Texas Cowboys

The Texas Cowboys is an honorary student organization at the University of Texas that is currently suspended due to hazing violations. The organization was founded in 1922 by Arno Nowotny and Bill McGill, with the purpose of serving the University of Texas, as well as the surrounding area, with the motto: "Give the best you have to Texas, and the best will come back to you."[1][2] Prior to its suspension in 2019, it was considered one of the "oldest and most elite student organizations" at the university, according to the Dallas Morning News. The Texas Cowboys served as ambassadors of the University of Texas and were present at numerous significant university-sponsored events.

The Texas Cowboys firing Smokey the Cannon.
Texas Cowboys
Motto"Give the best you have to Texas and the best will come back to you"
TypeService Organization
Established1922
FoundersArno Nowotny & Bill McGill
DirectorAlumni President Eddie Lopez
Location
Austin, Texas
Websitewww.texascowboys.org

The Texas Cowboys are most well-known for their responsibility keeping and maintaining Smokey the Cannon, which is present at all Texas Longhorns home football games.[3] Smokey is fired off after the Eyes of Texas, at the end of every quarter, and after all Texas touchdowns, field goals, kickoffs, and two-point conversions.

History

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 the first Texas Cowboys. Throughout its nearly 100 years of existence, becoming a Texas Cowboy became a high honor to its members.

The Texas Cowboys quickly adopted a set of rituals, including using a branding iron to brand themselves on their chests with the organization's logo, paddling, and chasing each other around town to kidnap and then abandon the captured member in the woods, distant roadside, or Town Lake.[4]

In 1954, Smokey the Cannon was presented to the University of Texas by the Texas Cowboys. That same year, the Cowboys began their involvement with and support of The Arc of the Capital Area.

On 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.

Smokey II was created by the Cockrell School of Engineering to replace the original Smokey in 1968. Smokey II served the University well until 1988. The following year, Smokey III, a civil war replica cannon standing six feet tall and weighing 1,200 pounds, was constructed and remains in service to this day.

In 1995, the Texas Cowboys were suspended from the UT campus for five years after one of their New Men, Gabe Higgins, died during a retreat.[5] Independent investigators determined that the Texas Cowboys engaged in eight hazing violations.[5] The organization was already on probation for hazing at the time, and this was the third penalty for hazing in as many years.[6][7] The death of Gabe Higgins, and the ritualized abuse forced on him by the Texas Cowboys, was documented by the young man's mother in a story of his young life cut short by being a Texas Cowboy.[8]

Through the efforts of the Texas Cowboys Alumni Association, the Texas Cowboys were reestablished in 2000 to represent and serve the University of Texas at Austin with spirit, character and leadership.[9]

In 2019, the Texas Cowboys were suspended from the UT campus for six years after one of their 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 and led to the group's suspension. [10] The Texas Cowboys have accepted the terms of their suspension and are committed along with the university to ending hazing.[11]

Additionally, the President of The University of Texas at Austin agrees to hold a meeting in January and August of each year, beginning in 2022, to evaluate whether the Texas Cowboys student organization may be reinstated at a point in time prior to the completion of the sanctioned suspension. The President will consider the Texas Cowboys alumni efforts to help the university eliminate hazing, the proposed future benefits to the university's efforts to eliminate hazing arising from a newly constituted Texas Cowboys student organization, and the merits of proposed reforms to the Texas Cowboys student organization and alumni association.[11]

Distinguished alumni

Political and judicial figures

University figures

Athletes and coaches

Others

See also

References
  1. Directory of Alumni
  2. of Active Members
  3. Smokey the Cannon "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2004-10-22. Retrieved 2010-08-01.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "The Rise, Fall, and Return of the Texas Cowboys". Issuu.
  5. Communications, Emmis (March 1995). The Alcalde. Emmis Communications. p. 31 – via Internet Archive. texas cowboys disbanded 1995.
  6. Holmes, Michael. "U of Texas Student Group Banned After Student Drowning". AP NEWS.
  7. "Hazing Death Punishment Reinstated - The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com.
  8. Harten, Ruth (29 March 2019). "The Cowboy's Secret: A Story about Hazing: Gabe Higgins, 1975-1995". Trafford Publishing – via Google Books.
  9. When the Smoke Cleared: The Rise, Fall, and Return of the Texas Cowboys "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-09-20. Retrieved 2010-08-01.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. https://www.statesman.com/news/20190327/ut-suspends-texas-cowboys-for-6-years-for-hazing
  11. Allen, Rebekah. "Texas Cowboys accept 6-year suspension for hazing, but UT-Austin leaves door open for faster return". Dallas Morning News.
  12. "TU EX-Student Leader Jailed In Slaying; Malcolm E. Wallace Charged in Death of Golf Professional". Valley Morning Star. Harlingen, Texas. October 24, 1951. p. 1.
  13. Jones, Garth (August 14, 1985). "Federal Official's Death Certificate Ordered Changed". The Victoria Advocate. Victoria, Texas. AP. p. 8A. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  14. Dalton, Kyle. "Butler Pitch and Putt in Austin: Murder in the clubhouse, fun on the golf course". www.golftexas.com. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
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