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LIFE&ARTS PAGE 14
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Monday, September 16, 2013
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LIFE OF BEVO By Christine Ayala @christine_ayala
The speckles of orange and white on Bevo’s coat match the blurs on the football field as he watches on from the sidelines for his ninth straight season as UT’s living Longhorn mascot. The 14th to hold the exclusive position of the University’s mascot, Bevo is an easily recognizable UT icon with a history that dates back almost 100 years. Despite his role, the University does not own or finance Bevo XIV in any way. Bevo XIV’s owners, Betty and John T. Baker, donate the steer for games and spend more than $3,000 annually on food and maintenance alone. “That’s all on the house,” John T. Baker said. The Silver Spurs, a student organization, has overseen and cared for the University icon through the years. Zachary Strain / Daily Texan Staff
Who is Sunrise Studly? Before he became Bevo XIV, the champion steer was known as Sunrise Studly. Sunrise Studly was renamed Bevo XIV in 2004. Earlier that year, the Texas Longhorn Breeders Association of America named him the National Grand Champion. “He was just a two-year-old when he became Bevo,” Betty Baker said. “That’s why I call him Baby. But at first we didn’t think he was anything special. I never saw a Bevo in him, but after he was halter-broken, he just kept getting better and better.” Bevo XIII and Bevo XIV, who both came from the Bakers’ ranch, are known for their docility. Despite claims the steers are under medication for game days, Betty Baker said there is no need to medicate show steers, which are trained to behave when on a halter. A halter is a strap fastened across Bevo XIV’s snout and behind his head, allowing his handlers to easily maneuver him. “Neither of our animals have ever been on any kind of drugs,” Betty Baker said. “[Bevo XIV] is just docile. That comes from breeding and being around people and noise.” Although he is used to game day activities, Betty Baker said Bevo XIV can occasionally be caught off guard. “Once there [were] fireworks at a game, and he did not
like that. He just didn’t know what was happening,” Betty Baker said. “He doesn’t like things behind him or above him ,so he wasn’t happy.” The Silver Spurs, a student organization, care for him at events. Zane Butter, one of Bevo’s handlers and an urban studies junior, said football season is Bevo XIV’s busiest time, but Bevo’s life is not unlike other steers. “Outside of his obligations as mascot, he’s probably a little more spoiled than other longhorns,” Butter said. When he is not representing the University at events, Bevo spends his time roaming a 250-acre ranch northwest of Austin with the Bakers’ other cattle. “He can be at the other end of the pasture somewhere, and I can call him and he’ll come,” Betty Baker said. “He knows me very well and he’s very sweet. I can give him hugs, kisses, scratch him, love on him, but you just can’t do that with anybody if he doesn’t know you well.” The 2,000 pound steer usually grazes alongside Sunrise Spike, another steer wandering around the Baker ranch, and can eat 60 pounds of feed a day, according the Betty Baker. “Bevo’s best friend is Spike,” Betty Baker said. “They like to stay together. If you see one, you see the other one.” Sunrise Spike is an 8-year-old Texas Longhorn steer. “Sometimes [the] two will just hang out together and it’s
Zachary Strain / Daily Texan Staff
Before he became Bevo XIV, UT’s mascot was named Sunrise Studly.
kind of like one is taking the other on as a little buddy, like a mentor,” Betty Baker said. “That’s how he was with Bevo XIII at the first game he went to, and when they took [Bevo] XIII away he didn’t like it. He wanted his friend back.”
BEVO XIV page 3
POLICE
FOOTBALL
Former Texas kicker will remain in custody
Texas closer to 5-7 team than Big 12 crown
By Alberto Long @albertolong
Russell Erxleben, a former NFL kicker and UT football player currently in federal custody for spearheading a slew of bogus investment operations, will stay behind bars until his trial begins Jan. 6. On Friday, U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel told attorneys he needed more time to review Erxleben’s case and postponed his ruling on whether to release Erxleben on bond. The three-time All-American player is currently serving time for leading a slew of investment operations since 2005, including a Ponzi scheme that defrauded his
associates out of $2 million in nearly four years. According to Daryl Fields, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice, Erxleben will have to wait another four months before his trial can resume. “Trial date is January 6,” Fields said in a email. “No decision yet by judge as to Erxleben’s’ bond request. Judge took the information from today’s’ hearing under advisement and will render a ruling at a later date.” According to the Austin American-Statesman, court records indicate Erxleben’s most lucrative enterprise compelled his clients to
ERXLEBEN page 7
Texas fell to 1-2 for the first time since 1998 -- Mack Brown’s first season in Austin -- after its loss to Ole Miss on Saturday evening.
By Chris Hummer Daily Texan Columnist @chris_hummer
Effort, intensity and confidence were the words thrown around by the Texas players after the team’s 44-23 loss to Ole Miss on Saturday. They weren’t in glowing praise, or even thoughtful responses to a question about what exactly is wrong. Instead, they were rehearsed keywords muttered by downtrodden players. Thoughts were gone, just an automatic deflection to a difficult question: how can you fix what’s broken when you’ve tried everything?
Shelby Tauber Daily Texan Staff
The players don’t seem to know; effort can only get you so far. They don’t have any more answers, and that was never more clear than on Saturday. Texas played a solid first half of football. It fell down
quickly 14-0 but showed the resiliency to bounce back. The Longhorns entered the half with a six-point lead, and then things fell apart. The offense played a putrid second frame, and the defense cracked. This caused
NEWS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFE&ARTS
ONLINE
Exhibit at stadium commemorates Darrel K Royal. PAGE 2
Vice Provost Laude on graduation rate programs. PAGE 4
“Chants of ‘SEC! SEC!’ rained down after UT loss.” PAGE 7
Art gallery to install exhibit over Lady Bird Lake. PAGE 12
Check out a video of Bevo on the Bakers’ ranch with his best friend Spike.
UT Toastmasters critique rhetorical performances. PAGE 2
Column: entrepreneurship at UT should be for good. PAGE 4
The top tweets and stories from Saturday’s game. PAGE 7
Brie Larson talks about filming “Short Term 12.” PAGE 12
dailytexanonline.com
an unusual occurrence at Texas: A losing in-season record. Texas is 1-2 under head coach Mack Brown for the first time since 1998, his first
BROWN page 8 REASON TO PARTY
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