Northern Michigan University is a public university located in Marquette, Michigan. The institution is known for its strong athletic programs and has a mascot that represents its sports teams. The mascot of Northern Michigan University is a wildcat. The wildcat mascot is symbolic of the university's strong and fierce athletic teams. It embodies the competitive spirit and determination that the athletes possess. The wildcat is often seen at sporting events, rallying the crowd and boosting team morale.

Wildcat Willy Request - NMU Marketing and Communications

Wildcat Willy makes an appearance at many on-campus and off-campus events. Priority for the use of Wildcat Willy at events is given to official university events before community events.

Please use this form to request Wildcat Willy, keeping in mind:

• Requests must be submitted at least 21 days prior to the date they are needed to ensure adequate time to coordinate between parties. If the request is submitted without 21 days notice, the university reserves the right to deny your request.
• NMU Athletics or University Marketing and Communications will contact you about your request. Listed below is when each department would provide Wildcat Willy respectively:

NMU Athletics will provide Wildcat Willy under these circumstances:

• At any other NMU or community event that aligns with the department’s goals, target audiences and availability.
• At any official university event, such as the homecoming parade, Wildcat Weekend, orientation, Fall Fest, etc.
• At any event related to NMU athletics.

University Marketing and Communications will provide Wildcat Willy under these circumstances:

• When an on-campus department requests Willy’s presence at a special event and the athletic department is unable to fulfill the request. The department must be able to provide a volunteer to wear the suit who will agree to NMU’s mascot guidelines.
  • It is also strongly recommended that the department provide a handler for their volunteer in the mascot to help them get ready and navigate the event.
  • The use of Wildcat Willy will be approved on a first-come, first-served basis. If the mascot is already in use, we will deny any further inquiries on that date.
  • Not all requests will be fulfilled.* You will be contacted via phone or email within 3 business days if we are able to provide Wildcat Willy per your request.

  *The university reserves the right to deny requests if the event does not fit the institution’s goals or target audiences.

  The North Wind

  When I was around seven or eight I saw a movie that was based off of a book, which my mother helpfully informed me of. During this she also told me that the book had lot more details then the movie. In.

  The North Wind Editorial Sessions About us

  The North Wind is an independent student publication serving the Northern Michigan University community. It is partially funded by the Student Activity Fee. The North Wind digital paper is published daily during the fall and winter semesters except on university holidays and during exam weeks. The North Wind Board of Directors is composed of representatives of the student body, faculty, administration and area media.

  Molly Birch • December 9, 2023 December 8, 2023 December 8, 2023

  Wildcat Willy: A Furry History in Green and Gold

  September 19, 2013

  If NMU mascot Wildcat Willy could speak, he’d have quite the story to share.

  Long before his time, at NMU’s first football game in 1904 against Hancock High School, Northern’s team was known as the “Teachers.” In 1923, we were known as the “Normalites,” then the “Northerners” and finally the “Upstaters.”

  Wildlcat Willy has been cheering on his fellow ‘Cats and marching in NMU parades for over 30 years. Five secret students bring Willy to life at events. (Photo: Anthony Viola)

  The first mention of the name “Wildcats” dates back to basketball coach C.B. Hedgcock in 1935, when he dubbed his man-to-man defense the “Cubs” and his zone defense the “Cats.”

  He explained his decision in a letter in 1937.

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  “In man-to-man, you have to be quicker and because the cubs are the natural offspring of wildcats, bobcats, any kind of cat when they’re younger, the man-to-man unit will be known as a Cub, while members of the older, more methodical zone defense groups will be known as the Cats… the Wildcats.”

  Wildcat Willy himself first appeared in the ’60s at basketball and football games, an innovation of the Chi Sigma Nu Fraternity. His presence evidently continued into the ’70s, though there was no uniting concept or costume throughout that time.

  In October 1970, a live female bobcat, named Bobby, was purchased as a mascot for $500 with funds donated by Student Activities and the Area Training Center in Marquette. She lived in a cage attached to the power plant behind Spooner Hall, and was provided by food services with 1 pound of raw meat per day.

  An article by Elizabeth Kramer in NMU’s tri-annual magazine, “Horizons,” describes one account of what became of Bobby, whose actual story is hazy, having become the stuff of legend.

