The Texas Cowboys is an honorary student service organization at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

. 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.

Purpose

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.

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. 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, 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 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, the

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.

Distinguished alumni

Political and judicial figures * Dolph Briscoe - 41st

Governor of Texas The governor of Texas is the head of state of the U.S. state of Texas. The governor is the head of the executive branch of the government of Texas and is the commander-in-chief of the Texas Military Forces. Established in the Constit ...

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- 37th Governor of Texas *

Lloyd Bentsen Lloyd Millard Bentsen Jr. (February 11, 1921 – May 23, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 69th United States secretary of the treasury under President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1994. He served as a United States senator from ...

- Former

United States Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

, United States Senator from Texas, 1988 Vice Presidential Nominee * Donald Evans - Former

United States Secretary of Commerce The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary rep ...

, chairman of the George W. Bush presidential campaign, chairman of the Board of Regents of the

University of Texas System The University of Texas System (UT System) is a public university system in the U.S. state of Texas. It includes nine universities and five independent health institutions. The UT System is headquartered in Downtown Austin. It is the large ...

* Jack Brooks - Former member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from Texas' 9th and 2nd districts * Frank N. Ikard - Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas' 13th district * Bob Armstrong - Former U.S. Under Secretary of the Interior, Texas Land Commissioner, and Texas state representative * George Bayoud - Former

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, real estate investor * Lloyd Hand - Former

Chief of Protocol of the United States In the United States, the chief of protocol is an officer of the United States Department of State responsible for advising the president of the United States, the Vice President of the United States, vice president of the United States, and th ...

* Keith L. Brown - Former president of the Council of American Ambassadors,

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and

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* Robert Strauss - Former United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union, chairman of the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the ...

, chairman of the Jimmy Carter presidential campaign * Peter R. Coneway - Former

United States Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein This is a list of United States ambassadors to the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation and the Principality of Liechtenstein. History Since 1997, the U.S. ambassador to Switzerland has also been Diplomatic accreditation, accredited to the Princi ...

, prominent investment banker * John Hill - Former Chief Justice,

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, Texas Attorney General, Secretary of State of Texas * Barefoot Sanders - Retired Chief Judge, United States District Court *

John Singleton John Daniel Singleton (January 6, 1968 April 28, 2019) was an American director, screenwriter, and producer. He made his feature film debut writing and directing '' Boyz n the Hood'' (1991), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for ...

- Retired Chief Judge, United States District Court * Sam Sparks - Federal Judge, United States District Court * Joe Greenhill - Former Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Texas * Four Price - Current member,

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. There are no Term limits in the United States, term limits. The ...

University figures * Jack Blanton - Former regent of the University of Texas System, chairman and CEO of Scurlock Oil Company * Larry Faulkner - Former president of the University of Texas, former president of Houston Endowment Inc. * Ricardo Romo - President of the

University of Texas at San Antonio The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA or UT San Antonio) is a Public university, public research university in San Antonio, Texas, United States. Established in 1969,H. Scott Caven, Jr. - Former chairman of the Board of Regents of the University of Texas System * Wales Madden - Former regent of the University of Texas System * Patrick Oxford - Former regent of the University of Texas System
Howard N. Richards
- Former regent of the University of Texas System * W. Page Keeton - Former attorney, dean of the

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* Mike Perrin - Former Men's Athletics Director Athletes and coaches *

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- Former head coach, Dallas Cowboys, member of the

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* David McWilliams - Former head football coach, University of Texas *

Earl Campbell Earl Christian Campbell (born March 29, 1955), nicknamed "the Tyler Rose", is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons, primarily with the Houston Oilers. Known f ...

- Former running back,

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winner, member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame * Tommy Nobis - Former linebacker,

Maxwell Award The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the college football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best all ...

winner, member of the

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* Doug English - Former defensive tackle, 4-time Pro Bowl selection, member of the College Football Hall of Fame * Colt McCoy - Quarterback, New York Giants, Maxwell Award winner *

Scottie Scheffler Scott Alexander Scheffler (born June 21, 1996) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He is currently ranked world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, and has held that position for over 100 weeks. He has won th ...

- Golfer, 2022

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champion * Beau Hossler - Golfer, led the 2012 U.S. Open at 17-years-old * Will Licon - Swimmer, 11-time NCAA Champion, American Record-holder, 2017

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Athlete of the Year * Cullen Loeffler - Long snapper, Minnesota Vikings * Daron Roberts - Former assistant coach, Cleveland Browns * Kramer Hickok - Golfer,

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's player of the year in 2017 * Major Applewhite - Head Coach, University of South Alabama * James Saxton - College Football Hall of Fame Others * James T. Willerson - President and medical director of The Texas Heart Institute * Denton Cooley - Renowned heart surgeon, founder of The Texas Heart Institute * Harley Clark - Former judge, attorney, and UT student body president; creator of the "Hook 'em Horns" hand sign * Benno C. Schmidt, Sr. - Former attorney and venture capitalist * Thomas Lumpkin - Former president of

Gulf Oil Gulf Oil was a major global oil company in operation from 1901 to 1985. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the Seven Sisters (oil companies), Seven Sisters oil companies. ...

* Ronald Steinhart - Retired chairman and CEO of the Commercial Banking Group of

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* Malcolm Wallace, former UT student body president,

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

for the

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, and press secretary to then-

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Suspension and Return

The Cowboys have been suspended and returned after two incidents on campus. 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. 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, 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 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, 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.

References

External links