The SEC title game will feature two schools with arguably the most famous mascots in college sports, but only one of them will make the trip.
Texas and Georgia will face off Saturday in Atlanta in the SEC championship for a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff, but Mercedes-Benz Stadium only has room for one of the animals.
Bevo, the live Longhorn mascot, will not be making the trip to the game because he won’t fit.
“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. “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, the 15th edition of the mascot, weighs nearly a ton and has a horn span of 58 inches. Georgia’s mascot, Uga XI, is a bulldog that’s much smaller.
Bevo XV and Uga X had an incident in 2019, when the longhorn broke through a barricade at that year’s Sugar Bowl and nearly trampled the dog and onlookers at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
The longhorn attended the semifinals last year against Washington.
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