Butch T. Cougar

Butch T. Cougar
Butch T. Cougar
	Butch T. Cougar at Martin Stadium
Team	Cougars
University	Washington State University
Conference	Pac-12
Origin of name	Butch Meeker

Butch The Cougar is the mascot of Washington State University.^[1] As his name indicates, Butch is a cougar.

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.^[2] The cougar was named Butch after Herbert "Butch" Meeker of Spokane, a WSU football star from the 1920s.^[3]

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.^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8] That October, university president Glenn Terrell decided to discontinue the live mascot tradition.^[8]

Today, Butch is represented by a costumed student. Butch T. Cougar was the 2006 Capital One Mascot of the Year.^[9]^[10]

Origin

Butch T. Cougar was born on October 1, 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 and basketball games leading spirit chants and tossing shirts into the stands.^[11] Butch also makes appearances at official University events and other events to promote the image of WSU.^[12] 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.^[13] 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

^ Greene, Brenna (July 2, 2020). "Mascot Mania: How the Cougars became the Cougars". KREM.com. KREM (TV). Retrieved September 24, 2022. By the way the name Butch T. Cougar? That wasn't penned until 1998. The 'T' merely stands for "the."
^ "Washington State University, The Presidents". Archived from the original (English) on 2008-12-06. Retrieved 2008-03-12.
^ "Traditions". Archived from the original (English) on 2008-04-06. Retrieved 2008-03-12.
^ "Washington State University, The Presidents" (English). Retrieved 2008-03-12.
^ "Butch VI put to sleep". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. August 25, 1978. p. 10.
^ "WSU mascot 'Butch' dies". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). August 25, 1978. p. 12A.
^ Connor, Tim (September 21, 1978). "Butch's death: news bureau 'blew it'". Daily Evergreen. (Pullman, Washington). (Washington State University). p. 1.
^ ^a ^b "Butch VI will be last of his line". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 18, 1978. p. 16A.
^ "Spirited Butch T. Cougar roars to top spot". Archived from the original (English) on 2008-02-21. Retrieved 2008-03-12.
^ Capital one bowl.com Archived 2008-10-14 at the Wayback Machine
^ "Butch T. Cougar - College Football" (English). Retrieved 2014-03-26.
^ "Request Butch". Archived from the original (English) on 2008-04-08. Retrieved 2008-03-12.
^ "The Man Behind the Mascot". Archived from the original (English) on 2014-03-27. Retrieved 2014-03-26.

External links

Butch T. Cougar Homepage

[MiddleNameKREM-1] Greene, Brenna (July 2, 2020). "Mascot Mania: How the Cougars became the Cougars". KREM.com. KREM (TV). Retrieved September 24, 2022. By the way the name Butch T. Cougar? That wasn't penned until 1998. The 'T' merely stands for "the."

[2] "Washington State University, The Presidents". Archived from the original (English) on 2008-12-06. Retrieved 2008-03-12.

[3] "Traditions". Archived from the original (English) on 2008-04-06. Retrieved 2008-03-12.

[4] "Washington State University, The Presidents" (English). Retrieved 2008-03-12.

[sleepb-5] "Butch VI put to sleep". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. August 25, 1978. p. 10.

[budis-6] "WSU mascot 'Butch' dies". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). August 25, 1978. p. 12A.

[dlyevr-7] Connor, Tim (September 21, 1978). "Butch's death: news bureau 'blew it'". Daily Evergreen. (Pullman, Washington). (Washington State University). p. 1.

[lohln-8] "Butch VI will be last of his line". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 18, 1978. p. 16A.

[9] "Spirited Butch T. Cougar roars to top spot". Archived from the original (English) on 2008-02-21. Retrieved 2008-03-12.

[10] Capital one bowl.com Archived 2008-10-14 at the Wayback Machine

[11] "Butch T. Cougar - College Football" (English). Retrieved 2014-03-26.

[12] "Request Butch". Archived from the original (English) on 2008-04-08. Retrieved 2008-03-12.

[13] "The Man Behind the Mascot". Archived from the original (English) on 2014-03-27. Retrieved 2014-03-26.

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v t e Washington State Cougars football
Venues	Rogers Field (1895–1969) Joe Albi Stadium (1950–1983 as alternate; 1970–1971 as sole) Martin Stadium (1972–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Idaho: Battle of the Palouse Washington: Apple Cup Northwest Championship
Culture & lore	Butch T. Cougar "Fight Song" Marching band Coug it Ol' Crimson
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

v t e Washington State Cougars men's basketball
Venues	Bohler Gymnasium (1928–1973) Beasley Coliseum (1973–present)
Rivalries	Idaho Washington
Culture & lore	Butch T. Cougar
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Helms and Premo-Porretta national championship in bold; NCAA Final Four appearance in italics

v t e Washington State Cougars women's basketball
Venues	Bohler Gymnasium (1970–1973) Beasley Coliseum (1973–present)
Rivalries	Idaho Washington
Culture & lore	Butch T. Cougar
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24

History

Origin

Duties

See also

References

External links