Tejas Club

Tejas Club

Established	1925
Location	Austin, Texas
Website	http://tejasclub.org

The Tejas Club is one of the oldest student organizations at the University of Texas at Austin. It was founded in 1925 to help mould honorable young men through friendship, leadership, and scholarship. Many of Texas' most successful alumni are Tejas Braves.

Establishment

The Tejas Club was formed in 1925 by Tom Renfro and Howell Cobb with the vision of establishing "a club on this campus composed of men whom we believe to be honorable."^[1] In its early years, Tejas was associated with Theta Nu Epsilon (ΘΝΕ), a nationwide sophomore class society which also included such organizations as Skull and Bones at Yale University, The Phoenix – S K Club at Harvard University, and The Machine at the University of Alabama.^[2]

The official purpose of the club is "to allow our members to live a more complete life by sharing their personalities, abilities and efforts to promote good fellowship and a high standard of conduct among ourselves and our fellow students, to encourage loyalty and usefulness to our school, and to further good scholarship.".^[3] The membership process of the organization is secretive and not open to the public.

On Campus

Tejas Braves have always been a highly involved and diverse group of men at the University of Texas. Members of the Tejas Club have served as student body presidents and vice presidents, head cheerleaders, chairmen of the University Union Board of Directors, and many other important roles on campus.^{[4][5][6][7][8][9]}

The Tejas Club celebrated its 90th Anniversary on September 5 and 6 of 2015.^[10][11]

As is tradition, the Tejas Club hosts weekly coffees featuring influential guest speakers. Recent speakers have included actor Matthew McConaughey, Texas Longhorns athletics coaches Mack Brown, Rick Barnes, and Augie Garrido; UT professors Robert Metcalfe, H.W. Brands, and Larry Speck; former UT presidents William C. Powers and Larry Faulkner; former University of Texas System chancellor Mark Yudof; former Secretary of the Air Force Hans Mark; former National Security Agency director Bobby Ray Inman; Athlete Lance Armstrong, and Texas politicians Wendy Davis, Christi Craddick, Kel Seliger, and Carole Keeton Strayhorn among others.^[12]

Alumni

Many notable alumni of the University of Texas are Tejas Braves. The Tejas Foundation was created in 1953 to establish communication between former and current members of the club. To this day, the alumni of Tejas continue to be involved with helping the club provide housing, encourage scholarship, and organize various events.^[13]

Alumni of the Tejas Club include:

• Harley Clark,^[14] former judge, attorney, and UT student body president; creator of the "Hook 'em Horns" hand sign.^[7]
• Alex Cranberg, University of Texas System regent; founder and chairman of Aspect Holdings, LLC.^[15][16][17]
• Robert H. Dedman, Sr.,^[18] former billionaire, founder and chairman of ClubCorp, and owner of the world-famous Pinehurst Resort.^[19]
• Michael L. Gillette,^[20] author, historian, and non-profit executive.^[21]
• W. Page Keeton,^[22] former attorney and dean of the University of Texas School of Law.^[23][24]
• Royce C. Lamberth,^[25] current Senior Judge and former Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.^[26][27]
• Austin Ligon,^[28] co-founder and retired president and CEO of CarMax.^[29][30]
• Steve Poizner,^[31] businessman, entrepreneur, and Republican politician.^[32][33]
• Rex Tillerson,^[34] chairman, president, and CEO of Exxon Mobil Corporation.^[35][36]

References

The University of Texas at Austin
Academics	School of Architecture Cockrell School of Engineering Dell Medical School Moody College of Communication (Department of Radio-Television-Film) College of Fine Arts (Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music) College of Liberal Arts Graduate School Jackson School of Geosciences School of Law LBJ School of Public Affairs McCombs School of Business College of Natural Sciences School of Information
Research	Américo Paredes Center for Cultural Studies Center for Community College Student Engagement Center for Complex Quantum Systems RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law Texas Advanced Computing Center The William P. Clements Jr. Center for National Security
Athletics	Football Baseball Men's basketball Women's basketball Swimming & Diving Volleyball Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium Erwin Special Events Center Denton A. Cooley Pavilion UFCU Disch–Falk Field Myers Stadium McCombs Field Gregory Gymnasium Jamail Texas Swimming Center Lone Star Showdown
Campus	List of buildings Battle Hall Batts Hall Benedict Hall Blanton Museum of Art (Austin by Ellsworth Kelly) Calhoun Hall Flawn Academic Center Garrison Hall Goldsmith Hall Harry Ransom Center J. Frank Dobie House Pickle Research Campus Jester Center Littlefield Fountain Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Landmarks (Public art collection) Los Angeles Center LBJ Library and Museum Main Building ("The Tower") McDonald Observatory Performing Arts Center Perry–Castañeda Library Sutton Hall Texas Memorial Museum Union Building Welch Hall
History	History of the University Stephen F. Austin Constitution of 1876 Fisher v. University of Texas (2013) Fisher v. University of Texas (2016) Hopwood v. Texas Sweatt v. Painter Tower shooting
People	Alumni Faculty Presidents Texas Exes (New York Chapter) Friar Society Tejas Club
Traditions	Bevo The Eyes of Texas Hex Rally Hook 'em Horns Hook 'em (mascot) Texas Cowboys Texas Fight World's Largest Texas Flag
Student life	Fraternities and Sororities The Drag Hook 'em Horns
Media	Longhorn IMG Sports Network Longhorn Network Texas Student Media (KVRX-FM, Texas Student Television, Texas Travesty, The Daily Texan)