The Hawk (Saint Joseph's University mascot)

The Hawk
The Hawk
	The Hawk during the 2025 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament
University	Saint Joseph's University
Conference	A-10
First seen	January 4, 1956

The Hawk is the mascot of Saint Joseph's University. The Hawk is known for continually flapping its wings, even during halftime, throughout every basketball game. It is estimated the Hawk flaps about 3,500 times per game.^[1] This act is often associated with the University's motto, "The Hawk Will Never Die",^[2]^[3]^[4] which supposedly was first shouted by fans during a game with Villanova.^[2]

The Hawk, who debuted in 1955, is one of the most decorated mascots in college sports. It has been named the best college mascot by ESPN College Basketball Magazine, Sports Illustrated,^[3] and The Sporting News.

History

The idea for a Saint Joseph's mascot costumer came from Jim Brennan, a sophomore at the university in 1955, who was inspired by the Princeton tiger.^[2] He originally attempted to acquire a live hawk, before pivoting to a hawk costume.^[6] Brennan raised $80 from the student body and received an additional $40 from the university to purchase a hawk costume from a local shop.^[4] The mascot debuted on December 3, 1955, in a win against Rhode Island.^[6] Brennan later said, "When I was in costume, I didn't want to be just a fan watching the game. So I started flapping."^[4] He remained the Hawk for the duration of his time at Saint Joseph's, and other students continued the tradition once he graduated. As of 2024, over 60 students have worn the Hawk costume.^[2]

In a game in 1998 against the University of Rhode Island mascot, Rhody the Ram, prevented the St. Joe's Hawk from his eternal flapping by putting an inner tube over its head. This temporarily immobilized his arms. While trying to remove the tube, the Hawk's costume head fell off. The incident was televised on ESPN.^[3]^[7]

Hawk selection

The Hawk travels to away games; here it flaps its wings during the 2025 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament in Washington D.C.

Hawk selection is an annual process in which a current student is selected to represent the school. The application process includes an interview and one-hour tryout in the suit.^[1] Since 1992, the student awarded the role of mascot has been recipient of an endowed scholarship and is considered a full member of the basketball team.^[3]^[8]

Awards

Sports Illustrated Mascot of the 20th Century^[9]
Sporting News Mascot of the Year 2001^[10]
"Best of Philly" award from Philadelphia Magazine in 2003-04

References

^ ^a ^b Greth, Andrew (21 January 2025). "How does the St. Joe's Hawk mascot flap his wings 3,500 times a game? "It's my love of St. Joe's" - CBS Philadelphia". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Rudnesky, Franki (19 September 2024). "St. Joe's 'Original Hawk' Jim Brennan leaves behind legacy of connectedness, school spirit and continuous flapping". PhillyVoice. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Goodin-Smith, Oona (5 March 2019). "More than a mascot, the St. Joseph's University Hawk flaps on". Inquirer.com. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
^ ^a ^b ^c Ferrie, Brian (10 January 2005). "Saint Joseph's Marks 50th Anniversary of the Hawk Mascot". Saint Joseph's University. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
^ Messina, Mia. "The iconic St. Joe's Hawk gets a makeover: New look, same history". The Hawk News. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
^ ^a ^b "In Memoriam: Remembering the Original Hawk, James "Jim" Brennan '58 | Newsroom". www.sju.edu. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
^ "100 years of URI's Rhody the Ram". 7 March 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
^ SJU. "The Hawk". Saint Joseph's University. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
^ Hawk Traditions
^ The Sporting News - College Hoops : College Basketball The Best of Archived 2007-10-01 at the Wayback Machine

External links

[CBSNews-1] Greth, Andrew (21 January 2025). "How does the St. Joe's Hawk mascot flap his wings 3,500 times a game? "It's my love of St. Joe's" - CBS Philadelphia". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 14 March 2025.

[PhillyVoice-2] Rudnesky, Franki (19 September 2024). "St. Joe's 'Original Hawk' Jim Brennan leaves behind legacy of connectedness, school spirit and continuous flapping". PhillyVoice. Retrieved 14 March 2025.

[Inquirer2019-3] Goodin-Smith, Oona (5 March 2019). "More than a mascot, the St. Joseph's University Hawk flaps on". Inquirer.com. Retrieved 14 March 2025.

[50th-anniv-4] Ferrie, Brian (10 January 2005). "Saint Joseph's Marks 50th Anniversary of the Hawk Mascot". Saint Joseph's University. Retrieved 14 March 2025.

[5] Messina, Mia. "The iconic St. Joe's Hawk gets a makeover: New look, same history". The Hawk News. Retrieved 14 March 2025.

[SJU-Memoriam-6] "In Memoriam: Remembering the Original Hawk, James "Jim" Brennan '58 | Newsroom". www.sju.edu. Retrieved 14 March 2025.

[7] "100 years of URI's Rhody the Ram". 7 March 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2025.

[History-8] SJU. "The Hawk". Saint Joseph's University. Retrieved December 9, 2018.

[9] Hawk Traditions

[10] The Sporting News - College Hoops : College Basketball The Best of Archived 2007-10-01 at the Wayback Machine

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v t e Saint Joseph's University
Academics	Schools College of Arts and Sciences Haub School of Business College of Professional and Liberal Studies
Athletics	Hawks Finnesey Field The Hawk Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse Holy War Saint Joseph's-Temple rivalry Baseball Basketball Men's basketball Women's basketball Men's lacrosse Men's soccer Campbell's Field Gillin Boat Club
Campus	Arboretum of the Barnes Foundation Barbelin Hall List of buildings Lower Merion Philadelphia
Miscellaneous	People Presidents Saint Joseph's University Press The Hawk

v t e Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball
Venues	Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse (1949–2008) Palestra (2008–2009) Hagan Arena (2009–present)
Rivalries	Villanova
Culture & lore	The Hawk City 6 Gambling scandal Philadelphia Big 5 Big 5 Classic Robert V. Geasey Trophy Undefeated regular season
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA Final Four appearance in italics

History

Hawk selection

Awards

See also

References

External links