Frog Fountain
the icon on campus
First-year students are the designated paparazzi for Frog Fountain, taking thousands of pictures in all its glory on the way to class, at the golden hour, or during Frogs First.
Sophomores soak in the fountain after their sorority and fraternity formals by jumping in at midnight, a traditional rite of passage expressly forbidden by the TCU Police.
Juniors reconnect with the fountain over Chick-fil-A; it is bittersweet that their TCU experience is halfway through.
Seniors celebrate the fountain as they prepare to graduate and take their senior pictures. As champagne flows and sparklers pop, they say farewell to the TCU journey and the iconic Frog Fountain.
Frog Fountain is TCU’s Disney's castle, an iconic symbol representing the most well-known and magical spot on campus.
Mr. and Mrs. H.H. Phillips of San Antonio donated the fountain in 1969. It originally stood outside the Brown-Lupton Student Union.
“Each of the flutes symbolizes a different class of students, with the shortest flute representing first-year students and the tallest flute representing the senior class. The water flowing between represents the sharing of knowledge from class to class,” according to the TCU Frog Fountain webpage.
“Back in 1969, Chancellor Moudy believed the campus needed a landmark,” Donald Mills, retired TCU Vice Chancellor, said. “From the moment it was unveiled students gathered around it.”
Caroline Lacina, a TCU sophomore, said, "Night is my favorite time to see the Fountain because the colors are radiant, and the smell of the water reminds me of the Pirates of the Caribbean."
The Frog Fountain has largely remained in the same spot throughout the years, though its surroundings have changed as the campus has evolved.
In May 2006, the Fountain was temporarily relocated away from the commons to accommodate the Campus Commons construction and Scharbauer Hall's development, replacing the former Student Center site. Following this transition, the original lotus petals returned triumphantly to campus in the spring of 2008. Generously donated by the Roach family, they were reinstalled atop a new base and plaza area.
Before being gifted in 1969, not all students were on board for the expensive fountain, because they were unsure how it would affect their scholarships. Still, Chancellor Moudy at the time believed the campus needed what the fountain has now become: a landmark on campus that people know and love.
“First-year move-in was my favorite memory of Frog Fountain,” Senior Gabby Martin, said. “I'd probably visited it 50,000 times while living in Fort Worth, but the time felt so special and coming-of-age for me.”
Today, pedestrians or people in their cars drive down Stadium Drive and look through the arches, they can see the Fountain in all its glory.
"Arches are entries that signify something important; when you enter through the arches, you see the treasure belonging to TCU," Mills said.
The most recent updates to Frog Fountain include the new lily pads, the larger pool and, perhaps most noticeably, the addition of LED lights at night.
Aside from the glitz and the glitter of Frog Fountain, it is a place where students unite. "The fountain is one of the few places on campus that every student knows," Mills said.
The Frog Fountain is a focal point of everything happening on campus. Prospective students take a picture on their campus tour by a pretty fountain. The community holds vigils at the fountain to mourn students, faculty, or alums who have died. Other times, the community celebrates.
A recent TCU graduate, Thomas Steer, said his favorite moment was "Jumping in his first year after the football team beat UT Austin."
They cheer in excitement when a total eclipse is glazing through the miraculous sky, they sip hot cocoa and sing Christmas carols as the 40-foot tree illuminates the campus with jolly cheer, and they celebrate a frog win by splashing around in the fountain late at night. Seniors celebrate their long journey by popping champagne and confetti when they are graduating with beautiful graduation pictures. A Frog Fountain picture is often the student's first and last picture at TCU.
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