In 1915, the school's first mascot, a live desert bobcat named "Tom Easter" was brought to campus. He was later renamed "Rufus Arizona" after then U of A president Rufus b. von KleinSmid.[1] For the next fifty years, the school used live mascots, a practice which was discontinued in the 1960s. However, in 1959, Wilbur, the costumed version of the live bobcat mascots, began appearing at football games. He was extremely popular, and has stayed ever since. In 1986, Wilma Wildcat was created, and was even married to Wilbur.[2]
Originally, in honor of Arizona's Old West heritage, Wilbur wore a blue flat-topped cowboy hat, a blue vest, a cardinal bandana scarf around his neck and a holster with two pistols. Recently, Wilbur and Wilma have taken to wearing the teams' athletics jerseys instead of their traditional outfits, both as a sign of team spirit and to avoid references to gun violence. However, the hat remains on Wilbur, and Wilma wears a cardinal-colored bow.
Namingedit
The mascots' full names are Wilbur the Wildcat and Wilma the Wildcat, but they are often abbreviated to Wilbur T. Wildcat and Wilma T. Wildcat. [3][4][5][6] Fans normally refer to the mascots simply as Wilbur and Wilma.
Identityedit
The identities of the students portraying Wilbur and Wilma are kept confidential until the final home basketball game of the season.[7]
Referencesedit
^"Happy 100 Year Anniversary to the University of Arizona Mascot! | Special Collections". speccoll.library.arizona.edu. Retrieved 2023-03-01.
^"Wilbur T. Wildcat". Facebook. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
^"Wilma T. Wildcat". Facebook. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
^"Wilbur T. Wildcat". Twitter. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
^"Wilma T. Wildcat". Twitter. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
^Wall, Matt. "Under the mask: A behind the scenes look at what it's like to be Wilbur and Wilma". Daily Wildcat. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
External linksedit
UA Traditions from Arizona.edu
About Wilbur & Wilma from the University's cheerleading webpage
February 16, 2024
wilbur, wilma, wildcat, official, mascots, university, arizona, tucson, arizona, teamarizona, wildcatsuniversityuniversity, arizonaconferencepac, 12descriptionanthropomorphic, north, american, wildcatsfirst, seen1959websitehttp, arizonaalumni, blog, wilbur, wi. Wilbur and Wilma T Wildcat are the official mascots at the University of Arizona in Tucson Arizona Wilbur and WilmaTeamArizona WildcatsUniversityUniversity of ArizonaConferencePac 12DescriptionAnthropomorphic North American wildcatsFirst seen1959Websitehttp arizonaalumni com blog wilbur t wildcatAutograph Contents 1 History 2 Naming 3 Identity 4 References 5 External linksHistory editIn 1915 the school s first mascot a live desert bobcat named Tom Easter was brought to campus He was later renamed Rufus Arizona after then U of A president Rufus b von KleinSmid 1 For the next fifty years the school used live mascots a practice which was discontinued in the 1960s However in 1959 Wilbur the costumed version of the live bobcat mascots began appearing at football games He was extremely popular and has stayed ever since In 1986 Wilma Wildcat was created and was even married to Wilbur 2 Originally in honor of Arizona s Old West heritage Wilbur wore a blue flat topped cowboy hat a blue vest a cardinal bandana scarf around his neck and a holster with two pistols Recently Wilbur and Wilma have taken to wearing the teams athletics jerseys instead of their traditional outfits both as a sign of team spirit and to avoid references to gun violence However the hat remains on Wilbur and Wilma wears a cardinal colored bow Naming editThe mascots full names are Wilbur the Wildcat and Wilma the Wildcat but they are often abbreviated to Wilbur T Wildcat and Wilma T Wildcat 3 4 5 6 Fans normally refer to the mascots simply as Wilbur and Wilma Identity editThe identities of the students portraying Wilbur and Wilma are kept confidential until the final home basketball game of the season 7 References edit Happy 100 Year Anniversary to the University of Arizona Mascot Special Collections speccoll library arizona edu Retrieved 2023 03 01 Wilbur and Wilma Retrieved 2015 10 03 Wilbur T Wildcat Facebook Retrieved 6 June 2017 Wilma T Wildcat Facebook Retrieved 18 September 2022 Wilbur T Wildcat Twitter Retrieved 18 September 2022 Wilma T Wildcat Twitter Retrieved 18 September 2022 Wall Matt Under the mask A behind the scenes look at what it s like to be Wilbur and Wilma Daily Wildcat Retrieved 6 June 2017 External links editUA Traditions from Arizona edu About Wilbur amp Wilma from the University s cheerleading webpage Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Wilbur and Wilma amp oldid 1142347706, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
