Nicknaming the Cohorts

2013 Orientation Planning Committee

We’re proposing nicknames for the 4 cohorts

Each nickname evokes a historic symbol of UT

Class of 2013 will be first to adopt nicknames

Class of 2012 will be able to buy new cohort t-shirts at $5-$10

BevosBevo, a Texas longhorn steer with burnt orange coloring, is one of the most recognized college mascots and has even been called "the toughest-looking animal mascot in sports".

The shape of the Longhorn's head and horns gives rise to the school's hand symbol and saying, “Hook 'em Horns.”

The current Bevo is the fourteenth in the line of longhorns that have been the university's mascot, and, among other appearances, attended George Bush’s inauguration in 2005.

There are several conflicting stories as to how Bevo came by his name; one rumor has it that A&M students branded the first Bevo 13-0 after the score of their most recent football win, but UT students changed the brand into ‘BEVO’.

Cohort 1

SmokeysSmokey the Cannon is a small cannon that resides in the south end zone of football home games. Smokey's thunderous roar is heard when the cannon fires blank shotgun shells after each Texas score, kickoff, and quarter end.

The original cannon, Smokey I, was constructed at the University's mechanical engineering lab in 1953, in response to shotgun blasts often heard at the Red River Shootout — the annual Texas-Oklahoma football game.

The current version of the cannon, Smokey III, weighs 1,200 pounds and fires up to four blank 10-gauge shells at a time. The cannon was built in 1988 by Lupton Machinery of Austin out of the trunk of an old oak tree. Alumni donations were raised to cover the cannon's $25,000 cost.

Cohort 2

BerthasBig Bertha is a bass drum used by the Longhorn Band of The University of Texas at Austin. It is rumored to be the World’s Largest Drum, at 8 feet in diameter and 10 feet tall.

In 1922, the University of Chicago commissioned C.G. Conn Instruments to build a bass drum for the school. When the University of Chicago ended its varsity football program, the drum was stored under the school's bleachers. It later became radioactively contaminated as a result of research for the development of the Atomic Bomb (the Manhattan Project) that was conducted at the stadium during the 1940s.

Colonel D. Harold Byrd, a former Longhorn Band member, purchased it from the University of Chicago for $1.00 and paid to have it decontaminated and restored. Big Bertha is wheeled onto the field for the half-time show during football games, and is handled by four members of the ‘Bertha Crew’ from the UT Band.

Cohort 3

TowersThe Tower is the 307-foot tall building at the center of the UT campus. It is one of the most recognizable symbols of the University, as well as the city of Austin.

The Tower is lit up in orange after wins or significant events. When UT students win a national title (which McCombs students did 4 times in case challenges in ‘10-’11), the Tower is lit with a number one. At the top of the tower is a carillon of 56 bells, the largest in Texas, which are played every quarter hour.

The tower today houses a life sciences library, an herbarium, an observation deck, and a few lucky professor’s offices.

Cohort 4

Santa RitasIn 1923, the Santa Rita #1 oil rig discovered the first oil on University of Texas lands in West Texas.

The rig was in the business of pumping oil for 19 years, beginning in 1923 when an oil well in West Texas finally blew in, justifying the faith of a group of investors who gave the claim the name.

The Santa Rita oil rig has been known ever since as the patron saint of the University of Texas, or at least of the university’s exchequer. Oil royalties have been flowing into the Permanent University Fund ever since. The derrick has been moved to the corner of MLK and Trinity in Austin, where it stands as a memorial to its legendary past.

Cohort ?

BellmontsUT's first mascot was actually a scrappy tan and white dog named Pig Bellmont, who was brought to Austin by Theo Bellmont, a co-founder of the Southwest Athletic Conference and the University's first Athletic Director.

Pig was named for Gus "Pig" Dittmar, who played center for the football team, and was known to slip through the defensive line "like a greased pig." During a game in 1914, the athlete and the dog stood next to each other on the sidelines. The students noticed that both were bowlegged, and named the dog after the athlete.

In 1923, Pig was hit by a Model T Ford at the corner of 24th Street and Guadalupe. After a massive funeral, he was buried near the back entrance to McCombs. His epitaph: "Pig's Dead . . . Dog Gone.“

Cohort ?

How this will work

Cohort numbers will be maintained for continuity between classes; (e.g. “Cohort 2 Smokeys”)

As part of their welcome packet, students will receive a printed card with their cohort assignment and a brief history linking the nickname to UT history

Second year students will be able to order new cohort t-shirts to be picked up at the start of school year

MBA Cohort T-shirt designs