Kansas State University - Royal Purple Yearbook (Manhattan, KS)

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new Head with POWERCAT MOTIF celebrates 50 years of WILLIE the WILDCAT For his 50th birthday Willie the Wildcat received a face lift. The Willie tradition began in 1947, and since then, his image and role have undergone several changes. Adrea Simmons Andersen played K-State ' s first mascot at the September 1947 Oklahoma A M football game. She dressed in a red-brown wildcat costume with black stripes and a tail. To begin with, my name wasn ' t Willie. It was Scrappy or something like that, Andersen said. I mostly did acrobatic things on the field with the team. In the 1960s, Sigma Chi fraternity members played Willie. Later that decade, the mascot looked like Mickey Mouse, and fans wanted a new image. Jim Hagan, a sculptor and artist, created a newer meaner-looking Willie. Hagan made two Willie heads out of coyote and wolf hair. The first head lasted from 1967 until 1980 and cost about $300 to construct. The second lasted until 1993. They came to me when I was a graduate in sculpture and asked me to design a new head, Hagan said. They wanted him to move and do other things than just sit. They wanted him to be able to drink without taking off the head. In 1993, the Kaw Valley Catbacker Club donated the fifth Willie head. The new head was rounder and made out of brown artificial fur. Willie received a facelift again in fall 1997. The new head cost $2,500 and was purchased with money from the cheerleading squad ' s budget. It was time for a change, Steve Kirkland, cheerleading coach, said. The other head was falling apart. Willie was looking really scraggly. The Willie head had gray fur with two white stripes to resemble the Powercat logo. The new head unifies K-State ' s symbolism, varsity Willie the Wildcat, said. The new head looks like the Powercat, and people know K-State for the Powercat. The new head weighed five pounds and featured an electronic cooling fan. Given the past, the head caused back problems because it was so heavy. It weighed 15 pounds, Kirkland said. The new head is really light, so there is a big difference. The change took some getting used to, Kirkland said. For the most part, it will have to grow on people. About half of the people like it and about half don ' t, Kirkland said. Some don ' t like the color, and some are just traditional and want to stick to the old thing. In keeping with tradition, the identity of Willie was still kept secret. I love hearing people talk about Willie and not realizing that I am sitting right there the whole entire time, Willie said. Willie said he would miss being the mascot after graduation. Being Willie is a huge part of my life, he said. I have my own identity, but a big part of me will definitely be gone. by kristin boyd Willie the Wildcat pumps up fans during the Homecoming football game. Willie participated in sports activities and attended alumni functions throughout the year. It is very time consuming, the varsity Willie said. I am expected to be at everything because Willie is an icon of K-State. The cheerleading squad purchased a new Willie head for $2,500. (Photo by Jeff Cooper) willie the wildcat.19

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During the Neak Frasty stepshow in McCain Auditorium, Ebony Clemons, sophomore in political science, Aris Word, junior in early childhood education, and Kori Hall, junior in elementary education, perform for Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority ' s dance team. (Photo by Clif Palmberg) stompdown Student perform for sold-out crowd Clapping and stomping were to the coordinators ' ears, but unlike most shows, the noise came from the performers. Seven members of Alpha Phi fraternity coordinated the sold out Neak Frasty performance Nov. 15 in McCain Auditorium. The stepshow competition and concert by rhythm and blues singer Ginuwine drew a crowd of 1,775. Brandon Hobbs, Alpha Phi Alpha president and junior in industrial said he was pleased with the show ' s turnout. Little numbers can accomplish a lot, Hobbs said. It ' s a sense of pride that we can make this show a success. Piquing interest in the show was not a problem as many students the show for months, Hobbs said. We provide minority students with a night of entertainment they look forward to from the opening of the school year, he said. It feels good to see that kind of excitement. The excitement stemmed from the originality of the performance and the alternative entertainment it provided, Hobbs said. We have a lack of urban entertainment in this area. Neak Frasty is the only stepshow in the area, he said. It gives the students a chance to see a stepshow, and they don ' t have to go all the way to Kansas City to see it. Stepping combined of drill competitions, military performances and tribal dances. It basically deals with rhythm (Continued on page 22) by kellee miller stepshow. 21