Traditions
President's Welcome
The University of Oklahoma is truly an extraordinary institution, known for its academic excellence and strong sense of community. Attracting top students from across the nation and more than 100 countries around the world, OU provides a major university experience in a private college atmosphere. Read more of President Boren's Welcome.The Seal
President Boyd, OU's first president, wanted an official seal. The idea came from a chapel talk he made on the parable of the man sowing seeds. George Bucklin drew the design, a sketch of a sower with his bag of seeds. The Latin motto, "Civi et Reipublicae," furnished by Professor Paxton translated to "For the citizen and the state".The Chant
Since 1938, the OU Chant has been part of OU football pre-game activities. It was written by Jessie Lone Clarkson Gilkey, who directed the OU girl's glee club from 1936 to 1938 and in 1937 was voted Outstanding Faculty Woman. Click here to listen to the OU Chant.
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The Colors
In the fall of 1895, Miss Mary J. Overstreet, the first female faculty member, and Dr. James Buchanan served on a committee that selected “crimson” and “corn” as the official OU colors, but local merchants had difficulty determining the color of “corn” for merchandise. Very quickly the colors evolved to officially be crimson and cream and later began to include red and white as well. That same year, OU Oratorical Society students proudly displayed the colors for the first time and chanted the new university yell, Hi Rickety! Whoop-te-do, at a contest in Guthrie, Oklahoma.Boomer Sooner
Boomers were those who by constant agitation tried to bring about the opening of Oklahoma to settlers before 1889, and Sooners were the settlers who slipped in to stay before the gun was fired. In 1905, Arthur.M.Alden, a history and physiology student, wrote the lyrics to the university's "Boomer Sooner," borrowing the tune from Yale's "Boola-Boola" but improvising on the words. A year later an addition was made to it from North Carolina's "I'm a Tarheel Born" and the two combined form the university's battle song of today.Click here to listen to Boomer Sooner. (mp3 file opens in new window)
The Yell
In the fall of 1895, the first football game and first oratorical contest were held. It became necessary to formulate a yell. A number of University students formerly from Southwest Kansas College at Winfield, and members of the Sigma Nu fraternity suggested the original yell. Because it was hard to yell continuously and some felt it should be patterned after the Kansas yell, which would be short, appropriate and easy to give, a different version was presented and adopted. Click here to listen to the OU Yell. (mp3 file opens in new window)