Still Soaring

This year, the U celebrated the 30th birthday of its No. 1 fan. According to legend, Swoop the red-tailed hawk hatched from a brown-speckled egg in the foothills of the Wasatch, roaming the skies until he found his home at the University of Utah. In reality, Swoop was born from the university’s commitment to respectfully honor the Ute Indian Tribe. Tribal members helped select the red-tailed hawk, a native Utah species with cultural significance for the tribe, as the U’s new mascot.

Swoop debuted on January 2, 1996, at a Utah–BYU basketball game, where he introduced himself by showing off his dunking skills. Swoop is the life of the party at every U celebration, on campus and off. He’s even shown up at weddings. His many adventures include skydiving, traveling across the country with Utah Football, ringing the bell on Wall Street, and defeating Cincinnati’s Bearcat last year to become the reigning WWE Mascot Battle Royal champion. Read his origin story, learn about Swoop’s Club for kids, and find out how to request his presence at swoop.utah.edu.