When the Texas Longhorns head to Georgia for the SEC championship game this weekend, one of their most iconic figures will not be in attendance.
The 11-1 Longhorns will battle the 10-2 Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday for both the league title and a bye in the first round of this season’s playoffs.
But despite the magnitude of the occasion, Bevo XV, Texas’ live mascot, will not be heading to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
The 1,700-pound longhorn, which has an orange and white color to match the team’s famous strip, will not be allowed to attend Saturday’s game because the arena does not have enough space to accommodate it.
Considering that it has a horn span of 58 inches, that explanation is certainly plausible.
‘When we received the request to have Bevo on the sidelines at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, our employees looked at various alternatives, including the sideline location. The reality is that there is limited sideline space in the stadium,” the SEC said in a statement.
Texas Longhorns mascot Bevo will not be at their big game against Georgia on Saturday
Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta cannot accommodate the 1,700-pound longhorn this weekend
‘We must not endanger 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 throughout the conference, limited space is a reality.”
Continuing a Texas mascot tradition that started 108 years ago, Bevo created a viral moment in the 2019 Sugar Bowl when he attacked Georgia’s former bulldog mascot Uga
The co-drivers, the Silver Spurs, told ESPN that Bevo is the “greatest live mascot in college athletics.”
However, Mercedez-Benz Stadium – home of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons – does not have the capacity to fit him safely.
“We did everything we could to get him there, but it just didn’t work out,” said Ricky Brennes, Bevo’s supervisor and director of the Silver Spurs Alumni Association. Sports from A to Z.
“The SEC said they didn’t have enough room.”
Meanwhile, Uga XI, the successor to Uga X, is expected to attend Saturday’s match in Georgia.