Bevo XV, the University of Texas’ live steer mascot, is unlikely to make the trip to Atlanta for the Longhorns’ College Football Playoff quarterfinal game, a spokesperson for the Peach Bowl said on Monday.
Matt Garvey, the vice president of communications for the Peach Bowl — which is hosting the fifth-seeded Longhorns and fourth-seeded Arizona State on Jan. 1 — said the minimal sideline space at Mercedes-Benz Stadium makes it difficult to accommodate Bevo, who weighs more than 1,700 pounds and has a horn span of more than 58 inches.
Bevo also was absent for Texas’ SEC Championship Game loss to Georgia on Dec. 7 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the same reasons.
“It doesn’t look like we’re going to have the space that we need to erect his enclosure,” Garvey said Monday. “So, for the safety of Bevo and the players and the media and the camera crews that are on site there, it doesn’t look like we’re going to be able to accommodate him.”
Bevo attends Texas home games from an enclosed pen at the southwest corner of Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. He also attended the Longhorns’ Playoff semifinal loss to Washington at the Sugar Bowl last season, and he travels to the Cotton Bowl for Texas’ annual Red River rivalry game with Oklahoma. But it’s not unusual for Bevo to skip road trips to stadiums that have limited sideline space or otherwise can’t accommodate him.
Earlier this month, the SEC said in a statement that it looked into several alternatives but concluded it couldn’t safely host him at Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the conference title game.
“The reality is there is limited sideline space at the stadium,” the league said in a statement on Dec. 5. “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.”
(Photo: Tim Warner / Getty Images)
