AUSTIN - After two years of hard work and dedication, it's been decided that the University of Texas at Austin is getting a football team. The Board of Regents voted Saturday to add a football program for the fall 2015 season after two straight losing seasons, the school announced. U.S. Congressman Michael Burgess, a former defensive lineman for Texas, was the driving force behind the decision, UTB Sports said. The Longhorns will begin play in the 2017 season, the school said. Burgess said the university's current student government is behind the idea, and he also said that when he asked student leaders about starting a football program, he found them "eager to have this discussion," the Austin American-Statesman reported. "We need to move ahead to improve our athletics," said board chairman Paul Foster, according to the Austin American-Statesman. "This is a football program we're adding, not a minor league baseball team. We've not even started the (regents) meeting. We don't even know what questions will be asked." Burgess said he has been in talks with both University of Texas president Bill Powers and head football coach Charlie Strong, he told UTB Sports. "That's how I know it's an actual thing and it's going to happen," Burgess told the website. "I'm going to be involved in the recruiting process. I'm going to be involved in the game-planning process, and I'm going to try to help them be the very best at what they do. The last thing I want is for us to create this, sit back, collect a check and walk away." Burgess previously played college football at the University of Oklahoma. His son, Michael Burgess II, is a freshman linebacker at the school. The Longhorns are one of the oldest schools in the NCAA, which is currently the Big 12 Conference. The school played for a national championship in 1951 under legendary football coach Darrell Royal. Despite football's popularity in the state, Texas did not have a team from 1943-2008 because the school's trustees didn't think it would be profitable enough, the Austin American-Statesman reported. The Longhorns first defeated archrival Texas A&M in 1915 and have been rivals since 1906. The school's lone season of success was when Tom Landry coached Texas to a national championship in 1969, led by quarterback James Street and running back Billy Brooks. The Longhorns finished with a 9-0 record before losing to No. 1 Notre Dame. The Austin American-Statesman reported that no Longhorn football alumni were immediately available for comment. Texas is not the only Big 12 school losing football programs. TCU's team did not win a single game last season and is losing coach Gary Patterson to Texas A&M, the Dallas Morning News reported. The Big 12 said it will form a schedule with 10 football teams when there are 12 schools in the conference.