Camp keeps students moving with a variety of group activities like tribal competitions, pride groups, socials and optional activities like sand volleyball, basketball, ropes course and a giant water catapult called the blob. Incoming freshmen are engaged in learning activities that are interactive and student led. New students experience the spirit, pride and tradition that have been part of Sam Houston students since 1879. 3, 2008)īearkat Camp is a four day/three night experience for incoming SHSU Freshmen. Engraving on the stone reads: “TRIPOD, 1941-1962, Beloved mascot, loyal supporter, friend of Students.” (Courtesy of the Newton Gresham Library - Episode 28: Jan. Later a monument was erected to the memory of Tripod, the unofficial mascot.
GO BEARS HAND SIGNAL FULL
Two full pages in the “1962 Alcalde” were dedicated to the services for Tripod.ĭeath was attributed to old age and freezing weather conditions. Hundreds of students attended the last rites. Harmon Lowman, President of Sam Houston State, paid tribute to Tripod. A three gun salute was given by the ROTC.
Huntsville Funeral Home furnished a baby casket, and the Student Senate served as pall bearers. On Friday, January 12, he was buried on the hill in front of Old Main. He always managed to have a new collar when one was needed. He made his annual visit to the veterinarian, carried by a friend. He never lacked for food, affection, or medical care. He managed to be on the scene of all major activities. Tripod, as he was named by the students, loved a parade and football games. No one seemed to know how he had become lame. He was a mixed breed dog, described as a “mustard-colored mutt.” He was immediately “adopted” by the student body. He just appeared, with his crippled left front leg. Some reports indicate he was here in 1941, while other reports state 1948. The exact date of his arrival on campus is uncertain.
He had been the unofficial mascot for Sam Houston State for over fifteen years. On Tuesday, January 9, 1962, a man’s best friend died. (Special thanks to Paul Culp of the SHSU Library whose research made this article possible.) The current Sammy Bearkat mascot character began appearing at SHSU sports events in 1959. SHSU had a live kinkajou mascot in 1952 but the animal did not adapt to captivity and quickly was released from his duties. Vernon Schuder reported that the alumni were polled, she voted for the raven but that "all those old Bearkats beat us out!" In the late 1940s, then SHSU president Harmon Lowman attempted to change the SHSU mascot from Bearkats to "Ravens" (after General Sam Houston's Cherokee nickname).
More likely, the name came from a popular local saying of the time, "tough as a Bearkat!" The late Reed Lindsey, who was a student/athlete in the 1920s and later retired as University registrar, once said that "it was a good fighting name of the time." Since the animal in the saying was thought more mythical than real, the spelling settled upon was "Bearkat." It is doubtful those who coined the "Bearkat" nickname had a kinkajou in mind, however. A nocturnal creature, it is known to be ferocious if provoked. A bearcat actually is a kinkajou, a carnivorous mammal native to South America 10 to 12 inches in length with whiskers like a cat that sits up on its hind haunches like a bear. Prior to 1923, the varsity sports teams were nicknamed "The Normals".Įarly references to "Bearkats" spelled the name either "Bearcats", "Bear Cats" or "Bearkats". Sam Houston State University's athletic teams have been nicknamed "The Bearkats" since 1923 when the University's name was changed by the Texas State Legislature from Sam Houston Normal Institute to Sam Houston State Teachers College.
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