:36
  of Texas students began showing up
• 16:37
  at Charlie's.
• 16:38
  Gradually shifting the dynamic of
• 16:40
  the space long rooted in black
• 16:41
  community life.
• 16:43
  And when formerly segregated venues
• 16:44
  began opening their doors to black
• 16:46
  patrons, Donald Duck Jennings,
• 16:48
  a former performer at Charlie's and
• 16:50
  member of the Jets put it this way,
• 16:52
  all the customers and the patrons,
• 16:54
  they left and went across the
• 16:55
  freeway. And by the 70s,
• 16:57
  shifting demographics and changing
• 16:59
  audience patterns were reshaping
• 17:01
  East Austin.
• 17:02
  In 1971, a cornerstone
• 17:04
  of the black community and Austin's
• 17:05
  first public high school for black
• 17:07
  students. LC Anderson High
• 17:09
  School was shut down during
• 17:11
  court-ordered integration.
• 17:13
  As integration continued to unfold
• 17:14
  across the city, the city's
• 17:16
  entertainment landscape also
• 17:17
  shifted, and Charlie's Playhouse
• 17:19
  closed its doors for good.
• 17:24
  The building was eventually
• 17:25
  demolished, and today a four-story
• 17:27
  condo built in 2009
• 17:29
  stands where the iconic East Side
• 17:31
  venue once filled the night with
• 17:33
  music and blues.
• 17:35
  Even though Charlie's Playhouse no
• 17:37
  longer stands at 1206 East
• 17:39
  11th Street, its imprint on
• 17:41
  Austin's music history is forever
• 17:43
  woven into the city's story,
• 17:45
  a lasting reminder of when East
• 17:47
  Austin was the heart of black
• 17:49
  business, culture,
• 17:51
  and blues!
• 18:00
  For more on Charlie's Playhouse,
• 18:01
  visit kutx.org.
• 18:03
  I'm Miles Bloxson.
• 18:05
  This is Austin Signo.
• 18:08
  And she said that she's my
• 18:10
  first class lover
• 18:12
  Well, it was a busy sports weekend
• 18:14
  here in Austin with some
• 18:16
  professional soccer, basketball,
• 18:18
  and some UT action as well.
• 18:20
  Here to help us recap some of it is
• 18:22
  KUT's program director and co-host
• 18:24
  of the Vamos Verde podcast,
• 18:26
  Jimmy Moss. Howdy, Jimmy.
• 18:28
  Howdy, and it was a busy weekend.
• 18:30
  It's kind of a busy time in sports
• 18:31
  in town.
• 18:32
  This is a big city now, so.
• 18:33
  It's a fun time to be a sports
• 18:35
  enjoyer for sure because
• 18:37
  it's the final week of February
• 18:39
  which means we're ramping up into
• 18:40
  March and March Madness.
• 18:42
  So let's start with the Texas
• 18:43
  women's basketball team.
• 18:45
  How did they do yesterday?
• 18:46
  Well, they continued their pursuit
• 18:47
  of a top seed in the NCAA tournament
• 18:49
  They they more than
• 18:51
  doubled Mississippi State score
• 18:52
  yesterday at the Moody Center 92 to
• 18:54
  42 They are still ranked fourth
• 18:56
  in the newest AP basketball
• 18:58
  poll. They host 24th
• 19:00
  ranked, Georgia Thursday here
• 19:02
  in town and speaking of
• 19:04
  Georgia the Bulldogs ended the
• 19:06
  men's team's Five-game win
• 19:08
  streak and threw a bit of a wrench
• 19:09
  in the plans for the horns to coast
• 19:11
  into the NCAA tournament
• 19:14
  They beat Texas Saturday in Athens.
• 19:16
  And now bracketology is of course,
• 19:19
  this imaginary inexact
• 19:21
  pseudoscience, but that's
• 19:23
  not gonna stop ESPN and others from
• 19:25
  paying someone to come up with these
• 19:26
  numbers.
• 19:26
  It's fun to be a fake bracket
• 19:28
  ology in that
• 19:29
  in that spirit.
• 19:30
  Going into the weekend, the
• 19:31
  Longhorns had an 80% chance of
• 19:33
  making the tournament.
• 19:34
  Now, after that loss in Athens,
• 19:36
  they have a 70% chance and
• 19:38
  they have a tough game this
• 19:40
  Wednesday at Moody Center against
• 19:42
  Florida.
• 19:43
  Okay, well speaking of the Moody
• 19:44
  Center, that Texas game took place
• 19:46
  at one o'clock in the afternoon
• 19:48
  yesterday.
• 19:48
  There was a professional basketball
• 19:51
  game the night before and it was a
• 19:52
  busy weekend for the Spurs here in
• 19:54
  Austin. You were out there.
• 19:56
  What was it?
• 19:56
  The I-35 series is
• 19:59
  seemingly one of, it's a super
• 20:01
  popular stop for the Spurs.
• 20:03
  They come here and they pack the
• 20:04
  house more so than they fill
• 20:06
  the upper rafters of the
• 20:08
  Moody Center, which they're not
• 20:09
  typical for long-horn basketball
• 20:11
  games. Anyway, both Spurs posted
• 20:12
  double-digit wins against the
• 20:14
  Suns on Thursday and the Kings on
• 20:17
  Saturday, so Spurs
• 20:19
  are kind of rolling right now.
