Georgia’s bulldog mascot Uga XI can rest easy Saturday.
Texas’ reported 1,700-pound longhorn mascot Bevo XV will not attend Saturday’s SEC title game in Atlanta since, well, he’s too large for Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Uga XI’s predecessor, Uga X, and Bevo had a viral moment before the 2019 Sugar Bowl when Bevo charged toward the bulldog on the sidelines.
“When we received the request for Bevo to be on the sideline in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, our staff looked at several alternatives including the sideline location,” the SEC said in a statement, according to ESPN. “The reality is there is limited sideline space at the stadium. We can’t jeopardize the safety of Bevo or the game participants. With the narrow sidelines, location of multiple sets for television and camera carts, there is not enough space. While we want to honor tradition across the conference, the space limitation is a reality.”
Bevo XV weighs more than 1,700 pounds and has a horn span of 58 inches, per ESPN, and has carried on the Texas live mascot tradition that began 108 years ago.
His handlers, the Silver Spurs, told ESPN that Bevo XV is the “largest live mascot in college athletics.”
An animal of such size obviously needs plenty of space, and the Falcons’ NFL stadium is not suited for a live longhorn.
“We did everything we could to try to get him there and it just didn’t work out,” Ricky Brennes, Bevo’s handler and the executive director of the Silver Spurs Alumni Association told A to Z Sports. “The SEC said they didn’t have enough space.”
Mercedez-Benz Stadium, however, is suited for a bulldog.
UGA XI is “expected” to attend the game, per ESPN, with Athens roughly 90 minutes from Atlanta.
The bulldog did not attend Georgia’s road win against Texas earlier this year, according to ESPN, but plenty of fans remember the last two times the bulldog and longhorn met.
As UGA X’s handlers escorted him around the sideline for a photo opportunity five years ago, Bevo burst through the fences that made up his small enclosure. UGA quickly fled the scene, avoiding disaster.
The mascots did eventually take a photo together, according to UGA’s handler, Charles Seiler.
“Rick called me and apologized. I said, “Did you get some good pictures?” Seiler, told ESPN. “He said he thinks that, because Bevo got to the arena like six hours before the game started and hadn’t moved from that spot, he just got worn out from staring at a wall. He just wanted to go for a stroll. I don’t think the cow ever even saw the dog, because there were too many people around.”