Meet Rich Tijerina '91, Austin American-Statesman

Richard Tijerina
Class of '91
Austin American-Statesman (5 years)
Deputy Sports Editor

I was the one who never went to class. I always figured the best education I'd get was the one inside the Batt walls. I think I was right.

My Batt nickname was "TJ." My city editor when I was a sophomore — Richard Williams — named me that, I think because he didn't want two Richards on staff and probably didn't want to try pronouncing (or writing) my last name.

Some folks around my Sports department still refer to me as TJ, because they heard that was my old nickname. It makes me feel like I'm 20 again. OK, not really.

For anyone who attended one of our infamous Pink Man parties, you should know that the beloved 5-foot tall Styrofoam structure stolen from the University of Texas is alive and well and gracing the garden in our South Austin backyard.

I married a Longhorn. We have a 14-year old son and a 10-year old daughter. He wants to be a mechanical engineer and go to Texas A&M, God bless him. She'll end up at Texas. And that's OK.

I've written a novel. But it'll stay in my desk drawer forever. I've also co-written a movie script. But you'll never see it.

Like a lot of us in this profession, I've dotted myself around the Texas map the last 15 years: The New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung (sports editor), the Galveston County Daily News (assistant sports editor), the Corpus Christi Caller-Times (sports writer), the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (sports writer), the Caller-Times again (assistant metro editor, then sports editor) and finally here at the Austin American-Statesman (sports writer, then deputy sports editor).

Someday, I'll figure out whether I want to be a writer or an editor. In the meantime, I'm absolutely enjoying the ride.

You can find me at rtijerina (at) statesman.com.