University of Texas [antikvár]

"The Eyes of Texas are upon you All the livelong day," And so begins the Texas alma mater. It all began in 1899, when university president William L. Prather ended a speech, "Students of the University of Texas, the eyes of Texas are upon you." This admonition became Prather's byword and the principle of the University. In 1903, a student by the name of J.L. Sinclair set the maxim to song using the tune of "I've been working on the Railroad." Students, faculty and citizens loved it. From that day on, "The Eyes of Texas" was the ofTicial University song. In similar fashion other traditions were born at the University of Texas. In 1884 a group of students from the four-year-old University ofTexas traveled down to the train depot to see their baseball team off to a game with Southwestern University. The send-ofFlooked pretty dull to some of the women. Where were the bright colors reminding them to bring a victory home? Someone had a bright idea. They raced down to the nearest store and bought several bolts of ribbon in the only available colors - orange and white. And another tradition was born. In 1900 they made it ofTicial. Orange and white were the University colors. Still later, in 1920 The Alcalde, the alumni newsletter, reported: " in the scientific history of its development, the Longhorn comes to connote courage, fighting ability, nerve, lust of combat, efficiency in deadly encounters, and the holy spirit of never-say-die." If that description didn't reflect the fighting spirit of the University ofTexas athletic teams, nothing did. So "Longhorn" was adopted as the official name of the teams. The first official live longhorn mascot was presented to the student body in 1916 at the annual Thanksgiving Day game with Texas AM. They called him Bevo. He worked his magic because the University ofTexas won the day 21-7. The year before, it had been Texas AM's victory at 13-0. The students reported they would memorialize the day by branding Bevo with a large "T' and the "21-7" score. Protests of cruelty shelved this idea, but it planted the seed ofa new one in the minds of the Aggies. Some three months later Bevo was seen sporting the very large numerals "13-0". What an embarrassment to a proud U.T longhorn! Not to be outdone, the U.T. students devised a plan of their own. They cleverly changed the "13" to "B", the "-" to an "E" and inserted a "V" before the "0". Bevo the First remained mascot for four years until he was served at barbecue January 20,1920. He was followed in succession by twelve new Bevos, but none had the cachet or the bravery of Bevo the First. The first campus football game was played on November 11,1893. It was stopped after thirty minutes of play because the football had burst from being "too lovingly embraced." The first game with another school was that same year against Dallas. Texas won that one by 18-16. By 1920 the University ofTexas were champs. That year they had a 9-0 record, beating Texas AM on Thanksgiving Day by 7-3. They were top of their conference and by 1931 they had captured two more Southwest Conference championships. And then, in 1937, entered Dana Xenophon Bible, previously head coach at Texas AM, where in eleven years he had won five Southwest Conference championships and then won six Big Six championships in eight seasons at Nebraska. By 1941 Texas was ranked No. I in the nation and fourteen Texas players were featured on the cover of Life Magazine. But they then lost their next two games and finished number four in the final 1941 A? poll. As all good coaches go, so went Bible. In 1956 the University ofTexas was looking for a new coach again. They had heard about a 32-year-old out at the University ofWashington. That's when they brought Darrell Royal in on a five-year contract. He stayed on at the University ofTexas for almost 20 years, and during that time he brought the Longhorns to unprecedented heights. Thank you, Darrell Royal. Football, baseball, basketball or academics, the University ofTexas has grown from a small school in 1883 to a campus that today boasts an enrollment of41,500 in Austin alone, and 13 satellite campuses. There are branches in Ariington, Dallas, El Paso, Odessa, San Antonio, Tyler and Medical or Health Centers at Dallas, Galveston, Houston, San Antonio and Tyler. Its a modern, down-home, yet sophisticated university system that does Texas proud. Facing page; Texas Union, the University ofTexas at Austin.