The Baker Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent

Baker University Baker University is a private university in Baldwin City, Kansas. Founded in 1858, it was the first four-year university in Kansas and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Baker University is made up of four schools. The College of Ar ...

, located in

Baldwin City, Kansas Baldwin City is a city in Douglas County, Kansas, United States, about south of Lawrence. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 4,826. The city is home to Baker University, the state's oldest four-year university. History ...

, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...

(NAIA), primarily competing as a founding member of the

Heart of America Athletic Conference The Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC or The Heart) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Member institutions are located in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska in ...

(HAAC) since its inception in the 1971–72 academic year. The Wildcats previously competed in the

Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference The Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The KCAC is the oldest conference in the NAIA and the second oldest in the United Stat ...

(KCAC) from 1902–03 to 1970–71.

Varsity teams

Baker competes in 23 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, bowling, cross country, football, golf, soccer, tennis, track & field and wrestling; while women's sports include basketball, bowling, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field, volleyball and wrestling; and co-ed sports includes cheerleading, dance and eSports.

Colors

They have only one official color: cadmium orange. The only other school in the country to have orange as their only official color is

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

Facilities

* Alvamar Golf Course: Golf * Cavaness Field: Softball * Collins Gymnasium: Basketball, volleyball, and wrestling * Laury Tennis Courts: Tennis * Liston Stadium: Football, track, and select soccer matches * Mabee Memorial Hall: Practice facilities (basketball), Cheer, Athletic offices * North Park: Baseball

Mascot

The official mascot of Baker University Athletic teams is WOWzer the Wildcat. WOWZer debuted, as the new mascot, on September 8, 2007, at the football home-opener in honor of the University's sesquicentennial. Reina Murphy, a freshman from the

Kansas City metropolitan area The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more th ...

, won the University's name the Wildcat contest.

Notable alumni

* Mike Gardner, American football head coach *

George LaFrance George Herbert LaFrance III (born September 24, 1965) is a former Arena Football League offensive specialist. In a playing career lasting twelve years, he played for the Detroit Drive (1988- 1993), the Tampa Bay Storm (1994-1999), and the New Je ...

, American football player *

Mike McCarthy Michael John McCarthy (born November 10, 1963) is an American football coach who is the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). From 2006 to 2018, he was the head coach of the Green Bay Packers. In 2011, he led t ...

, American football head coach *

Vidal Nuño Vidal Vicente Nuño ee-dahl' nooh'-nio(born July 26, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Arizona Diamond ...

, baseball player * Tanner Purdum, American football player *

Blake Treinen Blake M. Treinen (, born June 30, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball for the Baker Wildcats and the South Dakota State Jackrabbits baseball te ...

, baseball player

Notable coaches

Phog Allen Forrest Clare "Phog" Allen (November 18, 1885 – September 16, 1974) was an American basketball coach. Known as the "Father of Basketball Coaching,"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 ...

coach at Baker University, the

University of Central Missouri The University of Central Missouri (UCM) is a public university in Warrensburg, Missouri. In 2019, enrollment was 11,229 students from 49 states and 59 countries on its 1,561-acre campus. UCM offers 150 programs of study, including 10 pre-profes ...

and the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

Emil Liston Emil Smith "Liz" Liston (August 21, 1890 – October 26, 1949) was an American athletic coach and administrator. He coached basketball, football and baseball at Wesleyan University and Baker University. He was the founder of the National Associat ...

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 ...

coach (1930–1945) and administrator, inductee to

Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

, and creator of the NAIA college basketball tournament *

Charlie Richard Charles Allen Richard (May 30, 1941 – December 13, 1994) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Baker University from 1980 to 1990 and again from 1992 to 1994, compiling a record of 123–28–1. Ric ...

, inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

References

External links

* {{Kansas Sports