• 20:21
  They really are. They're heading into
• 20:22
  the playoffs on a high note.
• 20:24
  See if they can maintain that
• 20:26
  through the end of March and into
• 20:28
  the NBA playoff
• 20:29
  Yeah, they're on an eight game
• 20:30
  winning streak and tonight they're
• 20:32
  going against the Detroit Pistons
• 20:33
  who have the best record in the
• 20:35
  Eastern conference So should be a
• 20:36
  fun game. That's starting at 6
• 20:38
  o'clock So yeah, there was
• 20:40
  a lot going on but
• 20:42
  the big go ahead
• 20:43
  No, staying on campus though, real
• 20:45
  quick. Defending national champion
• 20:47
  softball team.
• 20:48
  Went out to California and did what?
• 20:50
  Defending National Champion should
• 20:51
  do. They went 5-0 in a tournament
• 20:53
  out there.
• 20:54
  And they beat the likes of Stanford
• 20:56
  and Arizona.
• 20:58
  And they had a good weekend for
• 20:59
  themselves. They've now won 12 games
• 21:00
  in a row.
• 21:01
  And the Longhorn men's baseball team
• 21:03
  swept Michigan State over the
• 21:05
  weekend. Big name opponent there.
• 21:07
  So they're keeping their season
• 21:09
  off to a good start.
• 21:11
  And also pro volleyball.
• 21:12
  Love, Austin.
• 21:13
  They split a series loop,
• 21:16
  beating Madison and then losing to
• 21:18
  Atlanta.
• 21:19
  So, and we haven't even gotten to
• 21:20
  the marquee event because as
• 21:22
  listeners know of almost Saturday,
• 21:25
  the Austin F C began their
• 21:27
  season over the weekend.
• 21:28
  That's right. Q2 stadium.
• 21:29
  And, uh, while, you know,
• 21:31
  it is, uh.
• 21:33
  They drew two, two against
• 21:35
  Minnesota and there's some, some
• 21:37
  draws that are feel like wins,
• 21:39
  some that feel like losses and.
• 21:41
  Minnesota did tie the score,
• 21:44
  like, the last minute of regulation
• 21:45
  time,
• 21:48
  they,
• 21:50
  I think most fans feel
• 21:52
  fairly optimistic.
• 21:53
  There was offense, there was offense
• 21:55
  generated by Mirto
• 21:57
  Zuni and Robert Taylor, who had
• 21:59
  tough seasons last season, and
• 22:01
  the fans let them know about it.
• 22:03
  So I think there are moments
• 22:05
  from takeaways from Saturday
• 22:07
  that kind of keep most Austin
• 22:09
  fans optimistic.
• 22:09
  I think Minnesota was it.
• 22:11
  Playoff team last year who knows
• 22:12
  what they'll be this year, but you
• 22:13
  know this reasonably good start
• 22:15
  of offense for Austin FC
• 22:17
  Last week we had your co-host Juan
• 22:19
  Diego Garcia on the show and
• 22:21
  he mentioned Mirto Uzuni
• 22:23
  as a guy who maybe might have
• 22:25
  he was keeping his eye out on this
• 22:26
  guy especially with the signing of
• 22:28
  Facundo Torres.
• 22:30
  Like you said some draws and not all
• 22:31
  draws are equal Austin FC did
• 22:33
  put up two goals in this
• 22:35
  one.
• 22:36
  Does that make you feel a
• 22:38
  little bit better about their
• 22:39
  chances this year to put more goals
• 22:41
  on the scoreboard?
• 22:42
  There was strong build-up play
• 22:43
  throughout possession.
• 22:45
  Like, Minnesota was, at least last
• 22:47
  season, a quality opponent.
• 22:49
  There's no reason to expect them not
• 22:50
  to be this season.
• 22:52
  It was the return of Josh
• 22:54
  Wolfe to this, he's
• 22:56
  an assistant coach at Minnesota.
• 22:58
  Oh, I didn't realize that.
• 22:59
  Yeah, so it was, you know, there
• 23:00
  were little tiny storylines
• 23:01
  throughout, but I think overall
• 23:03
  there's room for optimism for
• 23:06
  Austin FC fans.
• 23:07
  And that, they will, they
• 23:09
  have another home game this weekend.
• 23:11
  And that's another busy weekend
• 23:12
  ahead for us here in Austin.
• 23:15
  NASCAR is back in town at Circuit
• 23:17
  of the Americas.
• 23:18
  And the ATX Open, the Women's Tennis
• 23:20
  Association event, is happening.
• 23:22
  And that is taking off
• 23:24
  Venus Williams, Tennis Great Venus
• 23:26
  Williams and Peyton Stearns,
• 23:28
  the ex-Longhorn, they'll be playing
• 23:29
  tomorrow.
• 23:30
  All right, lots happening, as
• 23:32
  we said. It's a busy time
• 23:33
  for sports fans.
• 23:34
  Lots to enjoy out there.
• 23:35
  That is KUT program director
• 23:38
  Jimmy Moss. Jimmy, thanks for being
• 23:39
  on the show. Thank you.
• 23:40
  And thank you out there for spending
• 23:42
  some time with us on this Monday.
• 23:44
  Special thanks to Renee Chavez and
• 23:46
  Casey Cheek for their help with
• 23:48
  today's show.
• 23:49
  I'm your host, Jerry Kehannel.
• 23:50
  We will be back with you tomorrow.
• 23:52
  Talk then.