Northwestern's Willie the Wildcat
Encyclopedia
Willie the Wildcat is the mascot
for the Northwestern University
Wildcats
. He is not to be confused with the mascot for Kansas State University
, also named Willie The Wildcat
.
named Furpaw. In fall 1923, Furpaw was driven to the playing field to greet the fans before each game. After a losing season, the team decided that Furpaw was the harbinger of bad luck and banished him from campus.
The name "Wildcats" was bestowed upon the university in 1924 by a writer for the Chicago Tribune
who wrote that even in a loss to the University of Chicago
Maroons, the Northwestern football players looked like "Wildcats [that] had come down from Evanston." The name was so popular that university board members made "Wildcats" the official nickname just months later.
In 1933, the Northwestern athletic department and an advertising firm created the first image of Willie. He did not actually come to life until 1947, when members of the Alpha Delta fraternity dressed up as him during the Homecoming parade.
In 2007, the first football game revealed a new-look Willie after a "makeover".
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
for the Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
Wildcats
Northwestern Wildcats
The Northwestern Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent Northwestern University, a founding member of the Big Ten Conference and the only private university in the conference. Northwestern has eight men's and eleven women's Division I sports teams. The mascot is Willie the Wildcat...
. He is not to be confused with the mascot for Kansas State University
Kansas State University
Kansas State University, commonly shortened to K-State, is an institution of higher learning located in Manhattan, Kansas, in the United States...
, also named Willie The Wildcat
Kansas State's 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, also named Willie the Wildcat.-History:...
.
History
The first mascot was a live, caged bear cub from the Lincoln Park ZooLincoln Park Zoo
Lincoln Park Zoo is a free zoo located in Lincoln Park in Chicago, Illinois. The zoo was founded in 1868, making it one of the oldest zoos in the nation. The zoo is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums ....
named Furpaw. In fall 1923, Furpaw was driven to the playing field to greet the fans before each game. After a losing season, the team decided that Furpaw was the harbinger of bad luck and banished him from campus.
The name "Wildcats" was bestowed upon the university in 1924 by a writer for the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
who wrote that even in a loss to the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
Maroons, the Northwestern football players looked like "Wildcats [that] had come down from Evanston." The name was so popular that university board members made "Wildcats" the official nickname just months later.
In 1933, the Northwestern athletic department and an advertising firm created the first image of Willie. He did not actually come to life until 1947, when members of the Alpha Delta fraternity dressed up as him during the Homecoming parade.
In 2007, the first football game revealed a new-look Willie after a "makeover".