what is a utes mascot

The University of Utahs mascot is an anthropomorphic red-tailed hawk named Swoop. The Utes nickname comes from the Ute tribe, from which the state of Utah derives its name. The Ute tribe gave the University of Utah explicit permission to use the name for all its athletic teams, which allowed the school to keep the name when the NCAA began pressuring member schools to drop Native American-themed names. The university introduced Swoop with the consent of the tribal council of the Ute tribe. While Swoop is not a direct reference to the Utes, it is an indigenous bird to the state of Utah.