The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

Write for Us
Want your voice to be heard? Submit a letter to the editor, send us an op-ed pitch or check out our open positions for the chance to be published by the Daily Utah Chronicle.
@TheChrony
Print Issues
Write for Us
Want your voice to be heard? Submit a letter to the editor, send us an op-ed pitch or check out our open positions for the chance to be published by the Daily Utah Chronicle.
@TheChrony
Print Issues

Swoop Turns 20, Celebrates Birthday This Week

Swoop+enters+the+field+on+a+motorcycle+before+the+Utah+Utes+play+the+Oregon+State+Beavers+in+Pac-12+football+at+Rice+Eccles+Stadium%2C+Saturday%2C+Oct.+31%2C+2015.+Tara+Lincoln%2C+Daily+Utah+Chronicle.
Swoop enters the field on a motorcycle before the Utah Utes play the Oregon State Beavers in Pac-12 football at Rice Eccles Stadium, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2015. Tara Lincoln, Daily Utah Chronicle.

Swoop has been tearing up the sidelines of sporting events, public events and charity gatherings for the U since 1996. Swoop is a Red-Tailed hawk, which are indigenous to Utah, and is the official mascot for the Utes.

Before Swoop was created, the U had been without a mascot for some time and was the only school in the Western Athletic Conference without one. The name of the tribal council of the Ute Tribe, the Utes, inspired the very first U mascot, a cartoonish image of a Native American. However, the mascot was eventually dropped due to concerns of controversy. The 1980s saw the advent of the Crimson Warrior, a man dressed in a Native American costume who would ride onto the field on horseback and throw a lance around a bale of hay to pump up the crowd before football games. Unlike the original cartoon, the Crimson Warrior was seen as more of a symbol than a mascot.

According to Marc Amicone, who played a role in Swoop’s creation, Swoop was an actual Red-Tailed hawk living on the cloud, otherwise known as the scoreboard in the Huntsman Center, before he was found and named the Utes’ mascot.

Fun Facts About Swoop:

Swoop’s closest cousin is Bumble, the official mascot of the Salt Lake Bees.

Swoop is also very close with the Utah Jazz Bear — he sees him as an older brother.

Swoop has a girlfriend, who he met at a U basketball game while he was working as the mascot.

Swoop is not only the mascot, but also a full time student at the U.

One of Swoop’s goals is to buy all the newest and best Utah attire from the campus store.

This year Swoop turns 20 years old. The U will celebrate Swoop’s birthday on Sept. 1 from 12-2 p.m. at the Campus Store and also during halftime at the first football game against Southern Utah University. A group of student filmmakers at the U produced a documentary for students to learn more about Swoop. They held interviews with people who know Swoop best including his girlfriend, gym partner, roommate and biggest fans. The full video can be viewed at asuuu.utah.edu within the next week.

[email protected]

@Kelsey_Kenyon

Leave a Comment

Comments (0)

The Daily Utah Chronicle welcomes comments from our community. However, the Daily Utah Chronicle reserves the right to accept or deny user comments. A comment may be denied or removed if any of its content meets one or more of the following criteria: obscenity, profanity, racism, sexism, or hateful content; threats or encouragement of violent or illegal behavior; excessively long, off-topic or repetitive content; the use of threatening language or personal attacks against Chronicle members; posts violating copyright or trademark law; and advertisement or promotion of products, services, entities or individuals. Users who habitually post comments that must be removed may be blocked from commenting. In the case of duplicate or near-identical comments by the same user, only the first submission will be accepted. This includes comments posted across multiple articles. You can read more about our comment policy at https://dailyutahchronicle.com/comment-faqs/.
All The Daily Utah Chronicle Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *