Popular Mascot Uga VI Dies Of Heart Failure

The University of Georgia’s beloved and Churchillian English bulldog mascot Uga VI died peacefully Friday night in Savannah of congestive heart failure after serving nine seasons on the sidelines as the Bulldogs’ winningest mascot.

Uga VI, owned by Savannah attorney Frank W. “Sonny” Seiler, was the heaviest in the line of six solid-white English bulldogs to serve as UGA’s mascot since Uga I became a Georgia football game fixture in 1956. [AJC]

U. Texas Professor Develops Sports Drink For Stamina

Since last fall, the University of Texas men’s swimming team has been consuming a sports drink developed by a UT professor as a supplement to their daily diet. The drink will make its national debut on July 1.

John Ivy, chairman of the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education, developed PureSport Performance Drinks while consulting men’s swimming coach Eddie Reese, who is also head coach for the 2008 U.S. Olympic swim team.

There are two components to the product: the workout drink and the recovery drink, which both come in powder form and are mixed with water.

The workout drink contains protein, sodium, carbohydrates and sugar to prevent muscle breakdown and give the athlete an energy boost. The recovery drink has a higher protein content to help rebuild muscle tissue torn during workouts. [Daily Texan]

Colleges Slow On Security Efforts

Massachusetts public colleges and universities have been slow to adopt widely accepted security practices since last year’s Virginia Tech massacre, in many cases failing to apply basic measures, according to a critical report that calls for sweeping changes across the state system to avert campus violence.

The report, compiled by a team of specialists and presented to the state Board of Higher Education yesterday, cited numerous safety deficiencies across the state system and urged the 29 public colleges to take immediate steps to rectify them.

Most state colleges do not use security cameras, have gun-carrying police officers, or train faculty and staff to recognize troubled students and employees, the report found. Only a handful have conducted vulnerability assessments, and one-third do not have arrangements with local law enforcement to respond to emergencies. [Boston.com]