Hairy Dawg

Hairy Dawg
Hairy Dawg
	Hairy Dawg at a home football game
University	University of Georgia
Conference	SEC
Description	Anthropomorphic bulldog
First seen	1980
Related mascot(s)	Uga

Last updated November 14, 2023

Hairy Dawg is the costumed mascot of the University of Georgia Bulldogs. Hairy Dawg made his first appearance at the 1981 Sugar Bowl and has been an official mascot of UGA since. Hairy Dawg attends all Georgia Bulldogs football games and most home athletic events (including Georgia Bulldogs basketball, Georgia Lady Bulldogs basketball, Georgia Bulldogs baseball, Georgia Gym Dogs, tennis, volleyball, equestrian, and soccer). Forbes ranks Hairy Dawg No. 3 in their list of "America's Top 10 Sports Mascots".^[1]

History

The first costumed bulldog at the University of Georgia was a gray anthropomorphic dog called "Fluffie," who was designed "[to capture] the hearts of children with his cuddly features and tumbling stunts."^[2] Fluffie was created in 1975 by the late Coach Mike Castronis.^[2]^[3]

The inspiration for Hairy Dawg came during the 1980 football season at the Florida vs. Georgia Football Classic, when Florida unveiled its new, more intimidating mascot. Compared to the rival's mascot, Georgia’s mascot at that time, Fluffie, was described as a "dark, dingy gray mutt with zero personality." Tom Sapp, a 1969 Georgia graduate and designer of the mascot explains, “I created Hairy Dawg to intimidate."^[4] Hairy's name derives from the popular Georgia cheer, "Go You Hairy Dogs!" Former University head football coach Vince Dooley was the first to be presented with the sketches for Hairy Dawg and wanted the mascot at the 1981 Sugar Bowl. After many long and stressful hours of sweating and stitching by Sapp, Hairy Dawg was ready in three weeks for the national championship game between the Georgia Bulldogs and Notre Dame Fighting Irish. UGA student cheerleader, Stan Beecham, was the first to dress out as Hairy Dawg when the Bulldogs went on to beat the Irish and were crowned national champions.^[5]^[6]

Hairy Dawg's first appearance in Sanford Stadium was not until the Georgia Bulldogs' 1981 home opener, a 44-0 shut-out of the Tennessee Volunteers.^[5]

Media appearances

In 2009, Forbes ranked Hairy Dawg No. 3 in their list of "America's Top 10 Sports Mascots".^[1]

Hairy Dawg has been selected to participate in the Capital One National Mascot of the Year Challenge in 2003, 2004, 2007, 2009, and 2011. In 2007, Hairy Dawg was a semifinalist in the competition.^[7] In 2008, he competed in the Mascot National Championship, finishing 7th place.

In 2010, Hairy Dawg appeared in three ESPN commercials. One commercial promoted ESPN's new 3D cable television network, ESPN 3D. The second, for Lee Corso's surprise birthday party on the set of College GameDay. The third, a This is SportsCenter commercial where Hairy Dawg runs through the cupboards of the ESPN kitchen until he finally finds some animal crackers.^[8]

In 2011, Hairy Dawg appeared in a number of Capital One National Mascot Challenge commercials.^[9]

In 2012, Hairy Dawg appeared in two This is SportsCenter commercials with former UGA quarterback Matthew Stafford.^[10]

Spike

Hairy Dawg was joined by an inflatable bulldog mascot named "Spike" in 1998.^[11] Intended as a mascot to serve at Georgia volleyball games, Spike also appears at men's and women's basketball games and Gym Dogs women's gymnastics meets.

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References

1 2 "America's Top Sports Mascots". forbes.com. Archived from the original on 2013-01-23. Retrieved 2012-02-15.
1 2 The 1985-1986 Pandora. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia. 1986. pp. 18–19.
↑ Harper, Billy. "Harper: 'Coach Mike' worthy of honor | Online Athens". onlineathens.com. Retrieved 2016-04-23.
↑ Littlejohn, Brandi. "Mascot Hairy Dawg celebrates 20 years". The Red and Black. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
1 2 "Mascot Hairy Dawg celebrates 20 years". Red & Black. Archived from the original on 2011-10-07. Retrieved 2012-02-15.
↑ "Mascot marks birthday at Sugar Bowl | Online Athens". onlineathens.com. Retrieved 2016-04-23.
↑ "Capital One Mascot Challenge History". Capital One Mascot Challenge. Archived from the original on 2013-03-01. Retrieved 2012-02-15.
↑ This is SportsCenter
↑ "Capital One Mascot Challenge Videos". Capital One Mascot Challenge. Archived from the original on 2012-02-15. Retrieved 2012-02-15.
↑ "Matthew Stafford To Appear In 'This Is SportsCenter' Commercial". Pride of Detroit. Retrieved 2012-02-15.
↑ Douglas, Cris (Jan 23, 2004). "'Crazy,' inflatable mascot not just full of hot air". The Red & Black. Retrieved April 22, 2016.

