The Lone Star Showdown is the traditional rivalry for all varsity men's and women's athletics competitions between Texas A&M University and the University of Texas at Austin. The name comes from Lone Star State, which is the nickname of the state of Texas. The "Lone Star Showdown" moniker was trademarked in 1996.

Texas A&M University is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. Since 2021, Texas A&M has enrolled the largest student body in the United States, and is the only university in Texas to hold simultaneous designations as a land-, sea-, and space-grant institution. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and a member of the Association of American Universities.