  Kramer described how Bobby escaped from her cage and was discovered by ore boat workers, who reported to a radio station hotline that a bobcat was on the dock.

  The bobcat was captured by NMU faculty and put in a gunny sack, but it was covered in porcupine quills.

  Upon taking the cat to a veterinarian, explaining that the bobcat was their declawed mascot, the vet informed them that this cat had all its claws. They had captured a real wildcat. They set it free in the woods, but the real Bobby was never found.

  “And that was the end of NMU’s live mascot era,” Kramer said.

  Present day Wildcat Willy was conceived between 1984 and 1989, when student Jay McQuillan was selected by hockey coach Rick Comley to use Willy as a way to enliven hockey games and bring spirit to NMU fans.

  McQuillan proved very dedicated to the mascot, detailing his experience in a 2007 “Horizons” article. He was responsible for giving Willy pants, his own jersey, the number double zero and for uniting Willy into one figure for all hockey, basketball and football games. He developed a prop bag, throwing nerf balls into the stands, spraying pictures on the glass with bathroom cleaner at hockey games, and sitting on the lap of the English secretary, among other beloved traditions of the time. Joking that he majored in “Halloween,” McQuillan went on to become mascots for the NHL Tampa Bay Lightning and the IHL Orlando Solar Bears.

  Wildcat Willy lives on today through five NMU students whose identity must remain a secret, as they bring team spirit and humor to every NMU game.

  “Everyone knows that familiar sight of Wildcat Willie,” NMU football Head Coach Chris Ostrowsky said. “In fact, Willy and NMU sports are almost synonymous. What many people do not know is how much of an integral part of Wildcat athletics Willy really is. He is an awesome part of the college game day experience and is much appreciated.”

  Wildcat Willy even has his own children’s books, as he is after all an excellent role model. Courageous, spirited and full of surprises, Wildcat Willy continues to be a point of pride in NMU culture and history.

  All unattributed historical information comes from “A Sense of Time: The Encyclopedia of Northern Michigan University” (1999), by Russell Magnaghi.

  The North Wind

  Back in 2019 I was just a contributing writer to The NorthWind. I found the experience to be one of the best ways to get involved with our community and help spread information.

  The North Wind Editorial Sessions About us

  The North Wind is an independent student publication serving the Northern Michigan University community. It is partially funded by the Student Activity Fee. The North Wind digital paper is published daily during the fall and winter semesters except on university holidays and during exam weeks. The North Wind Board of Directors is composed of representatives of the student body, faculty, administration and area media.

  Molly Birch • December 9, 2023 December 8, 2023 December 8, 2023

  Why are we the Wildcats?

  August 31, 2016

  Have you ever wondered how Northern became the Wildcats? Or what is a wildcat, anyway?

  It’s a generic term for any kind of feral feline, including a bobcat that once used a human toilet. NMU’s mascot sure has had one heck of a hazy and colorful past.

  Northern wasn’t always the home of the Wildcats. It took a while to settle on the name.

  As early as October 1904 during their first football game, Northern was known as the Teachers, since NMU was then called Northern State Normal School, a college mainly training teachers.

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  As the years passed, so did the names. The Upstaters, the Normalites, the Northernites and the Northerners, all names we held before becoming the Wildcats, according to “A Sense of Time: The Encyclopedia of Northern Michigan University” by Russell Magnaghi, a former NMU history professor and university historian.

  Then, in 1935, as coach C.B. Hedgcock prepared his basketball team for the season, he announced that his man-to-man defensive unit would be called the Cubs and those playing the zone defense would be known as the ’Cats.

  “Hedgecock [sic] is quoted in a 1937 letter as saying, ‘In man-to-man you have to be quicker, because the cubs are the natural offspring of wildcats, bobcats, any kind of cat when they’re younger, the man-to-man unit will be known as a Cub, while members of the older, more methodical zone defense group will be known as the Cats… the Wildcats,’ Hedgcock said,” according to a 1998 September issue of The North Wind.

