been in the past by adding a countermarch, maneuvers from the Army Drill Manual, and established a 30-inch (76 cm) step, or six steps for every five yards (4.57m), as the band standard. Adams also added the criss-cross maneuver. First performed November 27, 1947 at the annual Thanksgiving Day game with the University of Texas, the criss-cross maneuver and its later variations (specifically the four-way cross) became the band's most anticipated maneuver. Other band directors said it was impossible to do because it required two people to be in the same place at the same time (indeed, to this day computer programs that chart band formations say that this maneuver cannot be performed). To accomplish this, band members step between each other's feet. In later years, people who did not know that the maneuver was first done in 1947 claimed that the drill was designed by a computer. Adams explained, "It's all a matter of mathematics. One man can take up only a certain amount of space at one time and moves in one direction at a predictable rate of speed." The band's reputation spread and other bands had begun to have some apprehension about performing in the same halftime as the Aggie Band. One Southwest Conference band director stated, "I dread going against the Aggie Band.... What is so humiliating is to see the Aggie Band do things band directors talk about as being impossible, and do them perfectly. It takes two weeks to recover from the trauma." In 1960, "one band gave up without a fight": the Trinity Tiger Band opted to sit instead of perform and gave the Aggie Band the entire halftime to perform. During Adams' tenure, the college acquired a new mascot, the first since the original Reveille died in 1944. Reveille II, like the original Reveille, was cared for and attended to by band members. During halftime performances, the young dog was allowed to be on the field with the band without her leash. During these breaks where she could get out and run, she had a tendency to "do her business" on Kyle Field's playing surface. This didn't bother the band members much, as Reveille stayed away from the band, but Adams discovered a gambling scheme whereby cadets were taking bets on what yard line the dog would defecate. He quickly ended the practice and turned the responsibility of caring for Reveille over