The competition is fierce and the stakes are high as the 2024 SUNY Mascot Madness contest is officially underway. SUNY New Paltz’s very own Hugo the Hawk is competing against 31 other SUNY mascots.
The contest is arranged in a bracket system, modeled after NCAA basketball’s March Madness. It is broken down into four regions with eight schools to start in each. The final four represent their regions and battle for the final two spots.
SUNY students cast votes for their mascot as a show of pride in their school and vote within the other brackets. The mascot with the most votes between the two advances to the next round.
Hugo the Hawk was the first-ever winner of Mascot Madness back in 2013. He has yet to pull through with another win since, but we are rooting for him.
Each mascot has an interview up on the suny.edu site for students to learn more about the mascots and the competition. Hugo says he is local to the area, being born in the Shawangunk Mountains where he learned to soar. When asked if he could add any major to the campus community, he said, “Not enough people around here know how to fly, so I think maybe a Bachelor of Arts in aviation? It’s an important life skill!” He also adds if he could be SUNY Chancellor for the day, he would want it to be on graduation day to hand out degrees to the students who worked hard for them.
Round one voting took place from March 12-15. Hugo the Hawk faced off with Stitch the Tiger representing The Fashion Institute of Technology.
Stitch has a passion for fitness, according to his interview. He said he would start a weightlifting club and if he could be SUNY Chancellor for a day, he would give everyone a day off to go exercise.
Hugo pulled through with a close win, garnering 56.03% of the votes, sending Stitch packing for his trip back home to New York City.
As Hugo advanced to round two, he is up against Reggie the Raider from Fulton Montgomery Community College. Round two voting is open from March 19-21. As of March 20, Hugo is in the lead with over 51% of the votes.
The rest of the competition will progress throughout the month and end in early April. Round three voting will open March 22-26, the final four compete from March 27-29 and the final showdown will take place April 2-4.
To vote for Hugo the Hawk go to www.suny.edu/mascotmadness. Good luck Hugo!