Origin Of Bevo
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A Longhorn steer was not the original mascot of the University of Texas. The original mascot was actually a pit bulldog named “Pig”.[3]
The idea to use a live longhorn as the universitys 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 shipped to Austin.
Counting the currently serving mascot, there have been fourteen Bevos to date. Bevo I was originally named “Bo” but came to be called Bevo during his service. Bevo II once charged an SMU cheerleader, who had to defend himself with his megaphone.[4] Bevo III escaped from his enclosure and ran amok across campus.[4] Bevo IV once attacked a parked car, while Bevo V broke loose and scattered the Baylor band.[4] More recent Bevos have had a more peaceful tenure.
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, originally named Sunrise Express, was a champion steer at the age of 3, before becoming the UT mascot.[5] Bevo XIII became the mascot in 1988 and served 16 seasons on the sideline.[6][7] He presided over 191 UT football games and attended President George W. Bushs inauguration in 2001.[5] During his tenure, he presided over two conference football championships and a Heisman trophy award for Ricky Williams.[5] Another highlight of his career came as he was being led off the field following a loss to Nebraska in the 1999 Big 12 Conference championship. While he was standing over the Nebraska logo, Bevo defecated and left his mark on the field.[5] Bevo XIII was the winningest Bevo in UT history, and was replaced by youth grand champion Sunrise Studly, becoming Bevo XIV, at the September 4, 2004 football game versus the University of North Texas. It was the first and only time that two Bevos have ever appeared at the same football game. Bevo XIII was returned to Bakers ranch where he lived out the rest of his days in peace. Bevo XIII died on October 9th, 2006 due to heart failure.[6][5][7]
Bevo XIV, the currently serving Bevo, was originally named Sunrise Studly.[5] He was also born on Sunrise Ranch and he is also a champion steer.[5] He attended George W. Bushs second inauguration in January 2005. Bevo XIV attended the 2005 Rose Bowl win over Michigan as well as the 2006 Rose Bowl game that gave the Longhorns the 2005-2006 National Championship win over USC.[2]
[edit] Origin of the name Bevo
“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.[8] Following the game, Ben Dyer, editor of the UT campus magazine The Alcalde, referred to the mascot as BEVO.[9] It is not known why he chose this name, though various theories have been put forth.[9]
The best-known tale has been called into question.[9][10] The legend claims that the name came about due to an incident of vandalism led by students of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas.[11][12][9] It is true that in 1917, four Texas Aggies kidnapped the longhorn and branded him with “13 – 0”, the score of A&Ms 1915 win over Texas.[9][12][10] Texas students are rumored to have retaliated by changing the steers brand to Bevo, as is sometimes claimed.[9][10] However, there is actually evidence that Bevo was fattened up and served at a football banquet in 1920, due to the fact the