Harry the Husky is the athletic mascot for the University of Washington and is one of two mascots utilized by the university, with the other being the live mascot Dubs II. Harry the Husky has two other siblings: Hendrix the Husky who lives in UW Tacoma, [1] and Holly the Husky who lives in UW Bothell.
The university's first mascot was Sunny Boy, a 3-foot-tall (0.91 m), gold-painted statuette representing an illustration frequently appearing in Columns, which – at the time – was a student-published campus humor magazine (presently Columns is the title of the University of Washington Alumni Magazine). The mascot was introduced in 1921 and retired three years later when it got lost in Bush Auditorium, and the university adopted the nickname "Huskies." [2]
In 1922, the university began using live sled dogs as its mascots, first a non-hereditary line of Siberian Huskies and, beginning in 1961, a hereditary line of Alaskan Malamutes, which are a different breed of dog from the husky. Due to the size of the animals, difficulties of travel, logistics, and handler schedules, the mascots generally only appear at home football games.
Harry the Husky was the brainchild of Band Director Brad McDavid, former Athletics Director Barbara Hedges and the Husky Fever support group. [3] In 1995, officials in the university's athletic department commissioned a costume and held tryouts for the new mascot. Three student performers were chosen (Lee Harris, Evelyn Ho and Chris MacDonald) and rotated duties to appear as a secondary mascot for use at events at which the live mascot was unable to attend. Harris laid out the privacy rules current mascots uphold—during a student's years as Harry, his or her true identity remains strictly confidential. [3] Originally called, "The Husky Dawg," in 1997 a contest and public vote gave him the new and official name, "Harry the Husky." [4] Coincidentally, the mascot had already been referred to by that name during a scene in The 6th Man , a film starring Marlon Wayans about the University of Washington basketball team, that had been released prior to the vote. The mascot's jersey number is 00.
In 2010, the university unveiled a new Harry the Husky costume and retired the old one. The new husky made his debut on October 9, 2010 at the home game against the Arizona State Sun Devils. [5] The Huskies would go on to lose that game 14-24.
Harry has been seen at every football game since his inception, and you can frequently run into him at other sporting events on campus such as basketball, volleyball, baseball, softball, and more. He is active in the UW community, and attends student fairs, fundraisers, community events, and several other activities in the greater Seattle area.
Harry has participated and placed in the Universal Cheerleaders Association's National Championship for mascots. To qualify for a bid to UCA nationals you need to place in the top 10 of all mascots in your division, and while Harry placed in a range from 11th-18th in previous years, he finally broke through in 2019 to make his first UCA appearance in 2019. His placements are as follows:
The University of Washington is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the United States.
The Union Bay Natural Area (UBNA) in Seattle, Washington, also known as Union Bay Marsh, is the restored remainder of the filled former Union Bay and Union Bay Marsh. It is located at the east end of the main University of Washington campus, south of NE 45th Street and west of Laurelhurst. Ravenna Creek is connected to University Slough, thence to Union Bay, and Lake Washington. Drainage Canal is one of three or four areas of open water connected with Lake Washington around Union Bay Marsh. The canal extends from NE 45th Street, between the driving range and IMA Sports Field 1, south to the bay, ending southeast of the Husky Ballpark baseball grandstand. The Drainage Canal that carries Ravenna Creek past UBNA to Union Bay is locally sometimes called University Slough.
Husky Stadium is an outdoor football stadium in the northwest United States, located on the campus of the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. It has been home to the Washington Huskies of the Big Ten Conference since 1920, hosting their football games. It also briefly hosted the Seattle Seahawks of the NFL in 2000 and 2001 while Qwest Field was being constructed.
The Washington Huskies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Big Ten Conference.
Donald Earl James was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Kent State University from 1971 to 1974 and at the University of Washington from 1975 to 1992, compiling a career college football record of 178–76–3 (.698).
Mark Allen Emmert is the former president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. He was the fifth CEO of the NCAA; he was named as the incoming president on April 27, 2010, and assumed his duties on November 1, 2010, and remained in office until March 1, 2023.
