As one of the oldest standing traditions at A&M, Elephant Walk has a rich history that begins with the class of 1926. After losing the first two games of their football season in 1922, the freshman class marched around Kyle Field together, led by a piccolo player and a brass horn to the tune of a mournful funeral march, trying to break the "curse" of the team. When they became seniors three years
later, they decided to take one final walk around the campus together, this time to remember their time spent in Aggieland and the friends and memories they had made. As they walked single file, each man with his hand on the shoulder of his friend before him, an observer noted that they "looked like elephants, about to die." In subsequent years, it became a tradition reserved for seniors that takes place each year before the last football game of the season, traditionally the night that Bonfire would burn. Elephant Walk is important to Texas A&M University. They unify classes of thousands of diverse students. The Elephant Walk line has been known to stretch a mile as 3,000 seniors sprawl across campus. Sales from merchandise with the logos of these events bring funding to the senior class that goes to the purchase of a class gift after graduation.
