Texas volleyball was celebrated at the UT Tower, but that '1' wasn't easy to light up

Minutes after flying in from Tampa on Sunday night, the Texas volleyball team gathered on campus to take photos in front of the Littlefield Fountain.

Keeping with a tradition that honors the school's national champions, the UT Tower in the background was illuminated and lights displayed a "1" on each side. The volleyball team earned its fifth national championship on Sunday with a sweep of Nebraska.

This celebration, though, needed an assist from someone who wasn't freshman setter Ella Swindle.

On Monday, Texas President Jay Hartzell took to social media to applaud the work of the UT Tower's facilities team. Hartzell explained that due to ongoing electrical repairs, the building's elevators aren't operable. That meant members of the facilities team had to take the stairs to properly arrange the window shades on each floor.

There are 27 floors in the 307-foot-tall tower.

According to Texas, the windows in the tower have been used to celebrate athletic achievements since 1962. Sixty-one years ago, the facility's lights were used to spell out "UT" in recognition of the 9-0-1 record that the football program posted during the regular season. On Jan. 1, 1964, the tower was lit with "1" for the first time as the Longhorns celebrated their first-ever national championship in football.

Carl Eckhardt is credited with creating the tradition of using the tower's exterior lighting to celebrate special occasions. He served as the head of the university's physical plan for 40 years.