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Willie the Wildcat (Kansas State)

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mascot for the Kansas State Wildcats

Not to be confused withWillie the Wildcat (Northwestern).

Willie Wildcat
Willie in 2024
University	Kansas State University
Conference	Big 12
Description	A student bedecked in an oversized Wildcat head
First seen	1947
Website	Official Site

Willie Wildcat is the officialmascot for theKansas State Wildcats. He is typically depicted as having a human body with a giant wildcat head.

History

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Kansas State's athletic teams first acquired the nickname "Aggies," during the start of the 20th century. This name lives on in the entertainment district that abuts the University,Aggieville.^[1]

Adoption of the nickname

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1906-1909: a blackLabrador named Boscoe represented K-State at baseball and football games.
1915: Prior to the football season, new coachJohn Bender gave his squad the nickname "Wildcats."
1917: Under CoachZ.G. Clevenger the school teams became known as the "Aggies" or "Farmers."^[1]
1920: CoachCharles Bachman took over the football program, again renaming the team the "Wildcats." This time the nickname stuck.
1922-1978: A realbobcat named Touchdown (I-XI), served as team mascot at games. "Touchdown" could be found atSunset Zoo in Manhattan until the 1980s. Touchdown I was injured in Idaho by an encounter with a porcupine and was donated to K.S.A.C. after treatment. The animal did not attend a college football game; it died from pneumonia shortly after it arrived in Manhattan.^[2] Touchdown II soon replaced TD I and was at K-State for 14 years.^[3]

Costumed Mascot

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The first costumed Willie mascot appeared in 1947. Willie has changed many times, and currently, has an appearance that is heavily influenced by the team's Powercat logo:

1947: K-State's first costumed mascot, "Sparky," 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. She was to be the only female to be a K-State mascot. (First Generation)
1960s: Fraternity members took responsibility of wearing the Willie Wildcat costume and cheering at games. The original K-State Willie costume, which debuted in 1964, was purple in color with large ears that somewhat resembledMickey Mouse. (Second Generation)^[4]
1967-1980: Sculptor Jim Hagan created a new, "meaner-looking" Willie head with coyote and wolf hair. (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)

Willie Wildcat is known to wear uniforms matching the team and sport he is attending at the time. Of these include Football, Volleyball, Men's and Women's Basketball, Baseball, and Soccer. Additionally, Willie is known to wear outfits specific for special events such as a tuxedo, biker garb for Harley Day, Army Fatigues for Fort Riley Day, costumes for Halloween, and various other outfits for themed nights.

Powercat Logo

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In 1989, newly hired football coachBill Snyder wanted a new logo to change the image of a program known at the time as a chronic loser. Tom Bookwalter, aKansas native and K-State art professor, created a stylized wildcat's head known as the "Powercat," that was added to the football team's helmets. By the mid-1990s, due to the football team's rapid rise, the Powercat had replaced the cartoon-style Willie as K-State's primary logo. The logo has been adopted by a large number of high schools and other sports organizations. Recognizing its popularity, Kansas State allows teams to license the Powercat trademark for the token sum of $1 paid every two years, under the sole condition that the licensing team's colors are not red and blue (the colors ofarch-rivals Kansas).^[5]

In 1997, the current "21st Century" Willie was created. Willie has gray fur, with two white stripes to resemble the Powercat logo. This head weighs eleven pounds. Willie can be seen at various K-State sporting events, often dressed as an athlete.

Personality

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Willie is known to be tough but also mischievous. He is K-State's #1 fan. The student inside the mascot costume (whose identity is kept secret) changes every few years, and the persona of Willie has remained the same throughout.^[6] Willie has been known tocrowd surf and he also does one push-up for each point on the board for K-State when the Wildcats score atouchdown or make afield goal at football games. He also leads crowds in his signature K-S-U chant in which he moves his arms in legs to form a 'K'-'S'-'U' then fist pumps to signal the crowd to yell "WILDCATS" 3 times in a row. Willie also signs various objects using his iconic signature, signing his name "Willie Wildcat" in which a paw print is drawn and used in place of the "W" in both words.

References

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^^a ^bWillie the Wildcat's History
^"Kansas State Traditions"(English). Retrieved2018-03-31.
^Amy Preston, “Willie the Wildcat at center of K-State athletic events; History of K-State’s mascot goes back to 1922,” Kansas State Collegian Gameday, October 31, 2003, 8
^"Kansas State Traditions"(English). Retrieved2006-09-27.
^"Universities Crack Down on Logo Use by High Schools | Sports Litigation Alert".
^"K-State Traditions"(English). Retrieved2006-09-27.

Links to related articles

v t e Kansas State University
Academics	Agriculture Engineering Media Veterinary Branch Salina (Salina) Olathe (Olathe) Buildings Anderson Hall Hale Library Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art
Athletics	Big 12 Conference Kansas State Wildcats Football Men's Basketball Women's Basketball Baseball Track and field Volleyball KSU Marching Band Sunflower Showdown Governor's Cup Iowa State–Kansas State football rivalry Facilities Bill Snyder Family Stadium Bramlage Coliseum Ahearn Field House Tointon Family Stadium Memorial Stadium Colbert Hills
Culture	Notable people Landon Lecture Series Willie the Wildcat Aggieville Wildcat Victory Wabash Cannonball Alma Mater Kansas Wildcats (march) Media The Collegian Royal Purple KKSU (AM) KSDB (FM) KKSU-LD
Student life	K-State Student Union Housing Derby Dining Center Ford Hall Goodnow Hall Haymaker Hall Kramer Food Center Marlatt Hall Moore Hall West Hall
History	Blue Mont Central College Land-grant university Joseph Denison List of oldest buildings on Kansas colleges and universities
Established: 1863 –Endowment: $488.9 million –Students: 22,795 (fall 2017)

v t e Kansas State Wildcats football
Venues	Ahearn Field (1911–1921) Memorial Stadium (1922–1967) Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium (1968–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Colorado Iowa State Kansas Missouri Nebraska Oklahoma
Culture & lore	Willie the Wildcat "Wildcat Victory" "Wabash Cannonball" "Kansas Wildcats" (march) Marching band Timeline of football in Kansas Aggieville riots 1939 Nebraska game
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

v t e Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball
Venues	Manhattan YMCA (1902–1911) Nichols Hall (1911–1950) Ahearn Field House (1950–1988) Bramlage Coliseum (1988–present)
Rivalries	Kansas
Culture & lore	Willie the Wildcat "Kansas Wildcats" "Wabash Cannonball" Wildcat Victory The Pride of Wildcat Land
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26
NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

Mascots of theBig 12 Conference

Current mascots

Wilbur and Wilma Wildcat (Arizona)
Sparky the Sun Devil (Arizona State)
Bruiser and Marigold (Baylor)
Cosmo the Cougar (BYU)
The Bearcat (Cincinnati)
Ralphie the Buffalo /Chip (Colorado)
Shasta (Houston)
Cy the Cardinal (Iowa State)
Big Jay /Baby Jay (Kansas)
Willie the Wildcat (Kansas State)
Pistol Pete /Bullet (Oklahoma State)
Super Frog (TCU)
The Masked Rider /Raider Red (Texas Tech)
Knightro (UCF)
Swoop (Utah)
Mountaineer (West Virginia)

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