An Arizona State University spirit cone that had been housed on the UA campus for more than 30 years was recently stolen, reigniting a long-standing game of rivalry between the two state universities.
Although the history of the cone is not fully known, some said it was stolen at an ASU vs. UA football game and has been hanging in the student body president’s office in the Student Union Memorial Center since then, according to Mark Naufel, a junior studying finance and computer information systems and president of the undergraduate student government at ASU’s Tempe campus.
That is, until it was stolen the night of Jan. 17.
Naufel declined to comment on the details of how the cone fell into ASU student hands, but he said he plans to keep it there.
“We were just happy to have it back; it’s part of our university,” Naufel said. “We’re glad you guys no longer have something in your [student union] that belongs to us. But it’s all in good fun.”
ASUA President Katy Murray said she came into her office one day and the cone was gone. That is all that is known about the missing cone, Murray said.
“Took them long enough, we’ve had it for years,” Murray said.
There are plans in place to keep the cone locked up and hidden away until ASU students find a good way to secure it, according to Naufel. He said he is on his guard because there is a faculty member on the ASU campus who went to the UA.
“At the end of the day, I think it’s going to be a fun thing,” Naufel said. “If it gets stolen again, we’ll have to steal it back. I think it’ll start off a little stealing war of the cone.”
There have been no threats from UA students regarding taking back the cone, according to Naufel. However, if UA students did manage to steal the cone, Naufel added that he would find a way to get it back.
“It’s definitely a rivalry and a tradition that I want to make sure continues,” Murray said, “so whether it’s my year or a future year, I’m confident that at some point [the] U of A will take it [the cone] back.”
Alison Dorf contributed to this article.
