Uga at 50
The
2006 season marks the 50th anniversary of the Uga legacy of mascots at the
University of Georgia. The current mascot, Uga VI (“Uga V’s Whatchagot Loran”),
has a seven-year record of 67-21. At 55 pounds he’s the biggest of all the Ugas.
In the last 100 years of intercollegiate
football, Georgia’s Uga has established himself as the nation’s most well-known
mascot. The line of pure white English bulldogs which epitomizes everything
Georgia has been owned by the Frank W. “Sonny” Seiler family of Savannah, Ga.,
since Uga I first graced the campus in 1956.
Through the years, Uga has been defined by his
spiked collar, a symbol of the position which he holds. He was given his name,
an abbreviation for the university, by William Young of Columbus, a law school
classmate of Seiler. Each of the Uga mascots is awarded a varsity letter in the
form of a plaque, identical to those presented to all Bulldog athletes who
letter in their respective sports.
As
determined and published by the Pittsburgh Press, the University of Georgia is
the only major college that actually buries its mascots within the confines of
the stadium. Ugas I, II, III, IV and V are buried in marble vaults near the main
gate in the embankment of the South stands. Epitaphs to the dogs are inscribed
in bronze, and before each home game, flowers are placed on their graves. The
memorial plot attracts hundreds of fans and visitors each year.
For the past 20 years, Uga’s jerseys have been
custom-made at the beginning of each season from the same material used for the
players’ jerseys. Old jerseys are destroyed.
Uga’s on-field home is a permanent
air-conditioned doghouse located next to the cheerleaders' platform, providing
comfort in the heat of August and September. The custom-made doghouse is a gift
from the Bahamian Bulldog Club of Nassau, Bahamas, through the courtesy of Fred
Hazlewood.
From coast to coast and from generation to
generation, the Uga heritage lives as one of America's proudest, and most
unique, mascot traditions.
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