Hook 'Em

Hook 'Em
Hook 'Em
	Hook 'Em in front of the Tower
University	The University of Texas at Austin
Conference	SEC
Description	Anthropomorphic longhorn
Origin of name	Hook 'em Horns hand gesture
First seen	The mascot costume was approved by the University Spirit Committee in September 1975 to only be used at Texas basketball games.
Related mascot(s)	Bevo

Hook 'Em, the official costumed mascot of The University of Texas at Austin's athletic teams, is a prominent figure at various sports events. Hook 'Em is regularly seen on the sidelines of Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium during football games, and at the Moody Center for basketball games, engaging fans and contributing to a lively atmosphere. Beyond these sporting events, Hook 'Em's presence can be requested through the Texas Athletics website, allowing the mascot to engage with the broader university community and its supporters.

History

The mascot before the 2014 costume redesign

In January 1975, Steven “Sox” Sockler (BBA ‘76, MBA ‘78) attended a basketball game against the University of Houston at Gregory Gym. The Cougars brought their costume mascot. Sockler questioned why the Longhorns did not have their own costumed mascot, and his friends at the game challenged him to create one. In April 1975, Sockler proposed the idea to the University Spirit Committee chaired by Wally Pryor. The committee told Sockler to return the next fall semester with a completed costume and it would be considered.

In June 1975, Sockler enlisted the services of Hugh Head, an Art Professor at Lamar University, to create the headpiece. The foundation was made using a construction helmet, with welding rods in the crown of the helmet to create horns. The entire frame was enveloped in paper mâché and subsequently coated with fiberglass. The rest of the costume was handcrafted by Margaret Sockler, Steven's mother.

Upon his return in the autumn, Sockler submitted the costume to the Spirit Committee for their evaluation.

Wally Pryor expressed his approval with great enthusiasm, but specified that the mascot would solely be utilized during basketball games. Sockler recalled Pryor's statement, asserting that this adorned mascot is prohibited from making appearances at football games where Bevo holds absolute authority. The policy underwent modifications over the course of time.

The unnamed costume made its first appearance at the OU football pep rally held at Gregory Gym. The costume made its next appearance during the inaugural home basketball game in November 1975. At that moment, Sockler passed by the announcer's table and Wally Pryor inquired about the name of the costume. After Sockler declined, Pryor suggested, "Let's call it 'Hook'Em'."

Sockler consistently donned the Hook’Em mascot costume for every home basketball game during the 1975-76 season. Subsequently, Sockler contributed Hook'Em to the Spirit Committee, where it remained in use until 1980, when it was substituted for a newer design.

Hook 'Em has been part of game day events ever since. Hook 'Em attends more than 250 University of Texas at Austin events at home and across the country each season.^[2] In 2014 the Hook 'Em costume was updated to include lighter horns, more defined muscles, and custom made football, basketball, and baseball uniforms.^{[citation needed]}

Notable appearances

Hook 'Em attends nearly all Texas Longhorns games in all sports.^[3] In 2015 he appeared at the Texas men's basketball opener against the University of Washington in Shanghai, China. In 2016, he attended the East Lake Cup in Atlanta in support of Texas men's golf.

Hook 'Em is also a friend to San Antonio Spurs mascot, the Coyote, and appeared alongside him during the Spurs' University of Texas Spirit Night.

Hook 'Em has also appeared at many non-school affiliated events. Hook 'Em attended the Austin City Limits music festival in 2014 to perform with musician Trombone Shorty, and in 2016 to perform with electronic music group Major Lazer. Hook 'Em also attended the 2015 Country Music Awards. He was featured in Brad Paisley's music video for “Country Nation”.^[2]

National competitions

Mascot National Championship

In 2016 Hook 'Em placed 4th in his first UCA Mascot National Championship, beating out his rival, Boomer, the mascot for the University of Oklahoma. Boomer placed 7th.^[4]

Steamboat Mascot Stampede

Hook 'Em has been invited to compete in Steamboat Mascot Stampede every year since 2015.^[5] The competition is sponsored by former Phillie Phanatic David Raymond. Competing mascots come from various conferences around the nation, including the Big 12 Conference, Southeastern Conference, Big Ten Conference, Pac-12 Conference, and several other smaller schools.

References

^ Trotter, Jim (June 3, 1979). "First Hook 'Em hangs up horns". Austin American-Statesman. pp. D1 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b Finan, Kristin (October 29, 2017). "Big horns to fill: Texas' Hook 'Em mascot brings fun, spirit and stellar dance moves". Austin American-Statesman. pp. D1, D8 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "2018 Hook 'Em mascot tryouts". University of Texas Athletics. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
^ "The Official Site - Varsity.com - We Are Cheerleading". www.varsity.com. Retrieved 2017-01-27.
^ "Mascot Stampede". www.steamboat.com. Retrieved 2017-02-07.

[Statesman_Trotter-1] Trotter, Jim (June 3, 1979). "First Hook 'Em hangs up horns". Austin American-Statesman. pp. D1 – via Newspapers.com.

[Statesman_Finan-2] Finan, Kristin (October 29, 2017). "Big horns to fill: Texas' Hook 'Em mascot brings fun, spirit and stellar dance moves". Austin American-Statesman. pp. D1, D8 – via Newspapers.com.

[3] "2018 Hook 'Em mascot tryouts". University of Texas Athletics. Retrieved 2023-01-24.

[4] "The Official Site - Varsity.com - We Are Cheerleading". www.varsity.com. Retrieved 2017-01-27.

[5] "Mascot Stampede". www.steamboat.com. Retrieved 2017-02-07.

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v t e Texas Longhorns football
Venues	Clark Field (1896–1924) Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium (1924–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Arkansas Oklahoma (Red River Rivalry) Rice TCU Texas A&M (Lone Star Showdown) Texas Tech
Culture & lore	History Brown years Bevo Hook 'em "Texas Fight" Hex Rally 1969 "Game of the Century" Longhorn Band The University of Texas National Championship 2005 2005 Ohio State game 2007 player suspensions 2008 Texas Tech game 2008 Big 12 South 3-way tie controversy 1 Second Left My All American
People	Head coaches Starting quarterbacks All-Americans Statistical leaders NFL draftees
Seasons	1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
National championship seasons in bold

v t e Texas Longhorns men's basketball
Venues	Clark Field (1905–1917) Men's Gym (1917–1928) Gregory Gymnasium (1930–1977) Frank Erwin Center (1977–2022) Moody Center (2022–present)
Rivalries	Texas A&M
Culture and lore	Bevo Hook 'em "Texas Fight"
People	Head coaches NBA draftees NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Premo-Porretta national championship in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

v t e Texas Longhorns women's basketball
Venues	Gregory Gymnasium (1974–1977) Frank Erwin Center (1977–2022) Moody Center (2022–present)
Rivalries	Texas A&M
People	WNBA draftees Head coaches
Culture and lore	Bevo Hook 'em "Texas Fight"
Seasons	1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics