Smokey is the 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...

 of the University of Tennessee

University of Tennessee

The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...

 sports teams. These teams, named "The Volunteers" and nicknamed "the Vols", use both a live and a costume

Costume

The term costume can refer to wardrobe and dress in general, or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people, class, or period. Costume may also refer to the artistic arrangement of accessories in a picture, statue, poem, or play, appropriate to the time, place, or other circumstances...

d version of Smokey.

There is an actual Bluetick Coonhound

Bluetick Coonhound

The Bluetick Coonhound is a breed of dog. It is a type of coonhound and typically bred in the southern United States.- Appearance :The overall body style of the Bluetick Coonhound is muscular and speedy, not chunky or clumsily built. The head is carried well up and the tail carried over the back,...

 mascot, Smokey IX, which leads the Vols on the field for football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 games. The hound is cared for by the Alpha Gamma Rho

Alpha Gamma Rho

Alpha Gamma Rho is a social-professional fraternity in the United States, with 75 university chapters including chapter in Mindanao State University, Philippines...

 fraternity on the University of Tennessee campus. There is also a costumed mascot that appears at every Vols

Tennessee Volunteers football

The Tennessee Volunteers football team are an American college football team at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville . The NCAA Division I team is also a member of the Southeastern Conference ....

 game and has won several mascot championships. The costumed Smokey has a female counterpart that appears at the women's athletic events.

Smokey was selected as the mascot for Tennessee after a student poll in 1953. A contest was held by the Pep Club that year. Their desire was to select a coon hound that was native to Tennessee. At halftime of the Mississippi State

Mississippi State University

The Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science commonly known as Mississippi State University is a land-grant university located in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States, partially in the town of Starkville and partially in an unincorporated area...

 game that season, several hounds were introduced for voting. "Blue Smokey", owned by a Rev. Bill Brooks was the last, and howled loudly when introduced. The students cheered and Smokey became the mascot. The most successful of the live dogs was Smokey VIII who saw a record of 91-22, two SEC titles and 1 National Championship.

The mascot has gained fame for competing in national mascot competitions and appearing in the Capital One

Capital One

Capital One Financial Corp. is a U.S.-based bank holding company specializing in credit cards, home loans, auto loans, banking and savings products...

 National Commercials. The live hound has been featured in television news segments.

Smokey II was stolen by Kentucky

University of Kentucky

The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...

 students in 1955 and was involved in an incident with the Baylor Bears'

Baylor Bears

Baylor Bears refers to the sports teams of Baylor University. Baylor's men's sports teams are nicknamed the Bears, and some women's teams are nicknamed the Lady Bears. Student athletes participate in the NCAA's Division I, and Baylor is the only private school in the Big 12 Conference...

 mascot Judge

Judge and Bruiser (mascots)

Judge and Bruiser are the mascots of Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Judge is the name of the live mascots, North American black bear, and Bruiser is the anthropomorphized bear mascot.-Judge:...

 at the 1957 Sugar Bowl

Sugar Bowl

The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Sugar Bowl has been played annually since January 1, 1935, and celebrated its 75th anniversary on January 2, 2009...

. Smokey VI was the first dog to make the Volunteer injury report after suffering heat exhaustion in the 1991 UCLA game. Smokey III compiled a 105-39-5 record and two SEC championships. Smokey VI, who died in 1991, was on the sidelines for three SEC championships. Smokey VIII is the winningest Smokey, having compiled a record of 91-22 (.805), with two SEC titles and the 1998 national championship. The newest Smokey, Smokey IX (left), began his post at the 2004 Peach Bowl. The costumed mascot made it to the quarterfinals of the 2006 Capital One Mascot Challenge. The costumed Smokey's body is black, leading to occasional misidentifications as the more familiar black and tan coonhound

Black and Tan Coonhound

The Black and Tan Coonhound is a breed of dog used principally for trailing and treeing raccoon. It's a cross between the Bloodhound, and the Black and Tan Virginia Foxhound. The Black and Tan Coonhound runs its game entirely by scent...

. However, his white blaze firmly identifies him as a bluetick coonhound.

"Reigns"

DOG	YEARS
Blue Smokey	1953-1954
Smokey II	1955-1964
Smokey III	1965-1977
Smokey IV	1978-1979
Smokey V	1980-1983
Smokey VI	1984-1991
Smokey VII	1992-1994
Smokey VIII	1995-2003
Smokey IX	2004-present