Texas is a state located in the southern and southwestern regions of the United States of America. With an area of 261,797 square miles (678,051 kmē) and a population of 23,507,783 (based on a 2006 U.S. census bureau estimate) in 254 counties, the state is second-largest in both area (behind Alaska) and population (behind California). About half the state's population resides in either the Dallas-Fort Worth or Houston metropolitan areas.
There are more than 100 colleges and universities and dozens of institutions engaged in research and development in Texas. The University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University, and the University of Houston are Texas's three largest comprehensive doctoral degree-granting institutions with a combined enrollment of over 135,000. The state is also home to Rice University-one of the country's leading teaching and research universities-ranked the 17th-best university overall in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. It is also home to Baylor University, the oldest university in the state; it was chartered by the Republic of Texas.
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There are many popular events held in Texas celebrating cultures of Texans. The annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is held over 20 days from late February through early March. The event begins with trail rides that originate from several points throughout the state, all of which convene at Reliant Park for a barbecue cook-off. The rodeo includes typical rodeo events, as well as concert performances from major artists and carnival rides. The World's first rodeo was held in Pecos, Texas on 4 July 1883. The Southwestern Livestock Show and Rodeo in Fort Worth lasts three weeks in late January and early February. It has many traditional rodeos, but also a cowboy rodeo, and a Mexican rodeo in recent years that have a large fan base for each. The State Fair of Texas is held in Dallas each year at Fair Park.
Texas has a vibrant live music scene in Austin boasting more music venues per capita than any other U.S. city, befitting the city's official slogan as The Live Music Capital of the World. Austin's music revolves around the many nightclubs on 6th Street and an annual film, music, and multimedia festival known as South by Southwest. The longest-running concert music program on American television, Austin City Limits, is videotaped on The University of Texas at Austin campus or in Zilker Park. Austin City Limits and Waterloo Records run the Austin City Limits Music Festival, an annual music and art festival held at Zilker Park in Austin.
Over the past couple of decades, San Antonio evolved into what has been billed as the "Nashville of Tejano music." The Tejano Music Awards have provided a forum to create greater awareness and appreciation for Tejano music and culture.
Texas is known for its love of American football and is noted for the intensity with which people follow high school and college football teams-often dominating over all else for the purposes of socializing and leisure. The Dallas Cowboys are often referred to as "America's Team." Dallas was previously home to two different pro teams known as the Dallas Texans. The first was a team that played in the NFL for one season in 1952, Dallas Texans (NFL). The team was the remnants of the New York Yanks franchise. The Texans folded after one season and most of the team and players were sold to a new group that formed the Baltimore Colts in 1953. The second Dallas Texans team played in the AFL from 1960-1962, Dallas Texans (AFL), before moving to Kansas City, Missouri to become the Kansas City Chiefs. The Houston Oilers left to become the Tennessee Titans, but the Houston Texans took their place. For one season, in 1995, Texas was also host to a Canadian Football League team, the San Antonio Texans.
Baseball has a strong presence in Texas, with Major League Baseball teams the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros are both equally popular, geographically, in the state. North Texas, West Texas, and Panhandle residents are predominantly Texas Rangers fans. Houston Astros fans tend to be in the more populated areas of Texas, which include: Southeast Texas, Central Texas, and South Texas. Minor league baseball is also closely followed in Texas, especially in the smaller metro areas.
Basketball is also popular, and Texas hosts three NBA teams: the Houston Rockets, the San Antonio Spurs, and the Dallas Mavericks. All three of those NBA teams have reached the NBA Finals. The Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs though, are the only ones to have won a championship. Additionally, Texas is home to two WNBA teams, the Houston Comets and the San Antonio Silver Stars. The Comets were the winners of the first four WNBA Championships in league history, in the 1997-2000 seasons.
Known for the vibrancy of its visual and performing arts, the Houston Theatre District-a 17-block area in the heart of Downtown Houston-is ranked second in the country (behind New York City) in the number of theatre seats in a concentrated downtown area with 12,948 seats for live performances and 1,480 movie seats.
Houston is also one of only five cities in the United States with permanent professional resident companies in all of the major performing arts disciplines (the Houston Grand Opera, the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the Houston Ballet, and The Alley Theatre). Houston is widely recognized as the nation's third most important city for contemporary visual arts.
Fort Worth and Dallas serve as epicenters of the North Texas region's art scene. The Modern (formerly the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth), founded in 1892, is the oldest art museum in Texas. The city is also home to the Kimbell Art Museum, the Amon Carter Museum, the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, the Will Rogers Memorial Center, and the Bass Performance Hall downtown. The Arts District of Downtown Dallas is home to several arts venues. Notable venues in the district include the Dallas Museum of Art, the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, The Trammell & Margaret Crow Collection of Asian Art, and the Nasher Sculpture Center.
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