Maverick T. Mustang
Maverick T. Mustang is a perpetual sophomore at MSU Texas. He is known for wild antics at football and basketball games, where he is known to fire-up the crowd to cheer the Mustangs to victory.
Mustangs Sign
The Mustangs Sign is the configuration you make with your fingers during the Alma Mater singing or to identify yourself as a Mustang to a fellow Mustang. With your two middle fingers, bring them down to touch the tip of your thumb and extend the two remaining fingers up to make the Mustangs Sign.
Cardboard Boat Race
The Homecoming Cardboard Boat Race has become a much-anticipated event. In conjunction with the Homecoming Fish Fry, this event attracts numerous spectators to cheer on the student organization teams as they try to make their way across Sikes Lake. Fully constructed from nothing more than cardboard and duct tape, these boats are decorated and launched to see who will win the race or otherwise sink.
Spirit of the Mustangs Graduate Walk
The Spirit of the Mustangs Graduate Walk is a semi-annual event held around May and December, before Graduation. Students line up at their respective colleges and walk to the Spirit of the Mustangs, where they touch the nose of the Senior Mustang to symbolize the end of their undergraduate journey at Midwestern State University. During the Spirit of the Mustangs Graduate Walk, a reading of the Spirit of the Mustangs poem describes what each Mustang means. A reception follows.
Caribfest
Every year, Caribfest brings the famous Caribbean, or more internationally known West Indian, culture to campus! Annually, thousands of students and community members come to campus to celebrate the independence of various countries located in the West Indies region. The festival includes a two-hour street parade, traditional Caribbean food, rhythms of the pan ensemble, and traditional dances. Each year, the celebration ends with a cultural showcase and allows participants to obtain traditional arts and crafts of the West Indies culture.
5Kolor Run
In the Spring, runners and walkers gather at Sikes Lake for the annual 5Kolor Run hosted by the Office of Residence Life and the Wellness Center. Students run and walk around the Sikes Lake Trail and are hit by colored powder at multiple stations along the run.
Torchlight Parade
The Torchlight Parade began in conjunction with America’s Greatest College Weekend in the 1980s. After football returned to MSU in 1988, the Torchlight Parade was incorporated as a precursor to the Bonfire. Today, this event is possibly the most memorable part of Homecoming week.
Lip-Sync Competition
The beginning of the Homecoming competition is marked each year with the beginning of the Lip-Sync competition in the D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Student organizations create skits to the tune of the current Homecoming theme and their own personal style. The top three performances perform later in the week in the finals at the Bonfire Pep Rally.
Bonfire
The Homecoming Bonfire has been around for several years, dating as far back as the 1960s. The Bonfire serves as the official Pep Rally before the big homecoming game. Before the Bonfire, the Office of Student Involvement decorates the pallets with shirts from other schools to burn during the Bonfire. Shirts are collected in exchange for a free bonfire shirt during Homecoming Week.
Golden Thunder Marching Band
The Golden Thunder Marching Band is the premier band at MSU Texas. Dressed in Maroon and Gold, this band performs at home football games. They are known for their stylized M-S-U formation centered at the 50 yard-line. The Golden Thunder performs at basketball games in a smaller capacity forming the Pep-Band. Don't forget to stay in your seats at the beginning of halftime for the sounds of the Golden Thunder!
Live at the Lake
This summer concert series is held under the Ruby and Robert Priddy Pavilion and sponsored by the Wichita Falls Museum of Art at MSU Texas and their Wichita Falls community partners. From May until August on select Thursday evening, you can hear the pavilion rocking with sounds from the '80s, contemporary, or acoustics from the Caribbean Band. Don't forget to bring a lawn chair.
MSU-Burns Fantasy of Lights
Following Mrs. Burns’ son's death in 1974, Archer City offered the display to Midwestern State University on the condition that the display is operated free of charge to the public as a memorial to Mrs. Burns. Because MSU did not have the funds necessary to operate and maintain such an enormous project. The Fantasy of Lights committee was formed to raise the thousands of dollars needed to buy paint, equipment, and materials needed to restore the display and prepare for its exhibition during the 1974 Christmas season. A volunteer force of local townspeople, MSU students, faculty and staff, and airmen from Sheppard Air Force Base spent many long hours repairing and restoring each scene. On December 4, 1974, after a tremendous undertaking involving hundreds of people, the master switch was turned on, and the MSU-Burns Fantasy of Lights became a reality.
Believers
The Believers statue is on the south side of the D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Artist Jack Stevens created the Believers. It is made up of three Mustangs representing Wisdom, Courage, and Strength. These sculptures are a popular place for students to take graduation pictures.
The MSU Seal
The Midwestern State University seal is in the middle of the Clark Student Center atrium. Students are never supposed to walk on the seal but around it. If a student steps on the seal, they will not graduate on time. For students to reverse the curse, they must run and touch the Believers statue, located south of the D.L. Ligon Coliseum.
Humans vs. Zombies
The Midwestern State University campus is taken over each Spring with hordes of students completing tasks as humans to avoid becoming zombies in a giant game of freeze tags. The main zombie is selected secretly, and for the week, their role is to turn other students into zombies. The last three remaining humans are the winners of the game.
Finals Frenzy
The week before finals on Thursday is reserved for Finals Frenzy. Students enjoy games, activities, and food while taking a break from studying for their finals.