Texas expected to face more ‘Horns Down’ drama at TCU

Texas basketball can’t shake the “Horns Down” drama.

Two weeks after coach Rodney Terry criticized UCF players for mocking Texas’ famous hand signal after a Jan. 18 game, fans of other Big 12 teams won’t let him forget his comments.

On Saturday, ahead of Texas’ game at TCU, a group called Barstool TCU will reportedly hand out 500 “Horns Down” T-shirts to TCU students in the school’s student section.

Last week, a small group of BYU students took part in a similar stunt, but they were asked by BYU officials to remove their shirts early in the first half, as the Deseret News previously reported.

BYU coach Mark Pope commented on the shirts after the game, describing them as a “miscalculation.”

“That is not something that we are supporting,” he said.

Related

• Classless? BYU officials make students remove “Horns Down” T-shirts during Cougars’ win over Texas

Texas coach’s comments on ‘Horns Down’

The Texas coach did not weigh in on the “horns down” shirts during his press conference after the BYU game, as the Deseret News previously reported.

After the UCF game, Terry ranted about the efforts to mock his school’s hand signal, calling the UCF players’ actions “classless.”

“I was letting those guys know, you don’t do that. You guys won, we shake your hand, tip my hat to you. But we’re not going to let you act that way in our building. You’re not going to put your horns down and do all that nonsense,” he said, according to an NBC affiliate in Dallas-Fort Worth.

Terry later apologized for his comments.

“I had no intention of trying to show up anyone or offend anyone in terms of what occurred at the end of that game,” he said, per ESPN.

Why is ‘Horns Down’ controversial?

Texas’ famous “Hook ‘Em Horns” hand signal, which involves raising your index finger and pinky while holding the two middle fingers down with your thumb, has been part of school tradition since 1955, according to ESPN.

That’s when a “yell leader” for the school, Harley Clark, took it upon himself to declare it Texas’ official hand sign ahead of a rivalry football game against TCU. His fellow students actually listened.

Today, the “Hook ‘Em Horns” gesture is a common sight during Texas games of all types, but so is the “Horns Down” signal from opposing players and their fans. As you might have guessed, the mocking signal involves doing the regular horns sign but then flipping it over.

In a famous 2018 incident, a West Virginia football player, David Sills V, did a “Horns Down” signal with both of his hands after scoring a touchdown against Texas and was then called for a taunting penalty, per ESPN.

But most of the time, efforts to stop people from using “Horns Down” to mock Texas ends poorly for Texas coaches and players, as it has for Terry.

“Texas fans certainly don’t appreciate the gesture. But for Texas officials, saying anything about it is a no-win situation,” ESPN reported.