Tilden, the sculptor, grew up in Berkeley as a resident and student at the California School for the Deaf (where the University's Clark Kerr Campus is now located). He took entrance examinations to attend UC, but decided to go to Paris instead to study art. The Football Statue was brought in triumph to Berkeley to become the first piece of permanent sculpture on the University grounds. It was not placed on campus until 1900, however; the unveiling took place on May 12, 1900, Class Day at Berkeley. On the same day, groundbreaking was held for the President's Mansion on campus (now University House), which was the first building sited under the new Phoebe Hearst Architectural Plan.