It's been nearly six months since Louisiana Tech University's mascot Tech XX died, and university officials say Tech XXI should be named by this spring if everything goes according to plan.
Jim King, Tech's vice president of student affairs, tells The Times a major part of the delay is Tech's need to obtain a federal permit before owning another bulldog.
King says his office is working with the school's student government association, which owns the animal, to meet requirements of the federal Animal Welfare Act.
The university is seeking to replace Tech XX, a four-year-old English bulldog, which died in July of heatstroke after an animal clinic employee left him outside too long.