The Texas Cowboys is an honorary student service organization at the University of Texas at Austin . The organization was founded in 1922 with the purpose of serving the University of Texas and maintaining Smokey the Cannon . It is considered one of the "oldest and most elite student organizations" at the university. Among its alumni are national politicians, two Texas Governors , prominent businessmen, and professional athletes.
21-670: The Texas Cowboys serve as ambassadors of the University of Texas and are present at numerous significant university-sponsored events. They are most well-known for their responsibility keeping and maintaining Smokey the Cannon , which is present at all Texas Longhorns home football games. In 1922, two students at the University of Texas at Austin decided to form a club. These two men were head cheerleader Arno Nowotny and Longhorn Band president Bill McGill. In 1922, forty men from all aspects of campus life were chosen by McGill and Nowotny to be
42-539: A concrete stadium to replace the wooden bleachers of Clark Field . Heralded as "the largest sports facility of its kind in the Southwest" upon its completion in 1924, it seated 27,000 people in the lower level of the current facility's east and west grandstands. It was designed as a dual-purpose facility with a 440-yard (400 m) athletics track surrounding the football field. The stadium was financed through donations from both students and alumni. The estimated cost of
63-478: A hamster's head off), and physical brutality. The Texas Cowboys accepted the terms of their suspension. In 2023, The University of Texas granted the Texas Cowboys provisional permission to return to campus. This decision is part of the university's Nine Dimensions of Successful Student Organizations program, which aims to foster accountability and address hazing within student groups. As part of their return,
84-719: A time. Smokey III was built by Lupton Machine of Austin, out of the trunk of an oak tree in 1988 and purchased by the Texas Cowboys Alumni Association for $ 15,000. Smokey III is transported in the Texas Cowboys’ trailer along with a wooden toolbox containing all necessary items to operate the cannon. Darrell K Royal%E2%80%93Texas Memorial Stadium Darrell K Royal Memorial Stadium (formerly War Memorial Stadium , Memorial Stadium , and Texas Memorial Stadium ), located in Austin, Texas , on
105-549: The University of Texas at Austin suspended the Texas Cowboys spirit group from campus for six years following an investigation into alleged hazing during a retreat in 2018, where new members were subjected to physical brutality, forced ingestion of unwanted substances, and coerced consumption of alcohol. Political and judicial figures University figures Athletes and coaches Others The Cowboys have been suspended and returned after two incidents on campus. In 1995,
126-400: The ninth largest stadium in the world. The DKR–Texas Memorial Stadium attendance record of 105,215 spectators was set on October 19, 2024, when Texas played the University of Georgia Bulldogs . In 1923, former UT athletics director L. Theo Bellmont (the west side of the stadium is named in his honor), along with 30 student leaders, presented the idea to the board of regents of building
147-623: The Cannon Smokey the Cannon is a replica Civil War artillery cannon that has served as part of the pageantry of college football games at the University of Texas at Austin since 1953. Smokey the Cannon is owned and operated by the Texas Cowboys (an honorary men’s service organization at Texas) and is stationed in the left corner of the south endzone at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium during every Texas Longhorns home football game. After each football season, Smokey
168-484: The Cannon is generally displayed in the Red McCombs Red Zone atrium for the spring semester. Smokey the Cannon is shot off at every Texas Longhorns score, kick-off, end of quarter, and most importantly , it is fired off after the world-famous college school song, " The Eyes of Texas " at the conclusion of every Texas football game. In addition to all home football games, Smokey the Cannon is present at
189-787: The Cowboys began their involvement with and support of The Arc of the Capital Area. In 1955 Smokey was modified to shoot twin 10-gauge shotgun shells and the revision was renamed "Smokey II" which you can find a replica at the Texas Cowboys Pavilion and the original in the Denius Hall of Fame at the North Endzone of the DKR Memorial Stadium. Smokey II served the University well until 1988. On
210-492: The Monday following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, Smokey fired a 21-gun salute to the fallen President during the climactic moment in a public ceremony in front of the state Capitol building. In 1988, Smokey III, a civil war replica cannon standing six feet tall, weighing 1,200 pounds, and fires four 10-gauge shotgun shells was constructed by Lupton Machine and remains in service to this day. In 2019,
