Willie the Wildcat (Kansas State)

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History

At the start of the 20th century, Kansas State's athletic teams first acquired the nickname "Aggies." This name lives on in the entertainment district that abuts the University, Aggieville.

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 "Aggies."
* 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. [cite web | title =Kansas State Mascot History | url =http://www.collegefootballhistory.com/kansas_state/history.htm | format = English | accessdate =2006-09-27]

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: 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: Fraternity members took responsibility of wearing the Willie 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) [cite web | title =Kansas State Traditions | url =http://catzone.cjonline.com/traditions.shtml | format = English | accessdate =2006-09-27]

* 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 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)

Powercat Mascot

* 1989: Powercat logo introduced by football coach Bill Snyder, wanting a new logo for his team. Tom Bookwalter created the logo. This logo is similar to that of the Iowa Hawkeyes, also created by Tom Bookwalter, after Bill Snyder was an assistant coach there.
* 1997: The current Willie was created, it has gray fur with two white stripes to resemble the Powercat logo. This head includes an internal, electronic cooling fan and weighs five pounds.(Sixth Generation)

Personality

While the student inside the mascot costume (whose identity is kept secret) changes every few years, the persona of Willie has remained the same throughout. [cite web | title =K-State Traditions | url =http://consider.k-state.edu/traditions/willie.htm | format = English | accessdate =2006-09-27] Willie likes crowd-surfing and does one push-up for each point on the board for K-State when the Wildcats score a touchdown or make a field goal. While Willie interacts with the fans, he sometimes interacts with the football team as well during game-play, exemplified during the September 9, 2006, game against Florida Atlantic when quarterback Dylan Meier purposefully threw a pass to Willie just outside the end-zone boundaries.

References