Students, alumni and their families will descend upon Saint Joseph's University starting Friday for this year's HawkFest celebration. As always, the university's mascot will be there flapping away, even as the school community mourns the loss of its "Original Hawk."
James "Jim" Brennan, a mainstay at the annual reunion and many other campus events, died June 21 at the age of 91. As a student at St. Joe's, he was the mastermind behind the school's first Hawk mascot costume, raising money for the creation of the feathery outfit and debuting it during a game at the Palestra in 1955. In the nearly 70 years since, more than 60 students donned the suit, and Brennan kept close ties with his alma mater to ensure — as the St. Joe's motto says — "The Hawk will never die."
"One time I asked my father, what is he the most proud of in his life? And it was the Hawk," said Joann Brennan, one of Jim's five daughters. "… I think it was because the way it really embodied his true nature of wanting to bring joy into people's lives and bring them together and make them laugh and entertain them."
The Hawk is known for staying in constant motion, flapping its wings continuously throughout basketball games and other appearances on and off campus. Its spirit has earned the Hawk recognition as one of the nation's top mascots from the Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Sports Illustrated for Kids, Street & Smith's Basketball Yearbook and ESPN College Basketball magazine. The Hawk has also led St. Joe's to a Guinness World Record for most people flapping for five minutes consecutively. It's been nominated for induction into the Mascot Hall of Fame several times, most recently in 2021 — and the Hawk's continued relevance is owed in part to Brennan's efforts.
"He was the Original Hawk and lived that through the entirety of his life by staying connected," said Jill Bodensteiner, vice president and director of athletics at St. Joe's. "That's how traditions and legacies take on a life of their own is through the people, and Jim bore an enormous sense of responsibility to keep that legacy. … His involvement and interest really has helped keep this tradition not only alive but thriving."
How the Hawk was hatched
Brennan, who was born in Sayre, Bradford County, and grew up in Trenton, was a cheerleader at St. Joe's when he realized something was missing from the game day experience. St. Joe's had already adopted the Hawk as its mascot in the 1930s after a campus-wide contest. But there was no embodiment of the school's symbolic bird of prey during the games. According to St. Joe's alum and former Athletic Director Don DiJulia, Brennan grew up watching mascots like Princeton University's tiger in action at football games, which served as some inspiration. St. Joe's didn't have a football team, but that didn't deter Brennan.
"When he came to St Joe's and went to a basketball game, he asked, 'Where's the mascot?' And they said 'A what? Well, nobody in basketball has a mascot.'" DiJulia said. "He just was enamored as a young kid seeing the tiger at Princeton, and he thought, well, let's start one."
At first, Brennan thought of having a live bird as a mascot, but he soon opted for a hawk costume instead. He found a company in the Philadelphia area to make it, and, as sophomore class president, raised the necessary $120 for the costume through contributions from St. Joe's classes and the athletic department. Brennan first wore the costume on Dec. 3, 1955, when St. Joe's men's basketball team beat Rhode Island at the Palestra. It was during that game that another tradition was born: the Hawk's continuous flapping.
Provided Image/Saint Joseph’s University
Jim Brennan first unveiled his Hawk mascot costume in 1955.
"When he put it on in his first appearance, it was like he didn't know what to do, just standing there, so he just started instinctively flapping, and then it just took off from there," DiJulia said.
The debut of the flapping, feathery mascot caused quite the stir, especially in an era when college basketball was gaining popularity and Philadelphia's Big 5 basketball rivalry was just getting started.
"It was a big deal this mascot," DiJulia said. "People were intrigued by it because they've seen mascots before, through football, but never somebody who was active. … People paid attention to it, talked about it. And then, because nobody had one and nobody had something as obnoxious as running around the court, people started to kind of make fun of it. And every once in a while there'd be an incident, so that kind of kept it alive."
In the early years, the Hawk was taunted, tripped and hit with objects from the stands, DiJulia said. The buzzy mascot, along with St. Joe's early success in the heated Big Five rivalry, brought attention — and some ire — to the school.
"This little commuter liberal arts college, all of a sudden it was a big deal," DiJulia said.
In a game against Villanova, fans started chanting, "The Hawk is dead," DiJulia recalled. St. Joe's fans, and supporters of their feathered friend, yelled back, "The Hawk will never die." And that spontaneous chant supposedly birthed the motto that continues today. In the face of the jeers and misunderstandings, Brennan nevertheless continued flapping … even if it was a bit painful at times.
To this day, the Hawk mascots flap thousands of times per basketball game. Frank Sorochen, who wore the feathered costume his senior year, said his audition to be the Hawk involved flapping around campus for an hour — which left him unable to feel his shoulders for the next three days.
"But then after that, it was just all muscle memory," Sorochen said. "For the first 10 minutes of the games, it was always brutal. … But then after the first 10 minutes, you just kind of settle in. And I always tell people, it's just like eating a bag of potato chips in front of the TV for the for the rest of the game."
