The Oklahoma State-Texas football rivalry took a gruesome turn when a dead longhorn cow was discovered on the lawn of an Oklahoma State fraternity, one day before the schools meet in the Big 12 championship game.
According to police in Stillwater, Okla., the carcass was found on the lawn of the FarmHouse fraternity and there was an expletive carved near the side of the body.
The stomach was also cut out of the animal, according to the school newspaper, The O’Colly.
Oklahoma State University said in a statement that it “is appalled at the disturbing display of animal cruelty … at an off-campus location near a fraternity house.”
The Oklahoma State University chapter of FarmHouse Fraternity also issued a statement, saying its members were “just as sickened and surprised by this incident as our peers on campus… To our knowledge, no FarmHouse member was involved in this incident, and we do not condone cruelty or defacing of livestock in any manner.”
“It’s a very cruel crime to be committed, especially right before the Big 12 Championship,” Stillwater police officer PJ Low told The Oklahoman. “Nothing is worth doing that kind of crap.”
The university said both Stillwater police and the university’s Office of Student Support and Conduct are investigating and that “appropriate action will be taken based on the outcome of the investigation.”
FarmHouse, which was founded nationally in 1905, has been a fraternity on Oklahoma State’s campus since 1928 and was founded by agriculture students, according to ESPN.
KFOR, a local news channel in Oklahoma City, reported that there were tire tracks on the lawn and that the longhorn appeared to have been killed within the past 24 hours — and not at the site, on the FarmHouse lawn, where it was discovered, an officer told the outlet.
ESPN reported that the death could result in an animal cruelty charge for whoever is found guilty.
The investigation continued into the evening ahead of the Oklahoma State-Texas matchup in the Big 12 championship game.
While Oklahoma State and Texas didn’t meet in the regular season, their matchup Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas will determine the conference champion and also have College Football Playoff implications for the Longhorns.
They’re 11-1, with a narrow loss to Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry their only defeat, but likely need Florida State, Oregon and Alabama to all lose in their conference title games to have a shot at the No. 4 seed.
The Cowboys went 9-3 during the regular season, winning seven of their past nine games after starting 2-2.
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