Police say a dead longhorn cow was found on the lawn of an Oklahoma State fraternity Friday, the day before the Cowboys football team plays Texas in the Big 12 championship game.
Police were notified just after 6:30 a.m. of the dead animal on the lawn of Farmhouse fraternity, according to Stillwater police officer TJ Low.
The carcass had an expletive carved into its side and the stomach was cut open, according to the campus newspaper, The O'Colly.
"It's a very cruel crime to be committed, especially right before the Big 12 Championship," Low told The Oklahoman. "Nothing is worth doing that kind of crap."
Oklahoma State said in a statement that it "is appalled at the disturbing display of animal cruelty ... at an off-campus location near a fraternity house." The university said that both Stillwater police and the university's office of student support and conduct are investigating and that "appropriate action will be taken based on the outcome of the investigation."
Low told The O'Colly that the guilty party could face an animal cruelty charge, which is a felony.
A representative for the fraternity, which was founded in 1905 by agriculture students, told the student newspaper that it was leaving the matter in the hands of police.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.