Hook 'Em is the costumed mascot of

The University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

's athletics teams. Hook 'Em can be seen on the sidelines of

Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium Darrell K Royal Memorial Stadium (formerly War Memorial Stadium, Memorial Stadium, and Texas Memorial Stadium), located in Austin, Texas, on the campus of the University of Texas, has been home to the Longhorns football team since 1924. The st ...

during football games, and also at the Moody Center during basketball games. He can also be requested to appear at an event through the Texas Athletics website.

History

As the 1976 football season came to a close, it was decided by university officials that the school needed a costumed mascot as this was easier to transport to events than a live longhorn. Hook 'Em made his first appearance on November 29, 1977 when the men's basketball team hosted their rival

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

at the Frank Erwin Center. The Longhorns beat the Sooners, in that game and ended the season winning the NIT championship. Hook 'Em has been an important part of game day ever since. Hook 'Em attends more than 1,000

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,07 ...

events at home and across the country each season. In 2014 the Hook 'Em costume was updated to include lighter horns, more defined muscles, and custom made football, basketball, and baseball uniforms.

Notable appearances

Hook 'Em attends nearly all Texas Longhorns games in all sports. In 2015 he appeared at the Texas men's basketball opener against the University of Washington in Shanghai, China. In 2016, he attended the East Lake Cup in Atlanta in support of Texas men's golf. Hook 'Em is also a friend to

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

mascot, the Coyote, and appeared alongside him during the Spurs' University of Texas Spirit Night. Hook 'Em has also appeared at many non-school affiliated events. Hook 'Em attended the

Austin City Limits ''Austin City Limits'' is an American live music television program recorded and produced by Austin PBS. The show helped Austin become widely known in the United States as the "Live Music Capital of the World", and is the only television show to ...

music festival in 2014 to perform with musician Trombone Shorty, and in 2016 to perform with electronic music group

Major Lazer Major Lazer is an American electronic dance music DJ trio, which includes record producer Diplo, and DJs Walshy Fire and Ape Drums. It originates from Kingston, Jamaica, and was founded in 2008 by Diplo and Switch, with Switch leaving after ...

. Hook 'Em also attended the 2015 Country Music Awards. He was featured in Brad Paisley's music video for “Country Nation”.

National competitions

Mascot National Championship

In 2016 Hook 'Em placed 4th in his first UCA Mascot National Championship, beating out his rival, Boomer, the mascot for the University of Oklahoma. Boomer placed 7th.

Steamboat Mascot Stampede

Hook 'Em has been invited to compete in Steamboat Mascot Stampede every year since 2015. The competition is sponsored by former Phillie Phanatic David Raymond. Competing mascots come from various conferences around the nation, including the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

, Pac-12 Conference, and several other smaller schools.

Gallery

References

{{University of Texas at Austin, traditions Big 12 Conference mascots Texas Longhorns