The long-awaited rivalry of the Texas Longhorns and Texas A&M Aggies returns to the football field at Kyle Field in College Station on Saturday night.
As the time draws near for the showdown, let’s re-examine some of the traditions that make these universities great.
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The University of Texas at Austin
Founded in 1883, The University of Texas at Austin (UT) only had one building and eight professors to its name. According to the university’s website, UT now holds more than 51,000 students across 18 colleges and schools. Plus, it ranks among the top 40 universities in the country and has a network of around half a million alumni.
According to UT’s football website, the Longhorns began playing on the gridiron 10 years after the school was founded. UT’s first game against Texas A&M was Oct. 19, 1894.
The Traditions
- Bevo - UT’s actual Longhorn mascot (not to be confused with Bevo, the university’s costumed mascot). A Maverick Longhorn steer was brought to campus in 1916 from South Texas on a train and introduced during a football game against A&M on Nov. 30. There have been more than a dozen Bevos, carefully chosen for their temperament. While there have been many rumors about how Bevo got his name, the truth is an Austin editor chose it. He likely combined “beeve” (plural for beef) with o. You can read more about that here.
- Hook ‘Em Horns - UT’s official hand symbol: extending the index and pinkie up while keeping the middle and ring fingers curled into the palm, thumb pressed. According to the UT website, it was created in 1955 by head cheerleader Harley Clark, along with his roommate while experimenting with shadow puppets.
- Texas Fight - The official fight song of UT. According to UT’s sports website, Colonel Walter Hunnicut, James King and “Blondie” Pharr worked together to craft an effective counterpoint to Texas A&M’s fight song. You can learn the lyrics here.
- Lighting the Tower - The Tower, a part of the Main Building, is one of the most iconic symbols on UT’s campus since 1937. It has often acted as an indicator of the student body’s mood, such as lighting up orange to indicate a game win.
- Good Luck Squirrels - Often mistaken for albino squirrels (guilty as charged), tradition holds any student who sees a white fox squirrel on the way to a test will get an A.
Texas A&M
According to the university’s website, Texas A&M was founded in 1876 as the first Texas public institution of higher education, originally as a men’s college. Texas A&M now has the most students in Texas at 73,000, and is recognized as among one of the top 10 engineering schools in the country.
Texas A&M began playing football in 1894.
The Traditions
- The 12th Man - According to A&M’s website, the tradition started after a football game where there were few reserves left due to injuries. Coach Dana Bible called in E. King Gill, a former student, to stand on the sidelines in case they needed a 12th player. He wasn’t called in, but the school became known as the “Home of the 12th Man.” Additionally, the student section stands during every football and basketball game.
- Reveille - Texas A&M’s official mascot. A Rough Collie, Reveille or “Miss Rev” gets her name after wildly barking when a bugler played “Reveille” to wake the cadets when she was first found in 1931, A&M’s website said. Tradition holds that if she barks while in a class, the professor is supposed to dismiss the class for the day.
- Gig ‘Em - Texas A&M’s official hand signal: a fist with the thumb extended up. The phrase originated from Board of Regent and former student P.L. “Pinkie” Downs taunting Texas Christian University’s Horned Frogs, their website said.
- Century Tree - One of the icons on A&M’s campus. According to the university’s website, it was one of the first trees planted on the campus and is well over 100 years old. It is tradition that a marriage will last forever if a proposal happens under the tree, of which there have been hundreds.
- Pennies on Sully - A way to earn extra luck on an exam. Tradition, according to the college’s website, says if you leave a penny on the statue of former President Sullivan “Sully” Ross before an exam, you will get good luck.
Don’t forget that you can watch all the excitement of the big game, at 6:30 p.m. on KSAT 12.