  The character of Wildcat Willy was created by the Chi Sigma Nu Fraternity back in the 1960s, according to “A Sense of Time,” and was present at football and basketball games throughout
  the ‘70s. Willy didn’t become a formalized character until 1984 to ’89, when Jay Maquillan, a student, wore the mascot suit and Rick Comely was the NMU hockey coach.

  The two saw the mascot as a way to raise team spirits, and Willy has been a model of enthusiasm ever since.

  But our mascot wasn’t always some guy in a suit. In October 1970, a 38-pound female bobcat named Bobby was bought for $500 from a Toronto resident with funds donated by the Student Activities Committee and the Area Training Center in Marquette.

  The bobcat lived in a cage attached to the power plant behind Spooner Hall. Bobby was fed a pound and a half of raw meat per day, according to an October 1970 issue of The Northern News, NMU’s student newspaper at the time.

  But wait, it gets weirder.

  “…we are informed that Bobby goes to the bathroom in a most unorthodox fashion, with regard to any ordinary Bobcat. Approximately one hour after each meal she sits on the toilet, a practice to which most of us can readily relate, supporting herself on her front legs all the while,” The Northern News reported.

  In 1998, The North Wind ran a feature on Bobby. The newspaper said the mascot took its first road trip in 1971 when it traveled to Central Michigan University with the NMU cheerleaders in their van for a football game.

  After returning to Marquette, Bobby escaped from her cage. A local radio station set up a hotline for area residents to call if they saw the loose animal.

  Eventually, the radio station received a call from workers at the ore dock. Bobby’s caretakers checked it out and found a cat on the dock.

  “They followed it out to the end of the dock until the cat had no place to go,” Andrew Wasilewski, previous University Center director reported to The North Wind in 1998.

  “It was cold and ornery by then, but they got it in the cage and took it to the vet. That’s when they discovered it wasn’t the same cat.”

  Bobby was eventually recaptured near Lower Harbor.

  After this incident, the animal was returned to its owners, and NMU has not had a live wildcat since.

  The wildcat is often seen at sporting events, rallying the crowd and boosting team morale. The choice of a wildcat as the mascot is fitting for Northern Michigan University. The wildcat is an animal known for its agility, strength, and adaptability.

  

  These traits are also desirable in athletes, making it a suitable representation of the university's sports teams. The wildcat mascot at Northern Michigan University brings a sense of energy and excitement to sporting events. It helps to create a vibrant and spirited atmosphere, encouraging fans to cheer on their favorite teams and players. The mascot serves as a symbol of unity and pride for the Northern Michigan University community. In addition to its role at sporting events, the wildcat mascot also appears at various campus events and activities. It is often seen interacting with students, faculty, and staff, promoting school spirit and creating a sense of camaraderie. Overall, the wildcat mascot is an integral part of Northern Michigan University's identity. It represents the university's commitment to excellence in athletics and fosters a sense of pride and unity within the community..

  Reviews for "Northern Michigan Mascots Throughout the Years: An Evolution in Costume Design"

  1. Sarah - 2/5 - I didn't enjoy the "Northern Michigan Mascot" at all. It felt like a cheap knock-off of other mascots I've seen before. The design was uninspired and the costume looked poorly made. It lacked any unique characteristics or memorable features. The performance was lackluster, with awkward movements and clumsy interactions with the audience. Overall, it was a forgettable experience that didn't live up to my expectations.

  2. John - 1/5 - I was extremely disappointed with the "Northern Michigan Mascot". It was just plain creepy. The costume was poorly designed and the proportions were all wrong. The exaggerated features only added to the unsettling feeling it gave me. The mascot's interactions with the crowd were awkward and forced, and it didn't seem to have any real purpose or connection to the event. I was actually scared of it rather than entertained. Definitely not my idea of a good mascot.

  3. Emily - 2/5 - The "Northern Michigan Mascot" was a letdown. The costume design lacked creativity and felt outdated. It didn't have any special appeal or charm that would make it stand out from other mascots. The performance was average at best, with minimal energy and lack of engagement with the audience. It felt like they were just going through the motions, without any genuine enthusiasm. Overall, it was a forgettable experience that didn't make me feel any connection to the mascot or the event.

  Behind the Scenes: Training and Caring for Northern Michigan University's Mascot