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[forbes-1] 1 2 "America's Top Sports Mascots". forbes.com. Archived from the original on 2013-01-23. Retrieved 2012-02-15.

[:0-2] 1 2 The 1985-1986 Pandora. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia. 1986. pp. 18–19.

[3] Harper, Billy. "Harper: 'Coach Mike' worthy of honor | Online Athens". onlineathens.com. Retrieved 2016-04-23.

[4] Littlejohn, Brandi. "Mascot Hairy Dawg celebrates 20 years". The Red and Black. Retrieved 2016-04-25.

[uga-5] 1 2 "Mascot Hairy Dawg celebrates 20 years". Red & Black. Archived from the original on 2011-10-07. Retrieved 2012-02-15.

[6] "Mascot marks birthday at Sugar Bowl | Online Athens". onlineathens.com. Retrieved 2016-04-23.

[history-7] "Capital One Mascot Challenge History". Capital One Mascot Challenge. Archived from the original on 2013-03-01. Retrieved 2012-02-15.

[espn-8] This is SportsCenter

[videos-9] "Capital One Mascot Challenge Videos". Capital One Mascot Challenge. Archived from the original on 2012-02-15. Retrieved 2012-02-15.

[tisc-10] "Matthew Stafford To Appear In 'This Is SportsCenter' Commercial". Pride of Detroit. Retrieved 2012-02-15.

[11] Douglas, Cris (Jan 23, 2004). "'Crazy,' inflatable mascot not just full of hot air". The Red & Black. Retrieved April 22, 2016.

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v t e University of Georgia
Located in: Athens, Georgia
Academics	College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Franklin College of Arts and Sciences Terry College of Business College of Computing Odum School of Ecology Mary Frances Early College of Education College of Engineering Environment & Design Family and Consumer Sciences Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources Graduate School Jere W. Morehead Honors College Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication School of Law College of Pharmacy College of Public Health School of Public and International Affairs School of Social Work College of Veterinary Medicine Skidaway Institute of Oceanography
Athletics	Uga Hairy Dawg Football Basketball Men's Women's Baseball Equestrian Women's gymnastics Swimming and diving Track and field Men's Women's Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate Deep South's Oldest Rivalry Florida–Georgia football rivalry Southeastern Conference Sanford Stadium Stegeman Coliseum Gabrielsen Natatorium Foley Field Turner Soccer Complex "Glory, Glory"
People, history, and campus life	Alumni and faculty Greek life Campus Arboretum Georgia Redcoat Marching Band Demosthenian Literary Society Phi Kappa Literary Society UGA Campus Transit Presidents 1961 Desegregation riot
Media	The Georgia Review The Red & Black University of Georgia Press WUOG WUGA
Founded: 1785 Students: 37,606 (2017) Endowment: $1.152 billion (2017)

v t e Georgia Bulldogs football
Venues	Herty Field (1892–1910) Sanford Field (1911–1928) Sanford Stadium (1929–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Alabama Auburn: Deep South's Oldest Rivalry Clemson Florida Georgia Tech: Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate South Carolina Tennessee Vanderbilt
Culture & lore	History Hairy Dawg Uga "Glory, Glory" Georgia Redcoat Marching Band First forward pass 1927 Yale game
People	Head coaches Steadman V. Sanford Larry Munson Morgan Blake NFL draftees Starting quarterbacks Statistical leaders
Seasons	1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917–1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
National championship seasons in bold

v t e Georgia Bulldogs basketball
Venues	Athens YMCA (1905–1911) Memorial Hall (1911–1918) Moss Auditorium (1919–1925) Woodruff Hall (1923–1964) Stegeman Coliseum (1964–present)
Culture & lore	Hairy Dawg Uga
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24
NCAA Final Four appearance in italics

v t e Georgia Lady Bulldogs basketball
Venues	Stegeman Coliseum (1973–present)
Culture & lore	History Hairy Dawg Uga
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24
NCAA Final Four appearance in italics

v t e Mascots of the Southeastern Conference
East Division	Albert and Alberta (Florida) Hairy Dawg / Uga (Georgia) Blue, Scratch and The Wildcat (Kentucky) Truman the Tiger (Missouri) Cocky (South Carolina) Smokey (Tennessee) Mr. C (Vanderbilt)
West Division	Big Al (Alabama) Big Red / Tusk (Arkansas) Aubie / War Eagle (Auburn) Mike the Tiger (LSU) Juice (unofficial) (Ole Miss) Bully (Mississippi State) Reveille (Texas A&M)

Hairy Dawg

Contents

History

Media appearances

Spike

See also

Related Research Articles

References