Since the early 1950s, the Bluetick Coonhound has stolen the hearts of people across the state of Tennessee and beyond. After all, the breed has been the official mascot of UT since 1953.
But this hound’s role was taken a step further Wednesday, March 20, as Gov. Bill Lee signed a bill that named the Bluetick Coonhound the official dog of Tennessee.
Of course, the UT community has a special connection with one particular hound: Smokey, the tenth of his name.
When Smokey travels to UT, most of his time is spent with the brothers of the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity. Inside of AGR, three individuals have the opportunity of being Smokey’s handlers, running through the T with him on gameday and taking good care of him when he steps on campus.
One of these three handlers is junior marketing major Chase Cardoza. Cardoza said that many UT students don’t know that their mascot is a family dog. When he is not with the brothers of AGR, Smokey’s home is in northern Knoxville with Charles and Cindy Hudson.
Getting the job of Smokey’s handler inside of AGR is no easy task, and Cardoza remembered the application process he went through at the end of his sophomore year, stating that he had to get a couple letters of recommendation and go through interviews conducted by Cindy Hudson as well as people associated with the Spirit Squad and administration.
After being selected for the job, Cardoza has had an experience that will change his college years forever.
“Honestly, my favorite part about this is just being able to make everybody happy, you know,” Cardoza said. “Because obviously Smokey is one of the most popular living things on campus and one of the most popular things about the university in general. Everybody is super excited to get to meet Smokey and we’ve literally seen people cry.”
According to Cardoza, Smokey has fans in every age group.
“Little kids’ reactions are the best in my opinion because they get so excited. Even older people are like ‘I’ve been waiting my whole life for this.’”
Freshman exploratory major Reagan Robinson is one of Smokey’s many fans.
“To me, Smokey is not just the University’s mascot, but part of the Tennessee family,” Robinson said. “I know other students at UT are so passionate about Smokey … Smokey is family, he is famous, and he is more than just the face of the university.”
As UT students and fans get ready for a typical game day on Rocky Top, Smokey has his routines as well. Cardoza described a weekend in the life of Smokey during college football season, stating that the handlers will pick Smokey up from the Hudson home on Friday afternoon. Smokey will then head back to the AGR house and get a bath — his least favorite part of the evening. On Friday nights, Smokey typically sleeps on a futon in the AGR house before his busy Game Day.
For Cardoza, a favorite part of game day is running through the T with Smokey by his side.
“It’s amazing, you know. Smokey gets super excited when he knows we’re about to run through the T. Right before we run through the T, whenever the band comes back towards us the last couple times, he starts getting really excited,” Cardoza said. “He starts pulling on the leash really hard and he starts howling at everything. It’s so fun. It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.”
Cardoza believes that Smokey knows what’s going on in the games — even before the crowd.
For freshman recreation and sports management major Becca Horne, the first time she saw Smokey run across the field will always stick with her.
“My first football game, I didn’t know Smokey ran across the field when we scored,” Horne said. “When he did and everyone went crazy, it made me so happy to be there. It gave me chills even though it was 9000 degrees.”
Cardoza said that, by working with Smokey, he became more involved with the campus community.
“I mean, it’s for sure made me feel more connected to UT,” Cardoza said. “Just being able to take part of one of Tennessee’s greatest traditions is such a huge honor for me and I don’t take that for granted at all. Knowing that all of the handlers, except for the Hudson family, have come from our fraternity is really special to us and we take really great pride in it. It’s such a great privilege, and we’re so appreciative for the Hudson family and UT.”
Not only can the Bluetick Coonhound steal the hearts of people on Rocky Top and in Neyland Stadium, but now the breed has also gone statewide — officially.
“I think the Bluetick Coonhound is the perfect selection not just because it’s the school’s dog,” Cardoza said. “It’s the perfect selection because of Tennessee’s background and everything else.”
