Willie the Wildcat (Northwestern)

Willie the Wildcat

University	Northwestern University
Conference	Big Ten
Description	Anthropomorphic wildcat
First seen	1933

Willie the Wildcat is the mascot for the Northwestern University Wildcats.

History

The first mascot was a living, caged bear cub from the Lincoln Park Zoo 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.

Willie, c. 1961

In 1933, the Northwestern athletic department and an advertising firm created the first image of Willie. However, he did not 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".

References

Skjervem, M. & Reck, D. M. (2007). Wildcat Stuff Book for Peer Coordinators. Evanston, Illinois: Northwestern University.

Northwestern University
Located in: Evanston, Illinois
Academics	Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences School of Communication Bienen School of Music Kellogg School of Management McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science Medill School of Journalism School of Education and Social Policy Feinberg School of Medicine Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary Pritzker School of Law The Graduate School School of Professional Studies
Research	Argonne–Northwestern Solar Energy Research Center Infrastructure Technology Institute
Campus	Buildings Residences Block Museum Dearborn Observatory Deering Library The Lakefill Lindheimer Astrophysical Research Center Norris Center Technological Institute Prentice Women's Hospital Qatar Theatre & Interpretation Center The Rock University Hall University Library
Athletics	Northwestern Wildcats Big Ten Football Men's Basketball Women's Basketball Baseball NUMB Field Hockey Women's Lacrosse Softball Patten Gymnasium Rocky Miller Park Ryan Field Land of Lincoln Trophy Welsh-Ryan Arena Willie the Wildcat
Media	The Daily Northwestern North by Northwestern Northwestern University Law Review Northwestern University Press TriQuarterly WNUR Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology
Traditions	History Dance Marathon Dillo Day The Waa-Mu Show Dolphin Show Go U Northwestern
People	Alumni Faculty Presidents John Evans
Founded: 1851 Students: 20,955 Endowment: 9.648 billion

Northwestern Wildcats football
Venues	Northwestern Field (1905–1925) Ryan Field (1926–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Illinois Notre Dame
Culture & lore	Willie the Wildcat "Go U Northwestern" Marching band 2006 Michigan State game
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 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

Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball
Venues	Old Patten Gymnasium (1910–1940) Patten Gymnasium (1940–1952) Welsh-Ryan Arena (1952–present) Allstate Arena (2017–18)
Culture & lore	History "Go U Northwestern" Willie the Wildcat
People	Head coaches
Seasons	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 1999–00 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
Helms and Premo-Porretta national championship in bold

Northwestern Wildcats women's basketball
Venues	Welsh-Ryan Arena (1975–present) Beardsley Gym (2017–18)
Culture & lore	History "Go U Northwestern" Willie the Wildcat
People	Head coaches
Seasons	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 1999–00 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

Mascots of the Big Ten Conference
East Division	No mascot (Indiana) Testudo (Maryland) No mascot (Michigan) Sparty (Michigan State) Brutus Buckeye (Ohio State) Nittany Lion (Penn State) Scarlet Knight (Rutgers)
West Division	No mascot (Illinois) Herky the Hawk (Iowa) Goldy Gopher (Minnesota) Herbie Husker / Lil' Red (Nebraska) Willie the Wildcat (Northwestern) Boilermaker Special / Purdue Pete (Purdue) Bucky Badger (Wisconsin)

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