This is no bull: The Longhorns might beef with the Southeastern Conference after its ruling that Texas cannot bring its live mascot and Longhorn inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium for Saturday’s championship game against Georgia in Atlanta.
Bevo XV, a nearly one-ton Longhorn steer, is Texas’ mascot, but the animal is larger than the combined weight of either team’s five-person offensive line and was deemed too large to patrol the dome’s sideline safely.
This @WagsPhoto shot of Bevo XV storming out of the tunnel, though 🤘🤘🤘 #HookEm pic.twitter.com/mN6Hz31eIy
— Katey Psencik (@psencikk) September 9, 2018
The conference made the preemptive decision after “looking at alternatives” following the request from Texas.
“The reality is there is limited sideline space at the stadium. We can’t jeopardize the safety of Bevo or the game participants,” SEC spokesman Chuck Dunlap said.
While Georgia is permitted to bring its mascot, a recognizable English bulldog named Uga XI, Texas fans have responded with backlash. A Change.org petition has gathered thousands of signatures as of Friday.
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Texas Longhorns’ Bevo XV has caused issues before
Bevo XV’s reputation precedes him. At the Superdome in New Orleans before the 2019 Sugar Bowl, he toppled a barricade enclosure and charged toward Georgia’s then-mascot, Uga X. Though the animals never made direct contact, as Texas personnel quickly restrained the Longhorn, the incident raised safety concerns.
The decision is particularly relevant given Mercedes-Benz Stadium’s layout, where camera crews, boom lift camera machinery, and cheerleaders crowd the sideline near the playing field, and high-end box seats are positioned closer to the action than in many older stadiums.
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