Bevo (mascot)
Bevo is the name of the mascot of the
sports teams at the
University of Texas at Austin, a
Texas longhorn steer with
burnt orange coloring. The current Bevo is fourteenth in the line of longhorns that have been the university's mascot.
The idea to use a live longhorn as the university's mascot is attributed to UT alumnus Stephen Pinckney in 1916. Pinckney gathered $124 from other alumni to purchase a steer in the
Texas Panhandle, which they originally named "Bo" and which they shipped to
Austin.
Origin of a name
"Bo" made his first public appearance at the halftime of the 1916
Thanksgiving Day football game between Texas and archrival the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (later
Texas A&M University), a game in which Texas defeated the Aggies 22 - 7. Following the game,
Ben Dyer, editor of the UT campus magazine
The Alcalde, referred to the mascot as BEVO. It is not known why he chose this name, though various theories have been put forth.
The most well known tale most likely did not actually occur as it is told. It is true that in 1917, four A&M students kidnapped the longhorn and branded him with "13 - 0", the score of A&M's 1915 win over Texas. However, Texas students did not, as is rumored, retaliate by changing the steer's brand to Bevo as is sometimes claimed. Instead they fattened him up and served him at a football banquet in 1920. The Aggies were fed the side they had branded and presented with the hide, which still reads 13–0.
Also, as mentioned above Ben Dyer had used the term one year previously, so it is not conceivable that the A&M prank led to the name.
Another story states that it is possible the editor had "
Bevo" in mind, which was a
near beer. However, the beverage did not become popular on campus until a later time, so this does not explain why Dyer would make such a reference.
Perhaps the most plausible story was the one reported in
The Daily Texan, the student newspaper of UT: "Through the 1900s and 1910s, newspapers ran a series of comic strips drawn by Gus Mager. The strips usually featured monkeys as the main characters, all named for their personality traits. Braggo the Monk constantly made empty boasts, Sherlocko the Monk was a bumbling detective, and so on. The comic strips were popular enough to create a nationwide fad for persons to nickname their friends the same way, with an "o" added to the end. The
Marx Brothers were so named by their colleagues in
Vaudeville:
Groucho was moody,
Harpo played the
harp, and
Chico chased girls ("chicks"). Mager's strips ran every Sunday in newspapers throughout Texas, including Austin."
Lineage
There have been fourteen Bevos to date. The most recently retired Bevo was Bevo XIII, which like the current Bevo was supplied to the University by John T. Baker, owner of the Sunrise Ranch in
Liberty Hill, Texas. Baker is past president of the
Texas Longhorn Breeders Association of America and serves as a judge in its competitions. Bevo XIII presided over 191 UT football games and attended
President George W. Bush's
inauguration in 2000. Bevo XIII, the winningest Bevo in UT history, was replaced by youth grand champion Sunrise Studly, becoming Bevo XIV, at the
September 4,
2004 football game versus the
University of North Texas. He later attended George W. Bush's second inauguration in January 2005. Bevo XIII, originally named Sunrise Express, was returned to Baker's
ranch where he is to live out the rest of his days in peace.
Bevo makes appearances at all home
football games of the University of Texas, as well as many away games. He also typically makes appearances at important pep rallies, such as the ones in the weeks before the games against
Texas A&M and the
University of Oklahoma. Following commencement ceremonies, he is typically on hand for photographs with graduates and their families.
Since 1945, the care of Bevo during his transportation and appearances has been entrusted to an honorary organization of undergraduate students called the
Silver Spurs. Bevo rides in a special burnt orange livestock trailer with his name on the side.
During football games, he typically stands or sits placidly behind one of the end zones (the south end zone in
Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium) and is occasionally greeted by UT players when they score
touchdowns. Contrary to popular belief Bevo is never drugged, and is chosen for his trainability and experience in exposure to loud situations. He is riled only in the most extreme of circumstances, such as once during a lightning storm during a game against
Rice University, in which he broke away from his handlers and charged at the opposition team's bench.
The Texas A&M community sponsors an annual "Bevo Burn" which involves the roasting of an entire calf.
*Sheila Henderson.
The Littlest Longhorn: The Saga of BEVO. The Littlest Book Company, Austin (1989). ISBN 0-9623171-0.
*Nicar, Jim.
The Truth About Bevo The Daily Texan.
June 3,
2003.
*Cox, Mike.
Bevo - The University of Texas' longhorn mascot Texas Tales.
January 20,
2004.
*Billingsley, Richard.
No Place Else But Texas ESPN.
December 20,
2001.
*
"Pig's Dead...Dog gone": UT Austin students lead effort to pay tribute to first varsity mascot The University of Texas Office of Public Affairs.
*Vertuno, Jim.
Holiday Bowl may be last for Bevo XIII Associated Press.
December 25,
2003.
*Hall, Delaney.
Bevo XIII retires after longest running term The Daily Texan.
September 3,
2004.
*
Bevo Branded 13–0 The University of Texas: Now & Then.
June 25,
2003.
*
Silver Spurs Association*
Mack Brown Texas Football: Proud Traditions: Bevo*
Texas Traditions: Bevo
