UNC mascot Rameses on the field at Kenan Stadium during the opening ceremonies before a football game against Duke on Nov 11, 2023. Matt Ramey / For WUNC . 6 of 9 — WUNC Rameses_13.jpg.

Rameses XXI has been UNC’s “live” mascot for eight or nine years, according to the family. “He’s going to live out the rest of his days in luxury on the farm,” Hogan said.

As the UNC team preps for the Final Four, the Tar Heels family got a little bigger.

Rameses, the mascot with the can't miss blue horns, will also be new. According to a report in The Daily Tar Heel Friday , North Carolina's 18th Rameses mascot died Thursday evening of natural causes.