Willie the Wildcat

Willie the Wildcat is the mascot for the Kansas State University Wildcats. He is not to be confused with the mascot for Northwestern University, which is also named Willie the Wildcat. Image File history File links Willie_wildcat. ... A mascot, originally a fetish-like term for any person, animal, or thing supposed to bring luck, is now something—typically an animal or human character—used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team (the name often corresponds with the mascot... Kansas State University (sometimes referred to as K-State) is an institution of higher learning located in Manhattan, Kansas, in the United States. ... Kansas State Universitys athletic teams are called the Wildcats, and their colors are royal purple and white, though silver is sometimes substituted. ... Northwestern University is a private, coeducational, non-sectarian research university, located in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, U.S.. Northwesterns main campus is a 240-acre (970,000 m²) parcel in Evanston, along the shore of Lake Michigan. ... Willie the Wildcat is the mascot for the Northwestern University Wildcats. ...

History

At the start of the 20th century, Kansas State's athletic teams first acquired the nickname of "Aggies." This name lives on in the entertainment district that abuts the University, which is named Aggieville. Aggieville is the name of roughly six square blocks consisting of college-age oriented bars, restaurants, and shops in Manhattan, Kansas. ...

Adoption of the nickname

• 1906-1909: A black Labrador named Boscoe represented K-State at baseball and football games.
• 1915: Prior to the football season, new coach John Bender gave his squad the nickname "Wildcats."
• 1917: Under Coach Z.G. Clevenger the school teams became known as the "Farmers."
• 1920: Coach Charles Bachman took over the football program, again renaming the team the "Wildcats." This time the nickname stuck.
• 1922-1978: A real bobcat named Touchdown (I-XI), donated by a family from Smith Center, Kansas, served as team mascot at games (while kept in a cage). The current "Touchdown" can be found at Sunset Zoo in Manhattan.^[1]

1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... The Labrador Retriever Canis familiaris (Labrador or Lab for short), is one of several kinds of retriever, and is the most popular breed of dog (by registered ownership) in both the United States and the United Kingdom. ... 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... John Bender is a character from John Hughes 1985 film The Breakfast Club. ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Zora G. Clevenger (December 12, 1881 – November 24, 1970) was a Hall of Fame college football player, as well as a successful football and basketball coach and pioneering athletic director. ... 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January January 3 - Babe Ruth is traded by the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees for $125,000, the largest sum ever paid for a player at that time. ... Charles W. Bachman is a prominent computer scientist, particularly in the area of databases. ... 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... Binomial name Lynx rufus Schreber, 1777 The Bobcat (Lynx rufus, or commonly felis rufus) is a wild cat native to North America. ... Smith Center is a city located in Smith County, Kansas. ...

Costumed Mascot

The first costumed Willie mascot appeared in 1947. Since this time Willie has changed many times, and currently has an appearance that is heavily influenced by the team's Powercat logo. 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ...

• 1947: First appeared at the September football game against Oklahoma A&M. This was by Manhattan High student Andrea Simmons Andersen during halftime performing gymnastics for the crowd in a red-brown wildcat costume with black stripes and a tail. Lack of winning games resulted in fans replacing the young girl with a college student. (First Generation)
• 1960s: Sigma Chi fraternity members took responsibility of wearing the Willie the Wildcat costume and cheering at games. The original K-State Willie costume was purple in color with large ears that somewhat resembled Mickey Mouse.(Second Generation)^[2]

• 1967-1980: Sculptor Jim Hagan created a new, "meaner-looking" Willie head with coyote and wolf hair. Last worn by Alan Stetson, 1980 alum, who was Willie the Wildcat from 1978 to 1980. (Third Generation)
• 1980-1993: A second Willie head made in 1967 by Jim Hagan is used.
• 1985: The "beefed-up" Willie appeared while still using third generation style head. (Fourth Generation)
• 1994-1996: Last pre-Powercat Willie (Fifth Generation)

1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... Look up September in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... Mickey Mouse is an Academy Award-winning comic animal cartoon character who has become a symbol for The Walt Disney Company. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ...

Powercat Mascot

Image File history File links Kansas-State-University-sports-logo. ...

• 1989: Powercat logo introduced by football coach Bill Snyder, wanting a new logo for his team. Tom Bookwalter created the logo.
• 1997: The current Willie was created, it has gray fur with two white stripes to resemble the Powercat logo.(Sixth Generation)

1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Trivia

• The identity of student inside the mascot costume is kept a secret.^[3]
• The current head includes an internal, electronic cooling fan and weighs five pounds.
• Several high schools across the country now use the Powercat as their team logo.
• Willie sometimes interacts with the football team during games, exemplified during the September 9, 2006, game against Florida Atlantic when quarterback Dylan Meiers threw a pass to Willie just outside the end-zone boundaries.
• Willie likes crowdsurfing and doing pushups (1 for each point) when the Wildcats score a touchdown

Florida Atlantic University, also commonly referred to as FAU or Florida Atlantic, is a coeducational state university located in Boca Raton, Florida, USA. The university has six additional satellite campuses in Florida; located in the cities of Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, Port St. ...

References