Aug. 29, 2005

ABILENE, Texas - The winningest college team in Texas over the past 15 years doesn't play in Austin. It's not in College Station or anywhere else in the Big 12, for that matter.

If you're looking for the team with the highest winning percentage in the state since 1990, you have to travel way down the ranks to Division III and way out west to Hardin-Simmons.

The 2,400-student private school is 127-37 in that span, a .774 winning percentage. That's better than Texas (.695), Texas A&M (.695), TCU (.540) and smaller powers Mary Hardin-Baylor (.737) and Texas A&M-Kingsville (.719).

OK, so it's not really fair to compare a tiny school that doesn't even offer scholarships to the powerhouses. It goes without saying who's really better. But even a mythical state title is impressive for a school that dropped football for nearly three decades and doesn't even have the biggest campus in Abilene.

"I guess it is surprising," said senior quarterback Jordan Neal. "But to be held up to some of the great programs, it's definitely flattering."

The Cowboys have posted 13 straight winning seasons, won 10 conference titles in the past 12 years and gone to the playoffs four of the past six years.

Jimmie Keeling, the coach since HSU resumed playing football in 1990 after a 27-year hiatus, doesn't appear all that impressed with the state's highest winning percentage.

"That's what they tell me," he said, smiling but offering little elaboration.

In fact, he says winning isn't even all that important. Sure, it's a coaching clich, but the more he talks, the more you believe him. When the 70-year-old Keeling discusses the success of his program, he focuses on character and graduation.

"We've had kids who are doctors, dentists and lawyers, so that says something," he said. "We're looking first of all for guys who are appropriate athletes and can also play."

Religion is also important at HSU, a Baptist school that along with Abilene Christian and McMurry is one of three private schools in this West Texas city of nearly 120,000. The Cowboys, whose games are carried live on local gospel station KAGT, read devotionals together before games and end every practice with a prayer.

"Our coaches are very personal," Neal said. "We go to church with them. They pray with us. They are men of character."

Keeling, who has a cross made of cowboy boots hanging on a wall behind his desk, said the team stresses "really loving each other."

"We just think it's important to be a family-type unit," he said. "I think we can emphasize the important things a little more."

But it's not all hugs and Kumbaya at Hardin-Simmons.

There's also a lot of hard work, on and off the field. Many players hold down jobs after school. They focus on schoolwork after practice, knowing that the NFL more than likely isn't their next stop.

That wasn't always the case in HSU's heyday.

The Cowboys won 105 of 146 games from 1935-1951, playing most of those years in the Border Conference that included Texas Tech, Arizona and Arizona State. They played in several bowls, and for some reason went to four of them in 1948. (They won the Harbour, Grape, Shrine and Camelia bowls.)

The program boasted a few notable names as well. In 1940, Hall of Famer Clyde "Bulldog" Turner was drafted by the Chicago Bears. The Cowboys were coached from 1941-1951 by Warren Woodson, widely considered the inventor of the Wing-T offense. After his NFL playing days, Hall of Famer Sammy Baugh coached HSU from 1954-1959.

HSU dropped football in 1963 because it was too costly.

When Keeling arrived in 1990 to revive the program, he brought 30 years of experience as a high school coach and a 196-91-11 record.

The Cowboys went 3-6 that first year with a mostly freshman team. The next year they were 5-5, and there has been nothing but winning since.

Despite their recent run, the Cowboys haven't done much in the postseason. They went 10-0 last year in the regular season, then lost in the first round to conference rival Mary Hardin-Baylor, the second-winningest program since 1990.

They made the playoffs eight of the 12 years before but only made it as far as the semifinals twice.

The Cowboys are hoping to finally break through with a national title this season, which begins at Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

But Keeling downplays those hopes.

"Our real goal is to be the best we can be," he said.