Alan Champagne (1984-1989) Still Competing

a  longhorn brand builder

By Larry Carlson 5/26/2021

Unsung heroes in football are frequently members of the offensive line. Texas can boast of an enviable roll call of standout centers, and Alan Champagne is on that list. The native of Lafayette, LA. starred in high school at Houston's Cypress Creek and signed with Fred Akers a month after only a mishandled Georgia punt separated Texas from a perfect 12-0 record in the centennial year of The University of Texas, 1983.

But times were about to change on the Forty Acres. After redshirting in '84 when the Steers were ranked number one in early October and slumped to 4-4-1 the rest of the way, Champagne saw highs and lows and a head coaching change in his four varsity years. Champagne was a stalwart on lines that propelled RB Eric Metcalf to three All-SWC seasons.

A Longhorn captain as a senior in '88, Champagne now flourishes as a businessman in Houston's vital energy sector. He enjoys life as a husband and dad who can look back on NFL Europe and unrelated travels to global spots untouched by football fever while looking forward to more globe-hopping sojourns.

Champagne took time with TLSN to talk about a variety of topics ranging from walk-off TDs to embarrassing photos and the benefits of a bubbly name.

TLSN: Coming out of Cypress Creek, what was the recruiting process like for you?

CHAMPAGNE: I took all my recruiting trips I could and saved UT for last. I knew the others had to beat Austin. During the visit, Coach Akers was subject to rumors of going to the NFL, so having him at my house was a big deal. It was funny, though, that he brought out a book ranking all universities and he said nobody could beat UT in the rankings. However, my Dad asked about Stanford, and it was the only school that had a higher ranking at the time.

It was really a fairly easy decision for me, as UT was a perfect fit. Three hours from home but I could always go home if I had to. And every possible major I could possibly want. I had no idea what I wanted to do as far as a profession at the time but it's great to have that choice. Also, in the Cotton Bowl, we were literally one point away from winning the national championship, and I could see how close the team was to doing it all.

TLSN: Alan Champagne is a name that sounds like it was made up for a 1950s Hollywood movie star or a fictional private eye. Did you encounter much kidding growing up or have any nicknames?

CHAMPAGNE: Champagne is a great name to have, no doubt about it. In Louisiana where I was born and lived until I was nine, the name is as common as Smith or Jones. When I moved to Dallas, the pronunciation really changed from the Cajun version...more like "Shaum-pan"...to the mainstream version everyone says now. It has been helpful because most people will remember my last name from the first time I meet them. It's been a great icebreaker and in many meetings it's a big plus. I probably need to think of some way I can put out an internet website that takes advantage of it.

TLSN: You played in really the first up and down era (1984-88) in about a 30-year period at UT, with a winning season, a losing one, another winning season, another losing one. That had to be unexpected. How did you and your teammates deal with the pressure or criticism that came with that?

CHAMPAGNE: It was hard. Very hard. There are so many close calls and so many of my teammates that were lost to injury or the academic demands of UT. After my last game, I had one of my biggest cries of my entire life. It's even tough to talk about it now. The first two games of my freshman year, we beat Auburn with Bo Jackson and then Penn State. We were number one for about five weeks. From there we could never seem to get our footing. It made me turn away from the game for a couple of years after I graduated. But now it's just part of my life and I can celebrate the good times that were part of that.

TLSN: Coach Akers was fired after your soph season in '86 (a 5-6 record was his only losing season in ten years at UT). Texas brought David McWilliams back, after just one year at Texas Tech, for your head coach the last two seasons. What was the transition like?

CHAMPAGNE: I really hated to see Coach Akers go. I would have never thought that he would've been fired when I signed with UT. When Coach McWilliams came on the scene, he was such a breath of fresh air. Guys on the defensive side of the ball were very excited with him being back and it was a much-needed relief from all the outside talk of getting rid of Coach Akers. What he brought was that sense of positive thinking and "we can do this." Coach McWilliams was and still is a special man in my life. He even wrote a recommendation for me to get into graduate school. I will never forget him for that.

TLSN: When you arrived in Austin, the drinking age was 18 and Sixth Street was really jumping. What was it like to be a teenager playing for the Longhorns?

CHAMPAGNE: Wild. Just crazy because all my high school buddies were incredulous about me playing for the Longhorns. Everybody seemed to come visit me for some reason (laughs), and of course they wanted to go to Sixth Street. It was the place to go, and I definitely went when I could. However, I got a wake-up call when I had a bad semester my freshman year. I failed Calculus, and had to stay home for spring break to get my grades up. So (Sixth Street) was always there and I could go but there were times when I just had to focus on the books to get through UT.

