Harry the Husky is a body-suit mascot

Mascot

The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...

 for the University of Washington

University of Washington

University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...

, one of two mascots the University's athletic program currently uses.

History

The University's first mascot was Sunny Boy, a 3 foot (0.9144 m), gold-painted statuette representing an illustrated character frequently appearing in Columns, which - at the time - was a student-published campus humor magazine (presently Columns is the title of the University of Washington Alumni Magazine). The mascot was introduced in 1920 and retired three years later when the University adopted the nickname "Huskies."

Beginning in 1922, the University used live sled dogs as its mascot, first a non-hereditary line of Siberian Huskies

Siberian Husky

The Siberian Husky is a medium-size, dense-coat working dog breed that originated in north-eastern Siberia. The breed belongs to the Spitz genetic family...

 and, beginning in 1961, a hereditary line of Alaskan Malamute

Alaskan Malamute

The Alaskan Malamute is a generally large breed of domestic dog originally bred for use as a utilitarian dog and later an Alaskan sled dog. They are sometimes mistaken for a Siberian Husky, but in fact are quite different in many ways...

s. Due to the size of the animals, difficulties of travel logistics and handler schedules, the mascots would generally only appear at home football games.

In 1995, officials in the University's athletic department commissioned a costume and held tryouts for the new live mascot. Three student performers were chosen (Lee Harris, Evelyn Ho and Chris MacDonald) and rotated duties to appear as a secondary mascot for use at events at which the live mascot was unable to attend. A contest and public vote two years later named the new mascot "Harry the Husky."
Coincidentally, the mascot had already been referred to by that name during a scene in The Sixth Man

The Sixth Man

The 6th Man is a supernatural sports comedy starring Marlon Wayans and Kadeem Hardison. The film was directed by Randall Miller. The film features real NCAA schools, although the rosters are fictitious...

, a film starring Marlon Wayans

Marlon Wayans

Marlon L. Wayans is an American actor, model producer, comedian, writer, and director of movies, beginning with his role as a pedestrian in I'm Gonna Git You Sucka in 1988...

about the University of Washington basketball team, that had been released prior to the vote.

In 2010, the University unveiled a new Harry the Husky costume and retired the old one. The new husky made his debut on October 9, 2010.