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Smokey XI ready to step in as University of Tennessee mascot
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- Smokey XI ready to step in as University of Tennessee mascot
Smokey is ready to pass the Volunteer torch to another worthy pup of the same name.
Smokey X is set to retire as the iconic University of Tennessee mascot. And Smokey XI, another bluetick coonhound from the same bloodline, will make his debut this fall as the latest top dog on campus since the tradition began in 1953.
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UT announced the change by featuring the old dog and new dog in a video posted on Twitter. But a UT spokesman said there's a chance Smokey X may start the 2022 season until Smokey XI is fully ready to take over his duties on the sideline.
The new Smokey will wear another checkered vest, sport those floppy ears and lead the Vols through the T at Neyland Stadium.
He'll just be younger and a little leaner. Smokey XI is only 6 months old.
Smokey X, who lives as a pet of the Hudson family just north of Knoxville, will celebrate his 10th birthday on Feb. 21. He had served as UT's mascot since the 2013 football season.
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In 2019, he witnessed one of the greatest accomplishments for his kind, when bluetick coonhound became the official dog breed of Tennessee in Gov. Bill Lee's ceremonial bill signing at the State Capitol.
There are 10 statues of Smokey on campus, celebrating one of the most famous mascots in college sports.
In 1953, the original Smokey mascot was nominated during halftime of a UT football game against Mississippi State. The UT Pep Club organized a contest to select a coonhound as the mascot, and Rev. W.C. "Bill" Brooks entered his prize-winning bluetick coonhound "Blue Smokey," according to UT's history website .
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When "Blue Smokey" was introduced, the hound howled. Students cheered, Smokey howled more, and eventually the entire stadium was cheering and howling, and UT had a mascot.
Though Smokey briefly was challenged by a Tennessee Walking Horse, he became a mainstay as the official mascot of the Vols. Smokey XI will continue the 69-year-old tradition.
Reach Adam Sparks at adam.sparks@knoxnews.com and on Twitter @AdamSparks.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: University of Tennessee's new mascot Smokey XI ready step in