TLSN: What kind of music were you tuned into then, and were you checking out concerts and live music?

CHAMPAGNE: I'm pretty much a rock and roll guy. Over the years, though, I have really come like classical music. There wasn't much of that on Sixth Street (laughs) so I stuck to the rock and roll. By far, my favorite band is U2 and the best concert I ever went to was U2 at the Erwin Center. I sat way up at the top but couldn't care less. It was literally one of the most memorable experiences I ever had.

TLSN: What were some of your old hangouts and favorite places to eat?

CHAMPAGNE: Wherever my football buddies were. It didn't matter where. It was the people, not the places.

TLSN: Campus life and Jester Hall....what sticks with you about the times and any dorm hilarity?

CHAMPAGNE: A thousand stories. Just so many. Most of them are probably not for public consumption, and that's fine. The main thing I remember is just how funny my teammates were. I've told many stories about just how funny football teammates are to each other. I think they're the best comedians in the world and can rival anything you see on pay-TV services. Sometimes it was rough in how they'd try to make fun of each other but it was really just to have fun along the way. I still crack up every once in a while when I think about it.

TLSN: You blocked for Eric Metcalf and got to watch a defense that featured guys like LB Britt Hager (all-time leading tackler at UT) and DB John Hagy (SWC Defensive Player of the Year in '87). What strikes you about those teammates when you look back?

CHAMPAGNE: Great players, each of them. I would still challenge anybody to even be able to just touch Eric Metcalf in a room...he was just so elusive. Britt Hager was a phenomenal tackling machine without peer. We butted heads many times in practice and it was good to have such great competition. John Hagy's game against Texas Tech his senior year was truly a memorable and outstanding one. All of them, I have the highest respect for.

TLSN: Speaking of blocking for Metcalf, it seems to me that O-linemen are always the smartest, savviest guys on every team. Why is that?

CHAMPAGNE: Offensive linemen don't have to be smart, yet you have to get along with the rest of the linemen and coordinate with the rest of the offense, too. So you better be able to think with multiple scenarios in your head. When I think of good offensive linemen, I think of the words, coordination and communication.

TLSN: What is absolutely THE toughest part of playing center?

CHAMPAGNE: When the nose guard is three inches from you and can literally spit on you or the ball, which did happen, it is his only job to get underneath you and do nothing else, so then you have your work cut out for you. I was never a behemoth who could bench press 500 pounds, so I always had to think about how I could do the job.

TLSN: When the Longhorns beat Arkansas, 16-14, in Little Rock your junior year in '87, it was the first time in UT history for a "walk-off" touchdown on the final play.

(QB Bret Stafford took the snap with :04 and hit Tony Jones, in heavy coverage in the end zone, with an 18-yard bullet) What do you remember about that wild finish?

CHAMPAGNE: It was a huge game, and at the beginning of that last series, I had a fumble recovery that contributed to the win. It was also a big game for me personally because my Mom's side of the family was from Arkansas. All of my Arkansas relatives were not Razorback fans but huge Longhorn fans, and they were all at the game. I even think Bill Clinton was there. It was such a great win, and I'll never forget the pandemonium afterward. If you look at the videotape when we were celebrating, I was actually pinned to the ground for about five minutes. I could not breathe, could not do anything, and it was a bizarre situation. My teammates were all over me, but it was all from pure joy. When we looked at the game film, we had a huge laugh about everybody looking at me being pinned on the ground.



TLSN: What's another memorable game with special memories for you?

CHAMPAGNE: When we played Bo Jackson and Auburn (Texas won 35-27) my freshman year, where he got hurt (on a 53-yard run when caught from behind by Texas DB Jerry Gray). You could just see that the talent was unbelievable. The game was great, and ironically, I worked out with Bo Jackson about ten years later. He was rehabilitating his hip, and I was rehabilitating my knee with a special instructor in Phoenix. I'll never forget how he could do sit-ups forever.

TLSN: You told me that Seattle had talked to you about drafting you in '89 but you took a different path.

CHAMPAGNE: Yes, I had told Seattle the day before the draft not to draft me because I had moved on from football. I was just ready to go and I was kind of sick of football at that point. When NFL Europe came around a couple of years later it gave me a chance to prove myself. I had to go back, re-train, put on weight and go through the whole process. And I made it (Champagne played for the New York/New Jersey Knights in 1991). It's a personal achievement because it literally gave me a second chance. You don't always get that second chance.

TLSN: What was your most unusual experience with NFL Europe?

CHAMPAGNE: We played in the old Wembley Stadium in London. The place was packed and as loud as you can imagine. The fans had definitely started early on the partying and it was fun getting heckled as the "Yanks," even though I consider myself a Texan. Who would've thought?

