Alma Mater
The music for the UT Dallas Alma Mater was created by internationally recognized composer Robert Rodriguez. Its lyrics were created by Bill Dunn and Neely Reynolds.
Lyrics
UT Dallas orange and green
Founders' visionary dream
To inflame the scholar's heart
Lighting pathways through the dark
Reaching out from earth to space
Serving all the human race
Joined as one in unity
Alma Mater UTD
Ceremonial Mace
The ceremonial mace is carried at the head of processions during various events. It was handcrafted with wood from the 600-year-old Treaty Oak tree in Austin. The mace includes a University seal surrounding a wafer embedded with Texas Instruments microchips, which represent TI's role in the founding of the University. A steel band in the headpiece and the metal foot of the staff are fashioned from a scientific instrument designed by the UT Dallas Space Sciences Institute and were flown aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavor in September 1995.
Family Day
Family Day celebrates the special connection between students and their families. Held annually each fall, activities include meet-and-greets with faculty and staff, a picnic, a sporting event, games and campus tours.
Fight Song
The fight song follows the musical arrangement of “Tiger Rag,” the first known recorded jazz ballad, which was produced in 1917 by the New Orleans group Original Dixieland Jazz Band.
Lyrics
C-O-M-E-T-S! GO!
Green, Orange, White!
Comets GO!
Strong of will, we fight for right!
Let’s all show our comet might!
C-O-M-E-T-S! GO!
Green, Orange, White!
Comets GO!
(chorus)
Fight’em Comets! Burn’em Comets!
Crush’em Comets! Fight’em Comets!
Burn’em Comets! Crush’em Comets!
C-O-M-E-T-S!
(repeat chorus)
Whoosh!
Homecoming
Held in the fall, Homecoming activities include a tailgate party and alumni events. The celebration typically culminates with an Athletic game.
International Week
Held annually in spring, International Week celebrates the University’s diversity. Students can participate in cultural activities, take part in an international talent show and sample global foods.
Juneteenth
An annual tradition that includes a complimentary lunch and music, UT Dallas' Juneteenth celebration commemorates the announcement of the abolition of slavery in Texas in 1865.
Legacy Lane
Legacy Lane is a tree-lined path that stretches along the creek behind the McDermott Library. It is made up of personalized, engraved pavestones organized by class year.
Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast takes place annually each January and is organized by the Office of Campus Resources and Support.
Oozeball
Oozeball is an annual mud volleyball tournament organized by Student Ambassadors. Begun at UT Dallas in 2002, oozeball teams are made up of six-to-ten players.
Ring Ceremony
During the ring ceremony, students dunk their class rings into the circular pool under the trellis. Both graduate and undergraduate students are invited to participate in the ceremony, which is held each spring and fall.
Rubbing Cecil Green's Head for Luck
Many students rub the sculpture of UT Dallas founder Cecil H. Green's head for good luck during finals week. Green, along with Eugene McDermott and Erik Jonsson, founded the Graduate Research Center of the Southwest, which became UT Dallas in 1969. Green’s effigy is located outside Cecil H. Green Hall.
School Colors
The official University colors are orange and green. The orange represents UT System and is derived from the burnt orange of UT Austin. The green stems from the olive and oak branches that are featured in the University's official seal.
Springapalooza
Held annually each spring, Springapalooza includes comedy night, a paint splatter dance party, and more.
Temoc
Temoc, a blue-skinned comet-in-human-form, is the official mascot of UT Dallas. Temoc was designed in 1998 by then-student Aaron Aryanpur and was officially adopted as the University's mascot in April of that year.
Weeks of Welcome
Weeks of Welcome is a series of events and activities held annually each fall that celebrates the arrival of new students and the return of continuing students.
Whoosh
Invented in the early 1990s, the Whoosh is a way for students to show campus unity. The salute is named the Whoosh because it's the sound a comet would make if there was sound in space.