Sorochen said he always kept track of his flaps and his record is 7,167, which was set during a double overtime game at George Washington. Brennan also insinuated that the costume may have some magic.
"They would say to me, how do you keep that up, do I have to get in shape or what? My answer is, put the costume on and it will automatically come to you," Brennan said in 2023.
After debuting the Hawk costume his sophomore year, Brennan continued wearing it until he graduated in 1958.
"Part of what he really wanted to do was to bring the Hawk to life in order to cheer the team on and to get the crowd all fired up," Joann Brennan said. "… That was exactly what his entire life was all about, creating a sense of community, bringing people together, living in the moment and having some joy in those moments. That's what he wanted. … He didn't want to be a spectator."
The man behind the feathers
Brennan served as a Marine during the Korean War. After college, he worked as the administrator of a Massachusetts nursing home and then as the community relations director for the Hillhaven Corporation, which owned and managed more than 300 nursing homes across 33 states.
"I would say my dad's career was really about advocating for elderly quality of life," Joann said. "He created these really cool activities because he really believed that nursing homes were a place to live, not a place to die, and he wanted to create an environment where people were experiencing joy while they were still living."
Brennan would bring dogs and ponies to visit residents, and ensured that married couples could stay together regardless of company policies. He also came up with the Ho Ho Hotline — having nursing home residents act like Santa and Mrs. Claus to local children on the phone — and coordinated with English teachers to have their students write biographies of the residents, allowing their stories to be passed on to the next generations.
"I think that's probably why my dad loved the Hawk, too, because it was kind of this passing down of tradition or passing down something joyful," Joann said. "He was a creative visionary in the way in which he could bring people together around an idea where a whole community would win."
Provided Image/Saint Joseph’s University
Along with being the 'Original Hawk,' Jim Brennan also served as a Marine and worked for many years in nursing home administration.
Brennan aimed to pass on his own knowledge and experience by writing and publishing several books on the nursing home industry — as well as one about his time as the Hawk: "HawkTales: Tales of America's Most Honored Sports Mascot and Its Continuing Legacy at Saint Joseph's University." He could be seen at HawkFest events in recent years signing books and connecting with alumni, current Hawks and future students. According to Joann, he also loved connecting with strangers and friends alike through magic tricks, card tricks and puppetry. He especially loved keeping in touch with the students, staff and alumni back on Hawk Hill, and would befriend many of them on Facebook.
In more recent years, when he lived in Springfield, Massachusetts, and traveling became difficult, Brennan would bring his kids and grandkids to Hawks games at UMass and Rhode Island, which were closer to his home.
"He was a fan," DiJulia said. "He followed the games, and he didn't hesitate to make comments. He might call to offer some critique at times if he didn't think the team was playing well."
He also reached out to every new Hawk mascot that he could, including Sorochen, who received an email from Brennan the day after his initiation into the "featherhood" was announced.
"He was like, good luck with everything," said Sorochen, whose younger brother Michael is the latest Hawk mascot. "It's a blast. You're gonna have a lot of fun and meet a lot of cool people."
Provided Image/Saint Joseph’s University
The legacy that Jim Brennan started continues to this day at St. Joe's. Above, Frank Sorochen wore the costume from 2022-2023 during his senior year.
The Hawk will never die
St. Joe's has seen a lot of change in recent years, including mergers and campus construction. The Hawk costume itself has also been through many updates, with the most recent makeover last year swapping feathers for fur. But Brennan's legacy on campus will carry on.
"In the day and age when college athletics is changing seemingly by the minute, I think tradition really helps ground people, our St. Joe's community, fans, the general public," Bodensteiner said. "I'm all for innovation and change in many ways, but you have to hold on to what makes you special. And I think our mascot is a huge part of what makes not only the athletic department but the university really stand apart from others. … There will be costume refreshes, but the people who have worn it, the meaning, the history, the legacy, will never change."
Bodensteiner also said St. Joe's would "definitely find a way" to honor Brennan this school year, potentially during the basketball season. But she said the "biggest way to honor Jim and his legacy" would be for the community to come together and fulfill Brennan's wish of getting the Hawk elected to the Mascot Hall of Fame. Joann also said a scholarship is being created in Brennan's honor, which is accepting donations online. And the Hawk mascot was present at his funeral in July.
Even if Brennan won't be physically present at this year's HawkFest to sign books and meet new Hawks, his spirit will surely be felt in every connection he made while he was alive, and with every flap of the mascot's wings.
"He just remained present to everybody over the years," DiJulia said. "Everybody doesn't know every alum; everybody knows Jim Brennan. So I'd say (he leaves) the legacy of staying in touch and talking about something he was so passionate about, and encouraging people to keep this good tradition of this flappy Hawk alive."