Buckingham Ulysses "Bucky" Badger is the official mascot of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The mascot attends major sporting events for the Wisconsin Badgers and other events in Wisconsin.
The Associated Students of the University of Washington (ASUW) is the student association at the University of Washington. It is funded and supported by the University's Services and Activities Fee with which it provides services that directly and indirectly benefit student life. The ASUW consists of over 80 student employees and 500 volunteers, and the organization spends approximately $1.5 million annually to run events, lobby the legislature, and fund various Registered Student Organizations as they put on their own programs.
Bow Down to Washington is the official fight song of the University of Washington. It was written by Lester J. Wilson in 1915 while partaking in a competition requesting a new song for the university. The competition was sponsored by the campus newspaper, The Daily, and had a grand prize of US$25.
The Washington State Cougars are the athletic teams that represent Washington State University. Located in Pullman, Washington, WSU is a member of the Pac-12 Conference in NCAA Division I. The athletic program comprises ten women's sports and seven men's intercollegiate sports, and also offers various intramural sports.
The Washington Huskies football team represents the University of Washington in college football. Washington competed in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) as a member of the Big Ten Conference, after having been a charter member of the Pac-12 Conference until the end of the 2023-2024 season. Husky Stadium, located on campus in Seattle, has been the Huskies' home field since 1920.
Husky Ballpark is a college baseball park in the Northwestern United States, located on the campus of the University of Washington in Seattle. Opened 26 years ago in 1998, it is the home field of the Washington Huskies of the Pac-12 conference. The playing field was renamed for donor Herb Chaffey in May 2009.
Knightro is the official mascot of the University of Central Florida, and its sports teams, the Knights. Knightro debuted in 1994, and appears at UCF sporting events and also appears at UCF-related functions. He occasionally uses a custom go-kart designed and built by UCF Engineering students and other members of UCF Athletics, dubbed "Pegasus 1." He has previously used a custom car designed and built by UCF Engineering students dubbed "Chariot II."
The 1961 Rose Bowl was the 47th Rose Bowl game, played on January 2, 1961, in Pasadena, California. The #6 Washington Huskies defeated the top-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers, 17–7. Washington quarterback Bob Schloredt returned from a mid-season injury was named the Player Of The Game for the second straight year. As New Year's Day fell on a Sunday, the major bowl games were played on Monday.
Paws or Paws, the Husky is the current mascot of the Northeastern University Huskies. Northeastern debuted the Siberian husky as the school's official mascot and school's nickname on March 4, 1927.
Jonathan the Husky is the mascot of the University of Connecticut. All of UConn's huskies are named Jonathan in honor of Jonathan Trumbull, the last colonial and first state Governor of Connecticut. Traditionally, there are two Jonathan mascots: one is a student in a costume which resembles the university's Athletics logo, and the other is a live husky canine.
The Washington Huskies baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate baseball team of the University of Washington, located in Seattle, Washington, United States. The program has been a member of the NCAA Division I Big Ten Conference since the start of the 2025 season, preceded by the Pac-12 Conference and the Pacific Coast Conference.
Denny Field is located on the campus of the University of Washington in Seattle. It was the home grounds for the university's football team for a quarter-century, from 1895 until 1920. Washington compiled an overall home record of 87 wins, 15 losses, and 13 ties (.813) on the field including an NCAA record 59–0–4 winning streak from 1907 to 1917.
The 1960 Washington Huskies football team represented the University of Washington during the 1960 college football season. Home games were played on campus in Seattle at Husky Stadium. Under fourth-year head coach Jim Owens, Washington was 9–1 in the regular season, 4–0 in the Athletic Association of Western Universities (AAWU), defeated top-ranked Minnesota in the Rose Bowl, and outscored its opponents 272 to 107. The Helms Athletic Foundation, which considered bowl games in its ranking, awarded the Huskies the national championship.
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