With his furry smile, purple attire and gray and white tufts, Willie the Wildcat has one of the most recognizable faces at Northwestern.
Beloved by students, faculty and sports fans, Willie was even deemed the sexiest college mascot by a Quality Logo Products Blog survey. The mascot is hard to miss at sporting events.
Every spring and fall, the NU Spirit Squad holds mascot tryouts for the following quarter. The process — which includes a two-minute skit, a fight song performance, a game of charades and an oral interview — typically yields two to four Willies in total. There are two Willies this quarter.
Willie appears at football games, men’s and women’s basketball games and community events. Mascots can be in the Willie suit for at least three hours. Two Willies switch positions during halftime at football games, while one Willie works full basketball games.
Despite their public presence, it has become a tradition of sorts for the mascots to keep their personal identities secret.
“Being Willie, I am being seen by everyone, so I have to look presentable,” a McCormick junior and former Willie said. “I have to be actively engaged with the game, with the fans, with everything that’s happening around me — which is really hard when you’re in a hot suit with limited visibility and you can’t talk.”
During games, mascots participate in pregame rituals, fan interactions, timeout programming and more. They have meticulous schedules to ensure they are in the right place at the right time, especially when cameras are running.
Although he usually attends only revenue sports, Willie is there to support players and fans and show his purple pride.
“Just his presence as a mascot gets people excited,” NU Wildside President and Weinberg senior Tyler Schreiber said. “But he also encourages the fans to cheer. He bangs on the drum before the men’s basketball games, or he rings the bell after our team scores in football.”
Willie’s attire is kept in the cheerleader locker room. In addition to multiple heads and fur suits, Willie has outfits for every occasion and usually matches uniforms with the teams.
A Weinberg junior and former Willie said it first felt weird being in-suit because people saw her as a celebrity. Although she was nervous, the persona came naturally.
“You don’t act as Willie, but you kind of become him,” she said.
Each Willie is in the suit only a fraction of the time on the job. When not performing as Willie, they can act as a “handler,” who the McCormick Willie called Willie’s “babysitter” and “voice of reason.”
Handlers guide Willie wherever he needs to go, assist with fan interactions and ensure Willie looks presentable. Handlers also do crowd work by leading chants and encouraging the fans to cheer.
In addition to all football games and basketball games, mascots are required to attend weekly practices and weightlifting training sessions with NU Cheer. They dedicate at least 12 hours a week to the commitment in total.
On top of being performers and athletes, mascots are content creators. TikTok account @williethewildcatnu has become increasingly active, amassing over 1,000 followers.
The mascots manage Willie’s TikTok and post for most games and events Willie attends. They brainstorm buzzwords related to the game’s opponent and search for viral content related to those terms. In past TikToks, they have capitalized on trends like Chappell Roan’s “HOT TO GO!” dance and ASMR food restocking.
During practices, the mascots prepare for game day by promoting Willie’s TikTok and reviewing pregame affairs and timeout schedules.
When they are in the suit, the Willies communicate their needs with fans, players and handlers solely through gestures and body language. The McCormick Willie said his main takeaways from being a mascot are skills rather than specific memories.
“There’s no better example of effective communication than being a mascot, where you have to communicate without speaking,” he said.
As Willies, the mascots are considered part of the NU Spirit Squad, which walks the line between a club and official sport. Mascots have access to early registration, physical therapy, a strength coach and free NU merchandise.
Even with these perks, the mascots said the best part about being Willie is bringing joy to others. The Weinberg Willie fondly remembered standing next to former NU basketball star Billy McKinney as his jersey was retired.
“He felt very nervous … we were just hugging the whole time we were watching playbacks of his reels,” she said. “I think connecting with people, that’s always cheerful and uplifting, and that made it rewarding for me.”
Despite its benefits, both Willies said the mascot program could be improved by recruiting more Willies to lighten the load of each individual. They said the time commitment can be overwhelming and difficult to balance, especially because they do not receive full student-athlete benefits and are unpaid.
”Having more leniency with our schedules would be nice because we are still college students at a very rigorous institution, so it is difficult doing both,” the Weinberg Willie said.
Although both mascots said their experiences as Willie were generally positive, they ultimately quit after last season to make time to focus on schoolwork and club leadership positions.
“As Northwestern students, we’re all very busy. We all have lots of commitments, lots of clubs, lots of classes, and having to go to every game, sometimes an hour or two before, can be very demanding,” the McCormick Willie said. “I think more people should join Willie, because as more people join, the job gets better and better.”
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