“Horns Down” will not be a Penalty in the SEC

“Horns down” has become a symbolic phrase and gesture for those cheering against the Texas Longhorns for decades.

According to the Daily Texan, “Horns Down” began in 1963 when a Baylor University student started doing it.

The Horns down symbol is not only used by fans, but players as well during games. The Big 12 conference actually declared the gesture by players during games to be an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty beginning in 2019.

While this ruling wasn’t of any doing by the University of Texas itself, the rest of the country didn’t seem to care and it further fueled the passion that many already had against the Longhorns.

You’ll see fanbases each game of Texas’ opponent still doing the gesture as it’s become a sort of an “another reason to hate Texas” sort of thing. This is logical considering that an argument from many is that many schools have their own gestures, and the opposing team isn’t given any kind of penalty for boasting against theirs. Therefore, it’s evolved into the claim that Texas is getting a privilege of sorts and no other school is – not just in the Big 12, but anywhere.

“Horns Down” will not be a penalty in the SEC

Fast forward to the 2024 season and the Texas Longhorns will be joining the SEC. At SEC Media Days this past July, SEC officials told reporters that the playful jab at the Longhorns would not receive an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

When Texas comes to the SEC, officials stated that they’ll be looking at the gesture on a case-by-case basis instead of automatically giving a penalty any time it’s given by a player or coach no matter the reason. This falls in line with when and how a penalty should be called.

Even though a change has been made and again, the University of Texas had nothing to do with the Big 12’s decision to make it a penalty in the first place, expect the distain over this “privilege” as many view it to linger.