BYU Students Asked to Remove T-Shirts That Read ’Horns Down’ vs. Texas

It wasn’t clear who asked the students to get rid of their trolling T-shirts.

BYU students were ready when Texas visited Provo, Utah on Saturday for a college basketball matchup between new Big 12 rivals. (The rivalry will be temporary as the Longhorns move to the SEC next season.) 

Fans in the front row of the student section at the Marriott Center wore T-shirts that spelled out “Horns Down.” From all appearances, it was a good dig at the visiting team, using a phrase about which Texas fans are particularly sensitive. 

The BYU students in the front row with 'Horns Down' painted on their shirts were asked to remove the shirts after the first media timeout, per @Mitch_Harper.

📸: @sleeslakin pic.twitter.com/KDN0yjI1na

— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) January 27, 2024

Texas coach Rodney Terry has also recently taken offense to the “Horns Down” jeer, getting upset and calling UCF players “classless” when Knights players celebrated a win in Austin by using a “Horns Down” hand gesture. Knowing how touchy Terry and Longhorns fans are about the taunt, is it any wonder that BYU students tried to get under their opponents’ skin with those T-shirts? 

Unfortunately, the display was short-lived. The nine students wearing the T-shirts in question were asked to remove them during the game’s first media timeout, according to KSL-TV’s Mitch Harper. 

What wasn’t clear in the immediate aftermath was who asked the students to remove their shirts. Was it someone from Texas or BYU? Did game officials make the request?

No. 21 BYU got the last word on the matter with an 84–72 win over Texas. The victory improves the Cougars to 15–5 on the season (3–4 in the Big 12), while the Longhorns drop to 14–6 (3–4 in conference). 

Following the game, Terry said that it was a “great environment” in the Marriott Center. However, Texas should probably expect to see more “Horns Down” demonstrations as the season progresses.