Corps Arches - Gateway to the Quad
Photo: Oldag07, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
A stop on Texas A&M Campus Walk, a free self-guided tour.
These arches mark the entrance to the Quad, home of the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets. They rest on 12 pillars that stand for the 12th Man spirit, and they were raised for the university's centennial in the mid-1970s. In front of them, a World War I memorial has stood since 1924.
The Corps is as old as the college itself. For most of Texas A&M's history every student was a cadet, and military training shaped daily life. Membership became voluntary in 1965, but the Corps remains the largest senior military college corps in the country and a guardian of Aggie traditions.
Most cadets live here in the Quad, and Reveille, the university's collie mascot, lives among them with her cadet handlers. A short walk south, the Sanders Corps of Cadets Center tells the Corps story with uniforms, photographs and artifacts. Admission is free; check its hours before you go.
Listen for cadence calls and bugles drifting across the Quad.
Getting here: From the memorial, walk south about 12 minutes to the brick arches at the north end of the Quad.
Did you know?: More than 20,000 Aggies served in World War II, over 14,000 of them as officers, more than from any other school.
Photo op: Stand back on the plaza in front of the arches to fit all 12 pillars and the Corps emblem in one frame.
More on Wikipedia: Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets · Reveille · 12th man
Stops on this tour
- Academic Plaza - Where Silver Taps Is Held
- Academic Building - A Dome Built From Ashes
- Cushing Library - From Clay Tablets to The Hobbit
- Bonfire Memorial - Twelve Portals Facing Home
- Corps Arches - Gateway to the Quad
- Haynes Ring Plaza - The Aggie Ring Writ Large
- Kyle Field - Home of the 12th Man
- Memorial Student Center - A Living Memorial
- Rudder Tower - The Ranger Who Remade A&M
- George Bush Library - Horses Over the Wall
- Century Tree - Where Aggie Stories Begin