Get to know the newest members of the Big 12 (and their traditions)
Last week, the Big 12 Conference officially welcomed four new members — Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah — settling into the league’s new format of 16 teams.
Each school offers its own unique traditions — a big part of the fun of college athletics. Before Baylor heads to Tucson, Tempe, Boulder, and Salt Lake City, get to know some of our new partners’ traditions:
Arizona: Baylor fans may understandably be confused by the Wildcats’ battle cry of “Bear down!” It has nothing to do with the Baylor mascot; rather, it comes from the last words of a student-athlete before his death from a tragic auto accident more than a century ago.
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Arizona State: ASU’s traditions include the Curtain of Distraction, from which Sun Devil basketball fans unveil a never-ending series of distractions for visiting players shooting free throws at their basketball arena, and the Pat Tillman statue outside Sun Devil Stadium, honoring the former ASU great who left an NFL career for the U.S. Army after 9/11 and died in service.
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Colorado: Baylor fans who remember CU as a fellow Big 12 member (1996-2011) may also remember Ralphie the Buffalo, who leads the Colorado football team on to the field before each home game.
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Utah: What began as a one-time tribute following the tragic death of two Utah football players has now become an institution. Between the third and fourth quarters, Utah fans celebrate a “Moment of Loudness” — standing, smiling and cheering to honor Utah fans who have passed away.
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Fans of these schools, of course, will get to meet the Baylor Line when they come to McLane Stadium starting this fall.
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Sic ’em, Big 12 Conference!
(Curious about the entire league’s best traditions? See them all here: UA || ASU || BU || BYU || UCF || UC || CU || UH || ISU || KU || KSU || OSU || TCU || TT || UU || WVU)
[Images above via UH and UCF]