Dave Campbell's Texas Football is an biannual magazine previewing American football teams in the state of Texas.
It previews football teams in Texas at all levels, from the NFL's Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans, college football, to the roughly 1,400 high schools (public and private) in the state.
The summer magazine is issued in June, about 1–2 months before the start of preseason football. It sells for $10.95 and is available in most Texas stores which sell magazines. A winter edition, which began in 2008, is published each January.
The magazine was started in 1960 by Dave Campbell, a longtime writer and sports editor for the Waco Tribune-Herald, along with fellow Waco sportswriters Hollis Biddle, Jim Montgomery, and Al Ward. He published the magazine out of his kitchen. On the cover of the inaugural edition was Texas Longhorns running back Jackie Collins. The cover price for the 96-page magazine was fifty cents.
It was bought in 1985 by Host Communications, which was bought by IMG in 2007. In 2014, Sports in Action, a company operated by the family of Texas businessman Drayton McLane bought the rights to operate the magazine from IMG.
It is one of the best-selling football magazines in the state and has been dubbed "The Bible of Texas Football". Each year, the identity of its cover subject(s) is a tightly-guarded secret. At the age of 90, Campbell still holds the position of editor-in-chief.
Currently, Dave Campbell's Texas Football is a twice-yearly statewide magazine with over 400,000 readers.
To accompany the print version, a website, TexasFootball.com, was created in 1999. In summer 2009, Texas Football launched a statewide weekly radio program — the Dave Campbell's Texas Football Radio Hour — which airs across Texas State Network affiliates. In 2010, the magazine started its own television program, Texas Football Game Day, a half-hour variety show. Game Day was filmed weekly at the stadium of a key game and broadcast (sometimes live, sometime tape delayed) on Fox Sports Southwest. Since 2011, DCTF has teamed with Fox Sports Southwest to present Fox Football Friday Powered by Dave Campbell's Texas Football, a four-hour live show on Friday nights featuring whip-around coverage of the biggest games in Texas high school football.
In October 2015, the brand launched DCTF Live, a daily live show covering football in Texas streamed on TexasFootball.com.
In 1999, Texas Football started its own high school football event, the Texas Football Classic, which is held at the beginning of each season at the Alamodome in San Antonio. The event ran through 2010.
The overall brand is run by general manager Adam Hochfelder, and the editorial content — including the magazine, website, TV show, radio show and DCTF Live — are run by managing editor Greg Tepper and digital director Max Thompson.
1960: Jackie Collins of Texas
1961: Ronnie Bull of Baylor (also pictured: Lance Alworth, Arkansas and James Saxton, Texas)
1962: Sonny Gibbs of TCU
1963: Coach Darrell Royal and Scott Appleton of Texas
1964: Lawrence Elkins and John Bridgers of Baylor
1965: Donny Anderson of Texas Tech
1966: John LaGrone of SMU (also pictured: Greg Pipes, Baylor and Diron Talbert, Texas)
1967: Maurice Moorman of Texas A&M
1968: Edd Hargett of Texas A&M
1969: James Street of Texas
1970: Steve Worster of Texas
1971: Charles Napper of Texas Tech
1972: Brad Dusek of Texas A&M
1973: Glen Gaspard of Texas
1974: Coach Darrell Royal of Texas
1975: Coach Grant Teaff of Baylor
1976: Coach Bill Yeoman of Houston
1977: Rodney Allison of Texas Tech
1978: Russell Erxleben of Texas and Tony Franklin of Texas A&M
1979: Steve McMichael of Texas
1980: Mike Singletary of Baylor and Mike Mosley of Texas A&M
1981: Craig James of SMU and Walter Abercrombie of Baylor
1982: Gary Kubiak of Texas A&M
1983: Lance McIlhenny of SMU