TLSN: How hard was it to leave football?

CHAMPAGNE: Easy and hard. I tore up my knee at the end of the season and at that point I was just sick of being hurt all the time. It was getting unhealthy to play the game and some of those things will stay with me. The hard part was the people you work with, especially the ones you were with at UT, just so special. NFL Europe was a business.

TLSN: You're heavily involved with business development and sales in the energy information business in Houston now. What's the best part of that kind of work?

CHAMPAGNE: The energy industry is so dynamic, so constantly changing. So every day is new. And if you think about it, it really is the question for the entire planet. Energy is essentially the key to everything and how do we do it the right way? It touches so many parts of our society in our day-to-day life. Being a part of that is a true plus.

TLSN: You mentioned a love for traveling when I first contacted you. What are a few favorite spots, and why?

ALAN: Nepal and New Zealand are the best. So beautiful in so many ways, with the mountains and lakes. The people I met along the way were fascinating, as well. I love the mountains and seeing mountains all day long is special to me. So living in Houston, I'm starved for that!

TLSN: What's on your wish list for future travels?

CHAMPAGNE: Iceland, the Nordic countries, Patagonia and Alaska.

TLSN: Why Patagonia, in particular?

CHAMPAGNE: Patagonia looks like such a spiritual place. And the mountains. I think Dennis McWilliams (former UT player, 1990-92) went there a couple of years ago, as well.

TLSN: You and your wife have a daughter. Is she gonna go to Texas?

CHAMPAGNE: It's so funny that I grew up in a male-dominated world, and now I'm surrounded by females...my wife, my daughter and my two dogs. And at work, I'm the only man on a ten-person team --- love the way that works out. My daughter is very tall for her age, being 5-9 at 12 years old. It would be great if she was a Longhorn but I'll support her wherever she wants to go and whatever she wants to do. My daughter and my wife are not big football fans, so I only watch once in a while.

TLSN: How much are you able to keep up with old teammates?

CHAMPAGNE: I do my best but life has been chaotic the last two or three years. The best thing about it when you see your old buddies, is that it's immediately back to the good times, already laughing in the first minute.

TLSN: What are some of your pastimes or passions aside from travel?

CHAMPAGNE: I've gotten into swimming. During the Covid situation I had to do something and it looks like swimming is the easiest thing on the aches and pains. I do laps and it allows me to think while at the same time get a decent workout. And the workout doesn't make me feel pain afterwards. I'm finding that to be a pastime more than a passion. I'm also trying to ready the book "Blue Zones" by Dan Buettner, about where people live to have a long, quality life.

TLSN: Not many football players, and certainly not many offensive linemen, have ever run a full marathon race, but you ran the San Diego Rock & Roll Marathon back when you were 33. What was that all about?

ALAN: It was a great experience. I started of so slow...I actually picked it up at the end. The interest was just the whole "Can I really do this?" The worst part was it was the first year of the marathon. They ran out of water early in the race and all the bands at each of the mile markers left early. It wasn't their best effort.

TLSN: Holy cow! That's amazing that you ran that. Let me move back to something a little more sedentary. With your Lafayette background and upraising, do you do any Cajun cooking?

ALAN: Cajun is the best food on the planet. I actually have to avoid it or I would weigh 400 pounds. So I just get to eat it when I go out sometimes.

TLSN: Okay, from food back to football. What are you expecting from the Horns this fall with the new Sarkisian regime?

ALAN: My expectations are really just to put the players in the best possible position to let them succeed. That was the only expectation I had, was...put me in a position where I can do good things. I'm really for the players most of all as individuals. I know they all have a great story.

TLSN: We'll close on this one. Tell me one thing about Alan Champagne that most people don't know.

ALAN: I finally got my picture in Sports Illustrated, which was a HUGE deal back in the day. Darryl Strawberry was on the cover. Unfortunately, it was the most unflattering picture you could imagine. It was at the NFL Europe tryout and I'm stretching out my back after the standing long jump test. I'm really in pain and all you can see are my legs and backside. My teammates at the time really gave me the business on that one.

About the interviewer

Larry Carlson saw his first Longhorn victory and orange tower at age seven in 1960. He later hosted the Longhorn Locker Room post-game show for Austin's KVET Radio during the early Fred Akers era and has continued to do radio, magazine and online coverage of Texas football. In 2020, after teaching broadcast journalism at Texas State University for 35 years, Carlson retired. He and his wife live in his hometown, San Antonio. Write to him at: lc13@txstate.edu

TLSN TLSN TLSN TLSN TLSN