SEC commissioner rejects 'Horns Down' question as Texas joins conference
The question of how the SEC will handle the so-called "Horns Down" gesture remains up for some debate as Texas enters the conference this football season, but commissioner Greg Sankey wants no part in answering it right now.
"I won't be answering questions about football penalties on July 1st," Sankey told reporters at an event commemorating the addition of Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC.
But when speaking at SEC Media Days last year, SEC coordinator of football officials John McDaid did imply that "Horns Down" could be penalized on the field in some situations.
"Is it taunting an opponent? Is it making a travesty of the game? Is it otherwise compromising our ability to manage the game?" McDaid said last summer.
"There's a difference between a player giving a signal directly in the face of an opponent, as opposed to doing it with teammates celebrating after a touchdown or on the sideline. To net that all out, every single occurrence is not an act of unsportsmanlike conduct."
Related: Will "Horns Down" be in College Football 25?
Horns Down is a reversal of the well-known "Hook 'em Horns" hand gesture used by Texas fans, where you hold your ring and middle fingers down while extending your index and pinkie fingers up.
The original sign, which reputedly dates back to the 1950s after being coined by Texas student Henry Pitts, resembles a Longhorn steer, the well-known mascot of Texas football.
"Horns Down" is meant to be a disrespectful inversion of the sign made by rivals, when you bend your wrist downward so that the "horns" aim down instead of up.
And while opponents on the field are expected to use the sign liberally against their new conference rival this season and beyond, there could be some instances where it's considered a penalty.
Those decisions will be made on the field as the Longhorns move into the SEC this fall.
-
More college football from SI: Top 25 Rankings | Schedule | Teams
JAMES PARKS
James Parks is the founder and publisher of College Football HQ. He previously covered football for 247Sports and CBS Interactive. College Football HQ joined the Sports Illustrated Fannation Network in 2022.