Sixers new mascot is 'fluffy, blue dog named Franklin'

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Though the Philadelphia 76ers will officially debut their new mascot Tuesday afternoon, a lot has been revealed online already.

Zach Lowe of the website Grantland broke the news Monday that the mascot will be a ' a fluffy, blue dog named Franklin.'

It did not take long for Franklin to confirm Lowe's report via a tweet on the @SixersFranklin account.

"Well, I guess the (dog's) out of the bag. Franklin Institute. Tomorrow. 1 p.m. See you there," the tweet read.

The Twitter account's description reads "I am FRANKLIN, official Mascot of the @Sixers. Entertainment specialist, crowd motivator. Let's mark our territory together, Philly."

The Sixers have been sans mascot since 2011 when Hip Hop the bunny left for greener pastures.

Not too long after Hip Hop's retirement, the Sixers offered fans a choice for a new mascot: Big Ben, Phil E. Moose, and B. Franklin Dogg (not to be confused with Franklin).

The results of the poll were never released, for some reason.

Then in June, the Sixers posted a job opening to their website looking for a mascot.

At the time the Sixers confirmed to 6abc.com that they were indeed "in the exploration and planning stages of incorporating a team mascot into our overall plans."

So now it appears all the ducks (or dogs) are in a row and Sixer fans should be ready for a new era. The era of Franklin the Dog.

Franklin will make his first public appearance Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. at the Franklin Institute.