231-590: The Texas Cowboys are now required to follow the Nine Dimensions program, which includes self-reflection, value definition, behavior expectations, governance establishment, and the promotion of an anti-hazing culture. Oversight for these requirements is provided by the Office of the Dean of Students. As of 2023, the Texas Cowboys are officially back on campus, operating under these revised guidelines. Smokey
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#1732782577111252-459: The Texas Cowboys were suspended from the UT campus for five years after one of their New Men, Gabe Higgins, died during a retreat. Independent investigators determined that the Texas Cowboys engaged in eight hazing violations. The organization was already on probation for hazing at the time, and this was the third penalty for hazing in as many years. The Texas Cowboys were reestablished in 2000. In 2019,
273-455: The Texas Cowboys were suspended from the UT campus for six years for hazing violations. New Men Nicholas Cumberland died in a car crash returning from a retreat held at a ranch outside of Austin. Nicholas's death prompted a university investigation into the retreat, which discovered multiple forms of hazing that led to the group's suspension, including forced ingestion of unwanted substances (including cat food), coerced animal cruelty (namely biting
294-612: The Texas-LSU game, honoring the men and women who had died in the war. On November 12, 1977, a small granite monument was unveiled and placed at the base of the statue, during the TCU-Texas game. The ceremony rededicated Texas Memorial Stadium to the memory of all alumni in all American wars. The University of Texas honored legendary football coach Darrell K Royal , who enlisted in the US Army Air Corps in 1943, played at
315-651: The University of Oklahoma under legendary Coach Bud Wilkinson, and who led Texas to three national championships and eleven Southwest Conference titles, by officially naming the stadium after him in 1996. Additionally, the university established the Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium Veterans Committee, composed of alumni who served in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, or the Gulf Wars. The committee is charged to forever dedicate
336-603: The annual Texas vs. Oklahoma Red River Rivalry game in Dallas, Texas every October, as well as at other select football games outside of Austin, Texas (barring local and stadium permission). Recently, Smokey the Cannon was present at the 2011 Holiday Bowl , in which the Texas Longhorns beat the Cal Golden Bears 21-10 on December 29, 2011; former Texas Cowboy Oldman, Blaine Irby caught 1 pass for 30 yards in
357-607: The campus of the University of Texas , has been home to the Longhorns football team since 1924. The stadium has delivered a home field advantage with the team's home record through November 24, 2023 being 399–122–10 (.761). The official stadium seating capacity is 100,119, making the stadium the fourth largest in the Southeastern Conference , the seventh largest stadium in the United States, and
378-471: The first Texas Cowboys. Throughout its nearly 100 years of existence, becoming a Texas Cowboy became a high honor to its members. In 1953 Smokey the Cannon was created by The University of Texas at Austin's mechanical engineering lab in response to the shotgun blasts often heard at the Red River Rivalry and was then presented in 1954 to the University of Texas by the Texas Cowboys. That same year,
399-505: The structure was $ 275,000. The student body dedicated the stadium in honor of the 198,520 Texans—5,280 of whom died—who fought in World War I. A statue, representing the figure of democracy, was later placed atop the north end zone seats of the stadium. In World War II, the university lost many former players, including former coach Jack Chevigny . The Athletics Council rededicated the newly enlarged stadium on September 18, 1948, prior to
420-658: The win. The Cannon has appeared at countless charity and volunteer events across the country and is maintained and transported by the Cannon Crew — a team of four Oldmen, voted on by the entire organization each spring. During the 2012 spring semester, "Smokey III" appeared at Congregation Beth Yeshurun Synagogue in Houston, Texas to honor the Berry family who lost two parents in a car accident in July 2011. Originally, Smokey I
441-528: Was created by the University of Texas at Austin's mechanical engineering lab in 1953, in response to shotgun blasts often heard at the Red River Rivalry . Two years later, Smokey I was modified in 1955 to shoot twin 10-gauge shotgun shells and the revision was renamed "Smokey II". "Smokey II" was used by the Texas Cowboys for over 30 years. The current version of the cannon, Smokey III, weighs 1,200 pounds and fires up to four blank 10-gauge shells at
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