UJ Sport Mascot Hoepie an international sensation
Hoepie is the official mascot of the University of Johannesburg (UJ) Sport Division. He was born out of a rugby tournament, the FNB Varsity Cup. His name comes from the African hoopoe (Upupa Africana), which falls under the Upupidae family.
More about Hoepie
In 2022, the Mexican people had a tough time winning against Hoepie in the FISU World University Mascot Challenge semi-finals.
The Mascot competition was organised by the International University Sport Federation (FISU), featuring a number from universities across the world. The UJ mascot received an outpour of votes from the UJ community, South Africans and Africans as well as supporters around the world. Hoepie narrowly lost to Kuako, the official mascot of the UAEM University in Mexico.
“As we celebrated Africa Day and May as Africa Month, we as UJ felt really proud with the support that our Mascot received from the African community, from federations to individuals who displayed their diplomacy.
Hoepie was the only African university mascot in the competition, this meant that he was not only representing UJ and South Africa in the competition, but the entire African continent,” says, Ms Niamh Faherty, UJ Sport Events and Marketing Manager.
The mascot has attended various University events from rugby tournaments, athletics meetings, netball, football, and hockey games, to mention but a few. Hoepie does not talk due to an accident with his vocal cords when he was young. However, he is very expressive in his gestures. He connects more with students.
“Mascots are such an important part of sports that it would be hard to imagine competitions without them. Thank you for raising our University flag on international stages and well done for making it this far, Hoepie,” says Faherty.