New Texas Football HC Steve Sarkisian Says Team Will Keep 'Eyes of Texas' Song

As he prepares for his first year in charge at Texas, Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian indicated "The Eyes of Texas" isn't going anywhere. 

"I know this much, 'The Eyes of Texas' is our school song," Sarkisian told reporters Tuesday. "We're going to sing that song, we're going to sing that proudly."

The song became a contentious issue around the football team during the 2020 season.

Texas Monthly's Joe Levin explained how "The Eyes of Texas" came about.

Former university President William Prather was inspired by how Robert E. Lee would tell students at Washington College in Virginia "the eyes of the South are upon you." Once Prather adapted the phrase for the University of Texas, two students debuted what eventually became "The Eyes of Texas" at a minstrel show in 1903.

Levin wrote the minstrel shows continued into the 1960s and served as "fundraisers organized by students and featured white performers singing and dancing in blackface."

In June, a group of Longhorns athletes issued a series of demands they wanted to see followed by the university. The removal of "The Eyes of Texas" as the alma mater was on the list because of the racist history of the song.

Early in the season, members of the football team left the field and walked toward the locker room before the singing of "The Eyes of Texas," angering some fans and boosters.

Athletic director Chris Del Conte addressed the situation in October and said he expected "our teams show appreciation for our university, fans, and supporters by standing together as a unified group for 'The Eyes,' while we work through this issue."

Then-coach Tom Herman supported players who didn't want to take part in the tradition and said there wouldn't be a requirement to be involved. According to The Athletic's Max Olson, the entire situation "was undeniably a turning point" in Herman's tenure.

"That was a rallying point for boosters fed up with Herman, and it created a wild moment of palace intrigue," Olson wrote before explaining it represented a clear point of difference between Herman and Del Conte.

It appears Sarkisian is making sure to avoid a similar conflict with fans and boosters. However, it's unclear whether the coach discussed the issue with his players before his comments Tuesday.