What does 'horns down' mean? Exploring the new SEC rule, history and more

The horns down gesture that people use to mock the Texas Longhorns is a reversal of the school's 'Hook 'em Horns'. This gesture has been one of the most notable in college sports, both for the Longhorns and those going up against them.

There are a lot of reasons it is used as the gesture was originally used to imitate the shape of the head and horns of the Longhorns' mascot, the Texas Longhorn Bevo. The use of the horns down gesture was deemed an unsportsmanlike penalty in the Big 12 last season, but the SEC has a new rule associated with it.

Let's take a closer look at the horns down gesture and discuss what we know about it.

What does 'horns down' mean?

The horns down hand gesture is a way to taunt the Texas Longhorns, who use the 'horns up' hand gesture as a taunt of their own.

The first time this happened is unclear but the first time it was featured was in 1963. The Daily Texans featured a Baylor student doing the hand gesture and it gained popularity such that people are still using it almost 60 years later.

Will the SEC penalize 'Horns Down' gesture?

The SEC does not seem to rule the horns down hand gesture as an act of unsportsmanlike conduct. That means we could see it a lot more this upcoming football season as the Big 12 had earlier viewed it as unsportsmanlike.

SEC coordinator of officials John McDaid discussed the reasoning behind not having it ruled a penalty this season.

"The act itself needs to be offending to the senses. If you took that act out of a football stadium and did it in a shopping mall or a grocery store, would it offend the senses to a majority of peope in the area? That signal would not.

"You might have some people that share that signal with you, if you did that at a grocery store or a shopping mall, depending where you are. We're going to evaluate it in context." h/t ESPN.

With it not being ruled a penalty, expect to see a lot more of 'horns down' gestures this upcoming season.

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