On Saturday, Bevo XIV celebrated his 10th anniversary as the university’s live Longhorn mascot, and the 38-7 victory over North Texas gave the steer his 100th “W.”
But Bevo isn’t just a pretty steer. Did you know he helps raise money for university scholarships and tutoring programs at local elementary schools? And that he has attended two presidential inaugurations? He may have even played a key defensive role in a victory against Baylor years ago.
To celebrate Bevo XIV’s big milestones, we put together a list of 100 facts about the best mascot in sports (in our humble opinion), starting with everything you need to know about the current king of the Longhorns.
1) Bevo XIV hangs out with Hollywood celebrities. He’s pals with Oscar-winning actor and 1994 RTF graduate Matthew McConaughey, and earlier this year the he rubbed elbows (horns?) with actress Kristen Bell, star of the Disney hit “Frozen.”
2) He will be in a forthcoming movie, My All American, about legendary coach Darrell K Royal and beloved player Freddie Steinmark.
3) Bevo XIV brought Longhorn pride to the White House for George W. Bush’s second inauguration in 2004. (Bevo XIII attended Bush’s first inauguration.)
4) A priest once blessed Bevo XIV.
5) Bevo XIV carries a “horn-span” longer than six feet.
6) At the end of his first season, Bevo XIV went to the Rose Bowl and oversaw a dramatic Texas win over Michigan.
7) That trip to Pasadena, Calif., marked the farthest distance Bevo XIV has traveled during his reign.
8) Bevo XIV kicked off his tenure with five straight bowl wins.
9) With back-to-back Rose Bowl victories, including a national title win that capped an undefeated season, Bevo XIV could give Bevo XIII a run for the title of winningest mascot in school history.
10) Bevo XIV presented former head coach Mack Brown with a personalized halter to thank the coach for his service when he announced his departure earlier this year.
11) Bevo XIV has a younger sister, Sunrise Sidrita, named for their dad, Sid.
12) Bevo XIV wished coach Charlie Strong luck in March when the two first met in March.
13) Bevo XIV’s best friend is Sunrise Spike, an 8-year-old Texas Longhorn steer.
14) With his 100th win, Bevo XIV’s record is now 100-30.
15) Bevo made his debut during the 1916 Thanksgiving Day football game against Texas AandM.
16) No matter what you’ve heard, Bevo’s name is not an alteration of the “13-0” score a group of unruly Aggies branded him with in 1917.
17) “Bevo” is a play on the word “beeve,” which is not only the plural of “beef” but also long used as slang for a steer.
18) Don’t confuse Bevo with Hook ‘Em. (One is a live Longhorn, and one is costumed mascot.)
19) Bevo is Not a Cow.
20) Bevo XIII helped Bevo XIV learn the ropes.
21) Bevo XIV met Texas AandM mascot Reveille VIII at the steer’s ranch.
22) “She never once barked at him, and he never tried to hook her,” Bevo’s owner told the Alcalde about the Reveille meeting. “They did just fine together, and it was truly wonderful.”
23) Bevo XIV has his own Facebook account.
24) He’s on Twitter, too.
25) And he shows off his looks on Instagram.
26) Bevo XIV has an appetite, eating as much as 60 pounds of food daily.
27) Before Bevo XIV ascended to the mascot title, he was known as Sunrise Studly.
28) Bevo XIV travels in a “custom trailer designed to fit his horns.”
29) The trailer has air conditioning and special windows to keep him cool in the Texas heat.
30) Bevo XIV is owned by Betty and John Baker.
31) The student organization The Silver Spurs cares for the mascot.
32) Bevo’s handler spends about 600 hours caring for the steer each year.
33) Bevo XIV makes as many as 50 appearances annually at events like charity fundraisers.
34) The appearance fees help fund tutoring and mentoring for 6,000 East Austin children as well as scholarships for university students.
35) The Neighborhood Longhorns Program, which Bevo and The Silver Spurs support, has award more than $500,000 in scholarships and helped thousands of local students between third and eighth grade find success in and outside the classroom.
36) The Bevo Endowment not only funds the care and transportation of Bevo but also awards 10 annual scholarships to exemplary university students, benefits the Texas Neighborhood Longhorn’s Program and other philanthropic endeavors.
