Longhorns Livid After Bevo Banned From SEC Championship: Uga XI Still Welcome

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Bevo is banned from the SEC Championship game, but Uga XI will still be there.

The Longhorns‘ beloved mascot, Bevo, is banned from attending the SEC championship game on Saturday, December 7, when the University of Texas faces the Georgia Bulldogs. But Georgia’s mascot will still be in attendance.

Bevo Will Also Be Barred from Attending the National Championship if Texas Gets There

GettyTexas Longhorns mascot Bevo is seen during the CFP Semifinal Allstate Sugar Bowl against the Washington Huskies at Caesars Superdome on January 01, 2024.

Bevo the Longhorn won’t be allowed to attend the SEC Championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Orangebloods reported. And if the Longhorns progress to the National Championships, Bevo won’t be able to attend that game either, which will be held at the same stadium.

SEC officials said that space constraints are preventing them from allowing Bevo to attend, KXAN reported. But Georgia’s mascot, Uga XI, will be there.

In a statement to Burnt Orange Nation, the conference noted:

When we received the request for Bevo to be on the sideline in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, our staff looked at several alternatives including the sideline location. The reality is there is limited sideline space at the stadium. We can’t jeopardize the safety of Bevo or the game participants. With the narrow sidelines, location of multiple sets for television and camera carts, there is not enough space. While we want to honor tradition across the conference, the space limitation is a reality.

Longhorns fans aren’t happy about the announcement.

On a Reddit thread about the news, one person wrote, “It’s already a home game for UGA. This is just icing on the cake. Most biased conference.”

“Dang we can fit over 100,000 people but not Bevo!! 🙄” another person wrote.

Another person wrote, “All Horns fans attending need to dress up in a Bevo costume. Or park Bevo right in front of the entrance door for UGA and the team.”

Bevo’s Silver Spurs caretakers are unhappy about the decision too. One of them anonymously told CFB News Now about Uga XI being allowed to attend: “If that’s not favoritism, I don’t know what is.”

His handlers are still deciding where Bevo will be during the game.

“If worst comes to worst, we’ll hook up a big TV and put it outside of his stall,” they said to CFB News Now.

Bevo Appeared to Charge at the Georgia Mascot in 2019

Just before the 2019 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, Bevo broke through the sideline barriers and appeared to charge at Uga XI’s dad, Que, who was then Georgia’s mascot, KXAN reported. The video of the tense moment went viral.  But Uga XI’s owner has said that he didn’t think Bevo was aiming for the dog on purpose.

Uga XI wasn’t at the last game between Texas and Georgia in October because the 1,200-mile trip to Austin was too far for the dog, Burnt Orange Nation reported. His owner Charles Seiler said about the decision: “He is really young and immature and crazy as hell and this game just wasn’t a good fit for us.”

The Texas vs Georgia SEC title game kicks off at 3 p.m. Central on Saturday. In their last meetup in October, Georgia won 30-15.

Coach Steve Sarkisian said about the rematch in a press conference on December 5: “It’s a great challenge for us, but one that I know we’re looking forward to. An opportunity that we want to make sure we make the most of.”