1984: Ray Childress of Texas A&M
1985: Coach Jim Wacker and Kenneth Davis of TCU
1986: Coach Jackie Sherrill of Texas A&M
1987: Coach David McWilliams and Bret Stafford of Texas
1988: Eric Metcalf of Texas and John Roper of Texas A&M
1989: Coach Jack Pardee of Houston and Coach Forrest Gregg of SMU
1990: Coach Spike Dykes of Texas Tech
1991: David Klingler of Houston
1992: Trevor Cobb of Rice
1993: Coach R. C. Slocum of Texas A&M (also pictured: Jerrod Douglas of Converse Judson)
1994: Shea Morenz of Texas (also pictured: Tony Brackens of Texas)
1995: An illustrated collage featuring important figures in Southwest Conference history, including Earl Campbell, Bill Yeoman, Darrell Royal, Fred Akers, Sammy Baugh, Doak Walker, Mike Singletary, and Grant Teaff
1996: Coach Chuck Reedy of Baylor, Coach John Mackovic of Texas, Coach R. C. Slocum of Texas A&M and Coach Spike Dykes of Texas Tech
1997: James Brown and Ricky Williams of Texas (also pictured: Coach Kim Helton of Houston)
1998: Two covers: one with Coach Mack Brown and Ricky Williams of Texas, the other with Dat Nguyen of Texas A&M
1999: Coach Mack Brown of Texas, Coach Dennis Franchione of TCU
1999 (alternative cover): Troy Aikman of the Dallas Cowboys, for sale outside the state of Texas
2000: Cedric Benson of Midland Lee
2001: Casey Printers of TCU, Kliff Kingsbury of Texas Tech, Chris Simms of Texas and Mark Farris of Texas A&M
2002: Kliff Kingsbury of Texas Tech, Coach G.A. Moore of Celina High School, Emmitt Smith of the Dallas Cowboys, and Drew Tate of Baytown Lee
2003: Roy Williams of Texas
2004: Adell Duckett of Texas Tech, Patrick Cobbs of North Texas, Marvin Godbolt of TCU and Kevin Kolb of Houston
2005: Vince Young of Texas and Reggie McNeal of Texas A&M
2006: Earl Campbell of Texas, John Chiles of Mansfield Summit, Ryan Mallett of Texarkana Texas, Jarrett Lee of Brenham, and G.J. Kinne of Gilmer
2007: Tommy Blake of TCU, Colt McCoy of Texas, and Stephen McGee of Texas A&M
2008: Coach Mike Leach, Michael Crabtree, and Graham Harrell of Texas Tech
2009: Colt McCoy of Texas
2010: Jerrod Johnson of Texas A&M, Case Keenum of Houston, and Andy Dalton of TCU
2011: Cyrus Gray of Texas A&M and Johnathan Gray of Aledo
2012: Coach Gary Patterson of TCU
2013: Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M
2014: Coach Art Briles, Bryce Petty, and Antwan Goodley of Baylor
2015: Illustration of the Texas vs. Texas A&M football rivalry by artist Roberto Parada
2016: Coach Kliff Kingsbury and Patrick Mahomes of Texas Tech
When the University of Texas won the BCS national title in the 2006 Rose Bowl, Texas Football put out a special championship edition of the magazine. Two years later, the magazine brought back the winter edition as a permanent feature. Beginning in 2016, the winter edition was replaced with Dave Campbell Presents Texas Football Rising, a magazine spotlighting top recruits in Texas.
2006: Vince Young of Texas
2008: Coach Mike Sherman of Texas A&M
2009: Quan Cosby of Texas, Michael Crabtree of Texas Tech, and Chase Clement of Rice
2010: Jordan Shipley of Texas and Jerry Hughes of TCU
2011: Coach Gary Patterson of TCU
2012: Robert Griffin III of Baylor
2013: Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M
2014: Bryce Petty of Baylor
2015: Trevone Boykin of TCU, Kyler Murray of Allen, and Tony Romo of the Dallas Cowboys
When Texas Football revived the winter book after the 2007 season, it began giving a "Mr. Texas Football Award" honoring the top high school player in the state. It is currently sponsored by Wells Fargo
2007: Jacquizz Rodgers, Rosenberg Lamar
2008: Garrett Gilbert, Lake Travis
2009: Darian "Stump" Godfrey, Gilmer
2010: Johnny Manziel, Kerrville Tivy
2011: Johnathan Gray, Aledo
2012: Dontre Wilson, DeSoto
2013: Kyler Murray, Allen
2014: Kyler Murray, Allen
2015: Jett Duffey, Mansfield Lake Ridge