37) The Texas Longhorn breed originated from Spanish cattle and has a history of facing Texas predators and fighting off grizzlies and mountain lions.
38) Bevo XIV, celebrates his birthday April 8.
39) But Bevo’s birthday is celebrated during the Longhorns’ Thanksgiving game each year, commemorating his first appearance on turkey day in 1916.
40) The Silver Spurs bring Bevo a bale of hay instead of a birthday cake.
41) The University of Texas at Austin will celebrate the 100th anniversary of having a live mascot in 2016.
42) Despite urban legend, the mascots “have never been medicated for a game or appearances.”
43) Bevo even has a museum of sorts. The Silver Spurs Bevo Center, opened in 2006, is located on the east side of Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium and is filled with Bevo photographs and memorabilia.
44) Bevo’s likeness has been re-created on ice sculptures and cakes.
45) Bevo is honored in the College Football Hall of Fame. An exhibit in the museum includes a full Silver Spurs uniform and a Bevo halter.
46) Bevo even has his own fan club.
47) Bevo is immortalized in a stained glass window now in the lobby of the Office of Graduate Studies on the first floor of the Tower.
48) The image of a crowned Bevo appears alongside the university’s Gutenberg bible in a popular ad for the university.
49) This cocker spaniel wishes he were Bevo.
50) In naming the first Bevo, T.P. Buffington, a 1892 graduate, said, “As the great longhorn was free to roam the wilderness of Texas, so must the university be free to roam the world of thought, unhampered and unafraid.”
51) In presenting Bevo to the university, Buffington read a poem about the mascot:
“In order that he may make no mistake, I will speak to him in his own language:
Now old cow, we have put you where
You can do some good with your horns and hair.
Take off that Dignity, rub off that frown;
Put on a sweater, not a cap and gown.
Get in the game as a Mascot should,
And show these bullies that you can make good.
And after the game with a victory won,
We will toot ’em up, you old son of a gun!”
52) According to the December 1916 Alcalde, the day Bevo made his debut was the largest gathering ever of Texas Exes in Austin.
53) “On no other occasion has the feeling of loyalty and devotion to the institution been so obviously manifest,” the magazine reported.
54) After seeing Bevo for the first time, some fans thought he’d be tamed so players “will be able to ride him around the gridiron between halves.”
55) The first Bevo had “horns reaching seven or eight feet tip to tip.”
56) He had to be “dragged on to the field by two lusty cowboys.”
57) The 250-acre ranch Bevo calls home is not open to the public, and the Silver Spurs don’t disclose its location.
58) Don’t try to find it. Security is tight.
59) An Austin Police Department escort makes sure Bevo gets to games safely.
60) Bevo typically arrives at the stadium three hours before kickoff.
61) Only three Bevos came from the same bloodline: Bevo V, Bevo VII and Bevo IX.
62) Bevo stars in a children’s book.
63) The first Bevo cost $124. Stephen Pinckney bought the steer with funds he collected $1 at a time from alumni and friends.
64) Bevo II was a “mighty rambunctious feller…” (from “The Littlest Longhorn: The Saga of Bevo” by Sheila Henderson and Mike Krone, page 37)
65) …and after a “nasty-tempered SMU yell leader beaned him on the noggin with a megaphone,” Bevo II “kick[ed] out the sides of his trailer!”
66) Bevo II only made four public appearances. (Hmm, wonder why.) (from “The Littlest Longhorn,” page 37)
67) Some people think Bevo II was a Hereford, not a Longhorn, because “his hornspan was just a measly four feet.”(from “The Littlest Longhorn,” page 37)
68) The university went without a live mascot for 13 years between Bevo II’s retirement and Bevo III’s inauguration. (from “The Littlest Longhorn,” page 37)
69) Bevo III came to the university from the San Antonio Zoo and served as mascot for three years starting in 1945. (from “The Littlest Longhorn,” page 39)
70) Bevo IV “was said to be the meanest of them all,” but his successor, Bevo V, “was the tamest of the Bevos.”
71) Bevo IV served for only one year. He was a wild one, and he “broke free and rammed a parked car as he was heading into the stadium for his first football game.” (from “The Littlest Longhorn,” page 41)
72) It took 11 Silver Spurs to rein him in. (from “The Littlest Longhorn,” page 41)
73) Bevo V’s tenure began in 1950, an undefeated season, and lasted five years.
