Hex Rally
Encyclopedia
Pep rally
Pep rallies are events that occur primarily in the United States and Canada. A pep rally is a gathering of people, typically students of middle school, high school and college age, before a sports event. The purpose of such a gathering is to encourage school spirit and to support members of the...
at The University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
that occurred in the week prior to the annual football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
game between the Texas Longhorns
Texas Longhorn Athletics
Texas Longhorns athletics programs include the extramural and intramural sports teams of The University of Texas at Austin. These teams are referred to as the Texas Longhorns , taking their name from the Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and are now the...
and their in-state rivals, the Texas A&M Aggies
Texas A&M Aggies
Texas A&M Aggies refers to the students, graduates, and sports teams of Texas A&M University. The nickname "Aggie" is common at land-grant or "Ag" schools in many states. The teams compete in Division I of NCAA sports...
.
History
Before the 1941 game, a group of students went to a fortune tellerFortune-telling
Fortune-telling is the practice of predicting information about a person's life. The scope of fortune-telling is in principle identical with the practice of divination...
, Mozzelle "Madame Augusta" Hipple, for advice. The Aggies were undefeated that season and the Longhorns had not defeated A&M at Kyle Field
Kyle Field
Kyle Field is the football stadium located on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. It has been the home to the Texas A&M Aggie football team in rudimentary form since 1904, and as a complete stadium since 1927. It is known as The Home of the 12th Man...
in almost 18 years, going 10-7-1 from 1923 through 1940. The fortune teller told the students to burn red candles, symbolizing challenge and opposition. University students, alumni and fans burned red candles for the entire week before the game. The Longhorns won the football game 23-0.
For several years, the University of Texas also attempted to hex the Aggies with a bonfire, similar in structure to the Aggie Bonfire
Aggie Bonfire
Aggie Bonfire was a long-standing tradition at Texas A&M University as part of the college rivalry with the University of Texas at Austin. For 90 years, Texas A&M students—known as Aggies—built and burned a bonfire on campus each autumn...
. However, there was not sufficient lumber to build one as large, and student interest was lacking. UT Bonfire eventually died out in the mid-1980s. The physics department at the university decided to build an iron candle-like torch as a replacement, which is lit each year at the rally.
The rally has been held annually, except in 2002 after the death of Texas A&M football player Brandon Fails, and 1999 when the rally's tone was altered in response to the tragedy of the Aggie bonfire collapse; the 1999 rally was called a "Unity Gathering" and featured white candles instead of red.
Rally
Cheerleading
Cheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate...
squad, Smokey the Cannon
Smokey the Cannon
Smokey the Cannon is an artillery piece used as part of the pageantry of college football games of The University of Texas Longhorns. Smokey is operated and cared for by the Texas Cowboys, a University student organization. Smokey is fired each time the Longhorns score, at every kick-off, and at...
, the World's Largest Texas Flag
World's Largest Texas Flag
The World's Largest Texas Flag is a Texas flag used by the Alpha Rho chapter of Alpha Phi Omega , a national co-ed service fraternity, at the University of Texas at Austin in displays at football pre-game shows, at pep rallies, or for other purposes.-Field flag:The largest flag is used for...
, and football team all appeared at the event, where red candles were burned.
The 2008 rally, held November 24, 2008, featured Longhorn football head coach Mack Brown
Mack Brown
William Mack Brown is head coach of The University of Texas at Austin Longhorn football team.Prior to his head coach position at Texas, Brown was head coach at Appalachian State, Tulane, and North Carolina. Brown is credited with revitalizing the Texas and North Carolina football programs...
, strength and conditioning coach, Jeff "Mad Dog" Madden
Jeff Madden
Jeff "Mad Dog" Madden is the strength and conditioning coach for the college football team of the University of Texas, the Texas Longhorns. He helped the team win the 2005 National Championship....
, and the Longhorn Football Team.