Going Batty

Austin health officials spending Batman Day looking for man who picked up bat

Health officials are requesting information on a local man who may have picked up a bat near Austin's Bat Bridge.

In an odd coincidence, Austin health officials are spending the official Batman Day looking for a bat lovin' man who may have been exposed to rabies.

Health officials with the Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services Department are looking for a man who authorities say picked up a grounded bat on Congress Avenue and then took off running towards the Ann Richards Bridge. After receiving a call from Animal Services around 10:30 am on Saturday, July 19, members of the Austin Police Department arrived on the scene to find the animal had already been removed by the man.

Since it was not tested by health officials, it cannot be confirmed whether the bat is carrying rabies. It is not always possible to know if a bat has bitten you, so any and all exposure to the animal must be treated carefully.

Symptoms of the disease can take weeks to appear and, according to a press release, "Early signs of rabies can be fever or headache, but this changes quickly to nervous system signs such as confusion, sleepiness, or agitation." Untreated exposure can lead to death. Anyone with information should call the Disease Surveillance Program at 512-972-5555.

The announcement of the search also has interesting timing. Today is the official Batman Day, a day created by DC Comics to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the iconic Caped Crusader.

It’s probably not a surprise that someone would come across a bat near Austin’s iconic Bat Bridge, but let this be a friendly reminder to both locals and tourists: Look but never touch.

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Longhorn report card

UT Austin books top-10 spot among best public universities in America

UT Austin, University of Texas at Austin, top Texas schools, best public universities, best colleges

Photo by Alexander Williams on Unsplash

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The new academic year may have just gotten started, but there's already a report card for Longhorns to write home about. This time their school is being graded — and don't worry, Mom and Dad, UT makes the high honor roll. The University of Texas at Austin ranks as the No. 9 top public university in the United States for 2025 by Niche.

Among all 1,517 U.S. schools evaluated by the education review and ranking website, UT Austin shines at No. 41 nationally, and as No. 2 in Texas (more in that on a bit). It's also the 14th best "big college" in America.

Niche deems UT Austin among the top 25 schools in these specific categories:

No. 2 Best Hispanic-Serving Institutions in America
No. 6 Colleges with the Best Student Life in America
No. 11 Best Colleges for Student Athletes in America
No. 12 Best College Athletics in America
No. 14 Top Party Schools in America
No. 19 Best College Food in America
No. 24 Best College Campuses in America

It also ranks among the top 25 schools nationally for communications, kinesiology and physical therapy, accounting and finance, sports management, design, public health, physics, education, environmental science, engineering, music, and architecture.

UT's full rankings can be found here.

Bevo, University of Texas, UT Austin Bevo knows UT athletics rule. Bevo XV/Instagram

"College is what you make it, but the University of Texas at Austin was truly an unforgettable and formative experience and it was largely due to the community and staff creating excellent environment to do carry out its mission statement: What starts here changes the world," reads one five-star student review on Niche's UT rankings page.

The university actually fell a few places from its spot as No. 6 public university in Niche's 2024 rankings, and No. 8 in 2023.

Still, UT receives an overall grade of A+, earning an A+ in four of the 12 ranking categories — academics, athletics, student life, and party scene. It gets an A for diversity, professors, value, campus, location, and campus food; a B for dorms; and a B- for safety.

Of course, the university is no stranger to ranking highly on lists of the best colleges and universities in the country, including those published by WalletHub, SmartAsset, U.S. News & World Report, and more national publications. Austin itself was just ranked the seventh most educated city in the country.

Yale University tops Niche’s national list for 2025, followed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Columbia University, Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth College, Brown University, Vanderbilt University, and Johns Hopkins University.

Rice University in Houston ranks first among the best colleges in Texas (just edging out UT), and No. 15 nationally. The top 10 Texas schools for 2025 are:

No. 1 Rice University
No. 2 University of Texas at Austin
No. 3 Texas A&M University
No. 4 Trinity University
No. 5 Southern Methodist University
No. 6 University of Houston
No. 7 Texas Tech University
No. 8 Texas Christian University
No. 9 University of North Texas
No. 10 University of Texas at Arlington

Find Niche's complete 2025 college rankings here.

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