Western Carolina Catamounts
| Western Carolina Catamounts | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| University | Western Carolina University |
| Conference | Southern Conference |
| NCAA | Division I (FCS) |
| Athletic director | Randy Eaton |
| Location | Cullowhee, North Carolina |
| Varsity teams | 16 |
| Football stadium | E. J. Whitmire Stadium |
| Basketball arena | Ramsey Center |
| Baseball stadium | Hennon Stadium |
| Mascot | Paws |
| Nickname | Catamounts |
| Fight song | Fight on! You Catamounts |
| Colors | Purple and Gold |
| Website | catamountsports |
The Western Carolina Catamounts are the athletic teams of Western Carolina University. The Catamounts compete in the NCAA Division I Southern Conference. Western fields sixteen varsity sports teams. The Catamount football team competes in Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
The university's mascot is the Catamount. This moniker has been Western's mascot since 1933."What exactly is a Catamount?" Wild cats of the "catamount variety", including the bobcat, cougar or lynx, have roamed the southern Appalachian Mountains for years. But the nickname evolved from a contest that was held on the Cullowhee campus in 1933. The contest came down to Mountain Boomers, a small ground squirrel that scampers about the woods and is extremely difficult to catch, and Catamounts. Head Football Coach C.C. Poindexter selected Catamounts, as he wanted his players to display a "fierce spirit, savage attacks, and lightning quick moves." WCU is one of only two universities in the United States with this mascot (the other is the University of Vermont).
"Paws" the Catamount is the official mascot of Western Carolina University. He appears at numerous events and functions across western North Carolina.
A member of the Southern Conference, Western Carolina sponsors teams in seven men's and nine women's NCAA sanctioned sports:
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1992 1993 1997 2003 2007 2013 2014 2016
1996
2005 2007 2009
2006 Regular Season
1996 1985 1986 1989
2001 2005 2008
1999 2004 2006 2008 2012
1999 2006 2007 2009 2013
1996 1997 1999 2000 2008 2010
1997 1999 2000 2001 2008 2010 2013
The university established an athletic hall of fame in 1990. The hall of fame honors those athletes, coaches, and people whose outstanding contributions have enriched the athletic programs of Western Carolina University.
Western Carolina football was born in 1931, thanks to C.C. Poindexter. Often referred to as the "Father of Western Carolina Athletics" because of his efforts in organizing what was then Western Carolina Teachers College's first athletic program in the early 1930s. He was the first to be hired by the college to work exclusively in athletics and became the first head football coach.
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