Tejas Club
| Tejas Club | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | 1925 University of Texas at Austin |
| Type | Social |
| Affiliation | Independent |
| Status | Active |
| Scope | Local |
| Pillars | Friendship, Leadership, Scholarship |
| Chapters | 1 |
| Headquarters | 2600 Rio Grande Street Austin, Texas 78705 United States |
| Website | thetejasclub |
The Tejas Club is an independent local American collegiate fraternity. It was founded in 1925, one of the oldest student organizations at the University of Texas at Austin.
The membership process of the organization is secretive and not open to the public.
History
The Tejas Club was formed in 1925 by Thomas "Tom" Renfro and Howell Cobb, University of Texas Law School students who were living on campus in B Hall. The official purpose of the club is "to allow our members to live a more complete life by sharing their personalities, abilities and efforts to promote good fellowship and a high standard of conduct among ourselves and our fellow students, to encourage loyalty and usefulness to our school, and to further good scholarship."
By the end of September 1925, Renfro and Cobb had recruited nineteen members. The club first official meeting was held on September 27, 1925 in the Stephen F. Austin Hotel. Refro was elected president.
Initially, Tejas Club rented a living space in the second story of a dry cleaners near campus. The club moved to a house at 1907 Nueces in 1927. In the fall of 1928, the club rented a two-story house at 407 West 26th Street, and remained there for the next eighteen years.
The Tejas Foundation was created in 1953 to connect active and alumni members and to provide scholarships and affordable housing. The club is housed in a West Campus three-story colonial revial style house at 26th and Rio Grande Streets, previously doctors' offices for Seton Hospital.
The Tejas Club celebrated its centennial anniversary in 2025, with a West Campus block party on April 5.
Symbols
The principles or pillars of the Tejas Club are Friendship, Leadership, and Scholarship. Members are called "braves".
Membership
The Tejas Club averages fifty to sixty student members at a time. Tejas Club members have served as student body presidents, student government representatives, head cheerleader, and other important roles on campus. In 2019, the organization updated its bylaws to allow male-identifying non-binary members.
Activities
The Tejas Club hosts a weekly speaker series called Tejas Coffees on Thursday evening that is open to the campus. Speakers have included athletes such Lance Armstrong, and Andy Roddick; Texas Longhorns coaches Rick Barnes, Mack Brown, Manny Diaz, Shaka Smart, and Tom Herman; UT president Gregory Fenves[citation needed] and UT system chancellor Mark Yudof; UT professors Matthew McConaughey, Robert Metcalfe, and Larry Speck; writer Liz Carpenter; ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson; and politicians Wendy Davis, Martin O'Malley,[citation needed] and Beto O'Rourke.. The club received the Campus Traditions Award from the UT secret society, Eyes of Texas, for its weekly Tejas Coffee speakers series..
The Texas Exes Tejas Club Campus Leadership Award was established in 2017 and has been awarded annually since 2018 to a Tejas Club member who "displays outstanding leadership, integrity, unselfish devotion to The University of Texas, and mentorship, among other qualities".
Notable alumni
The following are some of the notable alumni of the Tejas Club.
- Michael A. Baker (1972), United States Navy pilot and NASA astronaut
- Harley Clark, judge, attorney, and creator of the "Hook 'em Horns" hand sign
- Frank C. Cooksey, former Mayor of Austin, Texas
- Robert H. Dedman Sr., founder and chairman of ClubCorp and owner of the Pinehurst Resort
- Michael L. Gillette, author, historian, and non-profit executive
- Rolando Hinojosa-Smith, author and professor of American literature at the University of Texas at Austin
- W. Page Keeton, attorney and dean of the University of Texas School of Law
- Royce C. Lamberth, Chief judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia
- Austin Ligon, co-founder and former president and CEO of CarMax
- Steve Poizner, California Insurance Commissioner
- Thomas Morrow Reavley, United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- Rex Tillerson, United States Secretary of State and president and CEO of Exxon Mobil Corporation
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Barnes, Michael (September 9, 2009). "Inside Glamour with the Tejas Club". Out & About. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "History". Tejas Club. Retrieved 2026-08-24.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Thompson, Dayton (March 2025). "The Tejas Club Celebrates Its Centennial". The Alcalde. Retrieved 2026-08-24.
- ↑ "Office of the Dean of Students - Student Activities - Registered Student Organization Database". University of Texas. Archived from the original on 2013-11-06.
- ↑ "Residence and Business Leasing Activity Grows". The Austin American. 1928-03-15. p. 2. Retrieved 2026-08-24 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "About the Tejas Foundation". Tejas Club. Archived from the original on 2013-11-23. Retrieved 2013-10-09.
- ↑ "Principles". Tejas Club. Archived from the original on 2013-11-23. Retrieved 2026-08-24.
- ↑ "Rady, Strickland elected Student Government president, vice president in tight contest". The Daily Texan. Archived from the original on 2019-12-07. Retrieved 2026-08-24.
- ↑ Kolechta, Allie (September 16, 2011). "UT organizations rally to rename Student Activity Center". The Daily Texan. Archived from the original on 2019-08-24. Retrieved 2026-08-24.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Notable Alumni". Tejas Club. Retrieved 2026-08-24.
- ↑ Seipp, Skye (2021-12-22). "UT Student Government Slowly Implodes". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 2026-08-24.
- ↑ Epstein, Jori (October 2, 2015). "Tejas Club hosts Lance Armstrong in weekly speaker series". The Daily Texan. Archived from the original on October 31, 2015. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
- 1 2 May, Victoria. "Students come together to hear from tennis player Andy Roddick at Tejas Coffee". The Daily Texan. Retrieved 2026-08-24.
- 1 2 3 Cahalan, Rose (April 17, 2013). "Camp Texas Wins UT's Most Mysterious Award". The Alcalde. Retrieved 2026-08-24.
- ↑ "Freshmen adjust to new life as student-athletes". The Daily Texan. Archived from the original on 2019-11-13. Retrieved 2026-08-24.
- ↑ Karacostas, Chase (February 24, 2017). "Hundreds cram into Tejas House's front yard to see Tom Herman". The Daily Texan. Archived from the original on 2017-02-25. Retrieved 2026-08-24.
- ↑ Lopez, Danielle. "Tejas Club hosts Matthew McConaughey in weekly speaker series". The Daily Texan. Retrieved 2026-08-24.
- ↑ "CV". Larry Speck. Retrieved 2026-08-24.
- ↑ Ryland, Sophie. "Congressional candidate Wendy Davis meets with students, their pets over Zoom". The Daily Texan. Retrieved 2026-08-24.
- ↑ Winkle, Kate (October 5, 2018). "Beto O'Rourke visits UT Austin on college tour". KXAN. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
- ↑ "Tejas Club Campus Leadership Award". Texas Exes. Retrieved 2026-08-24.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Awards & Recognition". Tejas Foundation. Retrieved 2026-08-24.
- ↑ Hight, Bruce (1985-09-08). "Horns Gesture Ensures Judge's Spot in History". Austin American-Statesman. p. 20. Retrieved 2026-08-24 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Page Keeton, 1949-1974". Tarlton Law Library | University of Texas School of Law. Archived from the original on 2013-11-06. Retrieved 2026-08-24.
- ↑ Flynn, Eileen (November 12, 2011). "To the Moon". Life & Letters. UT Austin’s College of Liberal Arts. Retrieved 2026-08-24.
External links
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