74) However, he “got carsick going to out-of-town games, so he pretty much stuck close to home.” (from “The Littlest Longhorn,” page 41)
75) Bevo VI once “ran wild at a game against Rice … and galloped over to the Rice bench with his horns a-swingin’,” sending the opposing team’s players “flyin’ and scramblin’ like cold water on a hot griddle.” (from “The Littlest Longhorn,” page 41)
76) Bevo VII and coach Darrell K Royal both began their reigns in 1957, starting a golden age of Longhorn football. (from “The Littlest Longhorn,” page 41)
77) In a play on the coach’s name, some fans called Bevo VII “Your ‘Royal’ Highness.” (from “The Littlest Longhorn,” page 41)
78) Coach Royal and Bevo VII turned a losing 1-9 record the previous year into a Southwest Conference championship their first year as head coach and mascot. (from “The Littlest Longhorn,” page 43)
79) During Bevo VII’s eight-year reign, the Longhorns scored 1,880 points more than double the number of points they let opposing teams score. (from “The Littlest Longhorn,” page 45)
80) Bevo VIII held the title of mascot for just one year. (from “The Littlest Longhorn,” page 47)
81) His nickname was “Old Willie.” (from “The Littlest Longhorn,” page 47)
82) Bevo VIII once caused a delay in a game against Baylor when he laid down in the end zone. That gave the Texas defense a chance to rest, and led to a Baylor punt and a UT win.
83) The Baylor coach blamed Bevo for his team’s loss.
84) In 1969, Bevo IX and Coach Royal oversaw the university’s second National Championship, marking the Longhorns’ fifth straight bowl win and 500th victory.
85) To celebrate his ninth birthday, The Silver Spurs introduced Bevo IX to a female friend named Belvedere.
86) Bevo IX got along with the four-legged female, but in general, “he didn’t like women.”
87) Bevo X served from 1976 to 1981, and he oversaw UT’s first Heisman Trophy win, when legendary running back Earl Campbell won the iconic trophy in 1977.
88) Bevo XIII won the title of Reserve Grand Champion at the Texas Longhorn Breeders of Tomorrow Show when he “was just a yearling,” and then went on to win the National Grand Champion the following year.
89) He graced the pages of National Geographic in 1990.
90) Bevo XIII witnessed Ricky Williams earn the Longhorns’ second Heisman Trophy in 1998.
91) He lived to be 22 and retired his mascot duties at the age of 20. (Steers typically have a life span of 20 years.)
92) Bevo XIII is the winningest mascot in the university’s history.
93) He retired in 2004 after 16 years of service, with a 124-67-2 record.
94) Bevo XIII died two days after watching a 28-10 Texas victory over Oklahoma. Serving 16 years, he was the longest-tenured mascot in school history.
95) Bevo XIV was on hand to watch Texas beat USC 41-38 in the 2006 BCS National Championship Game.
96) Since Bevo I’s debut, the live mascot’s reign hasn’t been completely consecutive. The university went without a live mascot for 25 years: 1920-36 and 1936-45.
97) At commencement, students get the chance to take a picture with Bevo.
98) Bevo tenures, from shortest to longest, are: Bevo II (three games in 1936); Bevo IV (1949); Bevo VIII (1965-66); Bevo XI (1981-82); Bevo VI (1955-57); Bevo III (1945-48); Bevo I (1916-20); Bevo V (1950-55); Bevo X (1976-81); Bevo XII (1982-88); Bevo VII (1957-65); Bevo IX (1966-76); Bevo XIV (2004-currently in 10th season); and Bevo XIII (1988-2004).
99) Bevo has brought the Longhorns luck since day one. His first appearance at a football game marked a 22-7 victory over Texas AandM.
100) “His name is Bevo. Long may he reign!” Ben Dyer, editor of the Alcalde alumni magazine in December 1916, rushed an edition to press to spread word of the new mascot. In his lengthy report on the game’s festivities, Dyer he announced the steer’s name and started the 100-year reign of Bevo.
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100 Facts about Bevo for @BEVO_XIV's 100th Win http://t.co/mPM7YYsRyh #HookEm pic.twitter.com/gVrfgsZllq
— UT Austin (@UTAustin) August 31, 2014
