Butch The Cougar is the

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant unive ...

. As his name indicates, Butch is a

cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large Felidae, cat native to the Americas. Its Species distribution, range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mamm ...

History

Though the cougar was adopted as Washington State University's mascot in 1919 it was not until 1927 when a cougar cub was presented to the student body of Washington State that Butch T. Cougar was born. The cougar was named Butch after Herbert "Butch" Meeker of Spokane, a WSU football star from the 1920s. Butch was represented by a live cougar until 1978; Butch VI, in declining health with multiple ailments and approaching age 15, was euthanized in late August. That October, university president

Glenn Terrell William Glenn Terrell Jr. (May 24, 1920 – August 30, 2013) was an American academic and administrator. He was the president of Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, Pullman from 1967 to 1985. Early life and education Born in Tall ...

decided to discontinue the live mascot tradition. Today Butch is represented by a costumed student. Butch T. Cougar was the 2006

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Mascot of the Year

Origin

Butch T. Cougar was born on October 1st, 1927. Governor Roland H. Hartley presented the university with the first live cougar mascot during the 1927 football Homecoming game, and thus Butch's character was born. In the years since, Butch has undergone a few physical changes as he has been living on campus, surrounded by students. Nonetheless, he still has an untamed heart and continues to prowl around campus and athletic events.

Duties

The primary duty of Butch is to be an ambassador of WSU. He can be seen roaming the sidelines at home

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

games leading spirit chants and tossing shirts into the stands. Butch also makes appearances at official University events and other events to promote the image of WSU. The student playing Butch is anonymous throughout the school year. At the last home sporting event of each year, usually, the last home basketball game, the student beneath the Butch mask is revealed. Butch cannot only be seen at athletic events but also at other functions related to the university and its constituent groups. He is a source of pride for members of the Cougar family and a means of promoting the university.

References

External links

Butch T. Cougar Homepage
{{Authority control Pac-12 Conference mascots Washington State Cougars 1927 establishments in Washington (state)

History

Origin

Duties

See also

References

External links