UT alumni, students upset by donor threats to pull money if ‘Eyes of Texas’ goes away
Students have protested the alma mater song because of its racist background, but UT President Jay Hartzell has said that it will continue to be played at football games and events.
The University of Texas at Austin s alma mater which is sung the tune of “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad” was first played in a minstrel show with performers in blackface and connected to a saying from Confederate Army Commander Robert E. Lee.(gregobagel / Getty Images)
Emails from alumni threatening to pull hefty donations unless the University of Texas keeps a controversial song tradition didn’t sit well with many other graduates, even those who have fond memories of the tune.
The controversy surrounding the Texas Longhorns football program and the school song, “The Eyes of Texas,” has provided a glimpse of just how far some of the school’s wealthiest boosters say they’re willing to go to keep the song as part of the game-day experience.
“My wife and I have given an endowment in excess of $1 million to athletics. This could very easily be rescinded if things don’t drastically change around here,” one donor wrote in an email to UT-Austin President Jay Hartzell in October. “Has everyone become oblivious of who supports athletics??”
The note was one of nearly 300 that reached Hartzell’s office from June until October, with nearly 70% in favor of keeping “The Eyes,” according to
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When the familiar notes of “The Eyes of Texas” started to play from the speakers at the corner of the bar’s outdoor patio, conversations quieted and people began to sing.
Some were wearing matching T-shirts they had received upon entry to the bar, meant to signal their support for the song now washing over the students and alumni gathered to watch that Saturday’s football game.
It was one of many times that spectators at Cain and Abel s in West Campus would hear the University of Texas’ alma mater play during the game, and in any other year, the display would be perfectly normal.