The Tejas Club

The Tejas Club is a male-only club at The University of Texas at Austin, founded in the fall of 1925 by law students Tom Renfro, Howard Cobb, and 17 other friends with an emphasis on what is known as the "three ships." The Club's namesake was, appropriately, derived from the Caddoan Indian word "táysha", meaning friend which in Spanish became Tejas and later Texas. The Spanish explorers dubbed the the Caddoan Indians "Tejas" after their friendliness. The Tejas Club owns an Edwardian era house, known affectionately as the Teepee. The Teepee is located on West Campus in close proximity to the University of Texas campus. Members are known as braves. Probationary members are known as newmen. The Tejas Club is one of the rare survivors of the all-male organizations that once existed at the University of Texas. Many of these groups either went defunct or affiliated with National Greek-letter fraternities. From its establishment and in its early days the Club counted many braves who were members of Greek fraternities. It was known from the beginning that Tejas would not be in competition with the existing Greek chapters. Indeed, the Tejas Club was invited to join the Interfraterntiy Council in its second year, but chose to remain independent of the UT Greek system and has remained so ever since. Not only were a large contingent of the early founders fraternity men, but where also members of the Kappa Kappa chapter of Theta Nu Epsilon, which drew its membership exclusively from the local Greek chapters. Internal dissension lead to a split and the subsequent demise of the chapter a few years later.

Tejas has a number of notable public and private traditions/events throughout the calendar year. Coffees (once known as "Smokers"--for the cigars and drinks then served), Steak Fry/Initiation, the Holiday Party, March 2 Texas Independence Day Breakfast, and the Bob Pees Memorial Crawfish Boil and Croquet Tournament.

Cofees: Every Thursday evening at 9 p.m. during the spring and fall, a speaker is invited to come talk about a topic of interest at the Teepee. The speakers are often professors but can be anyone with something interesting to talk about. In the early days Coffees were called Smokers. Club members are strongly encouraged to bring guests so they can meet other people as well as club members.

March 2 Texas Independence Day Breakfast: The March 2nd Breakfast is the official kick-off for University festivities celebrating Texas' Independence. This is by far the most important annual event for the Tejas Club. At this very formal occasion club members prepare and serve breakfast to roughly one hundred graduating seniors and faculty. Invitations for this event are sent out in the middle of February to graduating peers, professors, deans, and others. Preparations begin several days in advance with the renting of extra tables, plates, silverware, and the buying of food. On March 1 the downstairs and outside of the house receive a very thorough cleaning. The cooking begins the night before and continues until breakfast is served the next morning at 7:00 am. It is very important that things go smoothly so the that eating, speeches, and the toast to Texas are all completed before 8:00 am so that everybody can get to class. The final event is the handing out of a single yellow rose to every woman as she is leaving.

Football Game Flashcards: If you have ever been to a UT football game, you have probably noticed the Flashcard Section. This is coordinated by the Tejas Club. During half-time colored cards are held up in different patterns to spell words or make pictures. Flashcard duty was once held by the local chapter of the Kappa Alpha Order fraternity, however, in the 1950s a brave (who was also a member of Kappa Alpha Order) transferred this responsibility to the Tejas Club. Although only visible for a few minutes during half-time, Flashcards is a very time consuming project.

Motto: "May the Fires of Friendship Forever Burn."

Important Symbols: Badge In the early days of the Club members wore enameled badges. The badges were made of gold in the shape of a triangle, with dark blue enameling, "TEJAS" in gold, a ruby in the center of the badge, and a crossed tomahawk and calumet. The badge was also bordered by pearls. Two crossed arrows pierce the badge. Today, braves wear a small gold arrowhead with a black enameled center. In the center is a crossed tomahawk and calumet.

Coat of Arms The Tejas arms is an arrowhead with a crossed calument and tomahawk in the center. A spear sits diagonally behind the arrowhead and attached to the spear are two banners.

Colors The colors of the Club are red and blue.

Distinguished Alumni:

• W. Page Keeton former Dean of the University of Texas School of Law
• Robert Dedman founder of ClubCorp
• Ronnie Earle Travis County District Attorney
• Rex Tillerson CEO of Exxon Mobil Corporation
• Austin Ligon CEO CarMax
• Austin, Texas Mayor Frank Cooksey
• Harley Clark retired judge and creator of the Hook 'em Horns sign.

Tejas Foundation: The purpose of the Tejas Foundation was (and still is) to assist the active membership of the club by: providing adequate housing at a reasonable cost,establishing communication between present and former braves of Tejas, establishing educational incentives.