Nearly three months into his role as the new dean of the McCombs School of Business, Bradley R. Staats, who earned a B.S. in electrical engineering and B.A. in Plan II and Spanish from UT Austin, joined other alumni for a family-friendly barbecue tailgate during the Texas McCombs Homecoming Weekend.
The event was held at the Thompson Conference Center on Sept. 19, ahead of the match between the Texas Longhorns and the University of Texas at San Antonio Roadrunners. Hosted by the McCombs alumni engagement team, the tailgate was the second part of the homecoming weekend, which kicked off with a reunion reception the day before.
For Staats, an Austin native and UT alumnus, the event represented more than a chance to connect with alumni. It was also a homecoming for him in the sense that he is returning to his Texas roots after a long stint at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
During his years at UT, Staats was as active as a student can be. Not only was he a triple major, graduating with a B.S. in electrical engineering and B.A.s in Spanish and Plan II, but he was also president of Delta Chi and a member of the Student Engineering Council, the Texas Blazers, and the Silver Spurs — a student service organization dedicated to the care and handling of the Longhorns’ live mascot, Bevo.
Several students from the Silver Spurs made a special appearance at the tailgate to present Staats with a custom gift: his own pair of branded spurs.
The president of the student organization and senior economics major Nathan Blue, B.A. ’27, was there to personally deliver the gift to the dean. Alongside him were Parker Navarro, BBA ’27; Cody Gill, BBA ’27; Gareth Samberson, B.S. ’27, with a business foundations minor; and Rowe Allen, BBA ’27.
As the celebration drew to a close, the Longhorn Band marched along the street on its way to the stadium for the football match against the Roadrunners.