Why is the Tennessee Volunteers mascot a dog? Taking a look at Vols' rich college football history

The Tennessee Volunteers have been a part of the college football world for over a century. They began their journey back in 1891, and have played around 130 seasons of football. Apart from their rich history, another interesting aspect of Tennessee is their mascot for football games.

The Volunteers have Smokey, a Bluetick Coonhound dog as their mascot who leads the team to the field during games. Currently, Smokey XI has been in charge of this responsibility since last year. They also have a costumed mascot for the same who appears in every Volunteers game.

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Why is the Tennessee Volunteers mascot a dog?

The find the answer to this, we must travel back in time to almost 70 years ago. In 1953, a student poll shed light on the desire of the University to have a live animal as their mascot. Then, the Pep Club organized a contest to select a Coonhound dog as their mascot, since it is the most common breed found in Tennessee.

Rev WC "Bill" Brooks had entered the contest with his Bluetick Coonhound called "Brooks' Blue Smokey." During their game against Mississippi State that season, all the dogs who took part in the contest lined up for voting at halftime. Smokey was the last contestant that day and when he was introduced, he started barking.

All the students who were present started cheering for Smokey, as he threw his head back and started to howl. This put the entire crowd in an uproar, and this is how Smokey was formally inducted as the school's mascot.

Over the years, there have been eleven Bluetick Coonhounds serving as the school's mascot. Up until Smokey IX, they were all from the same bloodline as the first. When Smokey X was introduced, he was the first Tennessee-bred dog who became a mascot. Smokey XI took over the mascot duties from his father last season for the Tennessee Volunteers.

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When did the costume mascot debut for the Tennessee Volunteers?

Up until the 1980s, the Tennessee Volunteers only had Smokey as their live mascot. Then the costumed version of the Bluetick Coonhound started to make appearances in the 80s. The initial Smokey design continued up until 1988, after which it went through a revamp that is still in use to date.

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The costumed Smokey is also one of the most famous college football mascots in history. He was inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame back in 2008.