Game Day Traditions, Mascots, Nicknames & More

Discover what Longhorn fans enjoy doing and seeing on Football Saturdays

Heisman Statues of Ricky Williams and Earl Campbell

  UT's Heisman Heroes are immortalized in tremendous fashion by statues built as a tribute to the impact they made in college football by winning college football's top individual award. Located in the southwest corner of Darrell K. Royal Stadium, the statues stand 8-feet tall and weigh 1000 pounds. Campbell's statue was unveiled in 2006 and Williams' in 2012.

TEXAS Longhorns Mascot: BEVO
The Bevo tradition has been alive, but not necessarily well at UT since 1916.  Brought to the school by a football manager, Bevo’s first line of duty was to stand tall for the Longhorn’ s during a 1916 victory over Texas A&M in Austin.  However, it wasn’t long before Bevo served in a different capacity.  Actually he provided many servings when he showed up as the main entree at an UT-Texas A&M banquet that honored the Texas 1920 squad that upset the Aggies for the SWC crown.

Of course, this story seems  bizarre considering the pampering care today’s mascots receive.  Once future Bevo’s were spared the possibility of wrapping up their careers at the nearest steakhouse, the line of mascots has been a source of great pride at UT.  Bevo notables include Bevo II being a Hereford instead of a Longhorn, Bevo III earning a blue ribbon in a New York stock show, Bevo IV battering a car while entering Memorial Stadium and Bevo VIII escaping prior to the 1990 Oklahoma game.

The naming of Bevo holds its own place in Texas folklore.  The Longhorn supposedly received his name as a response to Aggie fans branding the 13-0 score into the UT mascot following the Aggies’ shutout victory in 1913.  To remove the shameful marking, Texas fans formed “BEVO” by transforming the 13 into a “B,” making the hyphen an “E,” inserting the “V” and using the “0" that was already there.

An honorary service organization named the University of Texas Silver Spurs has been responsible for Bevo’s upkeep since 1936.  When Bevo displays his Longhorn spirit, he can be difficult to handle.

“You can never tell what type of mood Bevo will be in,” said UT Silver Spur member Adam Krug.  Sometimes he’s feisty and it takes four guys to get him going and sometimes he’s peaceful.  He lives out on a ranch with his buddies and we go out and see him a couple of times a week.”

With the history of pranksters wreaking havoc with mascots through the years, the Silver Spurs take pride in keeping Bevo out of harm’s way. “Before games with a big rival we keep Bevo in a special place,” Krug said.  “In the past, Oklahoma and Texas A&M supporters have done some stupid things,” Krug added as he guarded Bevo at the 1998 Oklahoma game.  “They’ve thrown paint on Bevo and have done other things.  We have to be real careful.”

Texas Longhorns School Colors
Burning up the old Orange and in with the new
Texas first adopted it's unique shade of Burnt Orange uniform colors in 1928 when second year head coach Clyde Littlefield first instrumented the change from bright orange.  With the bright orange hue, the Longhorns jerseys would fade from orange to yellow as each season progressed.  The color fade would lead Texas opponents to refer to Longhorn players as "Yellow-Bellies."

A friend of Littlefield's who worked at the O'Shea Knitting Mills in Chicago helped to develop the special dye for Texas.  The new burnt orange color stayed with UT until the dye was no longer made in WW II.  With that development, Texas went back to sporting an orange that resembled that of Clemson and Tennessee. Daryl Royal brought Burnt Orange back to Texas in 1962 and that color is now firmly established as a part of Texas' "Colorful" tradition.