The Hawk is the mascot of Saint Joseph's University. The Hawk represents the University's motto, "The Hawk Will Never Die", by flapping its wings non-stop (even during halftime) throughout every basketball game. The Hawk, who has been flapping his wings since 1956, is one of the most decorated mascots in college sports, having been called the best college mascot by ESPN College Basketball Magazine, Sports Illustrated, and The Sporting News.
The Hawk has been seen stopping its eternal flapping. In a game in 1998 against the University of Rhode Island URI's 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 head (costume) fell off. The incident was televised on ESPN.
Hawk selection
Hawk selection has become an annual application and interview process in which a current student is selected to represent the school. 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.