This story was originally published in Vol. 34, Issue 6 (March 2024)
On Feb. 19, a new cougar sculpture made its home on campus in front of the new Life Sciences Building. Named Cougar Pride, the sculpture was donated by WSU alumnus Gary Schneidmiller, who commissioned the work from Mike and Chester Fields. Schneidmiller has committed to donating a sculpture to each of WSU’s campuses. In 2008, he gifted the first to Pullman while their Martin Stadium was under renovations.
Although Cougar Pride is an interesting piece, it wasn’t the first cougar sculpture at WSU Vancouver—many have seen the statue called Leaping Pride on the road up to campus, designed by Avard T. Fairbanks and given by the WSU Alumni Association. So why a cougar for our mascot?
While the cougar is now a symbol of WSU, it wasn’t always our mascot. According to the WSU Foundation, animals first appeared on the game field in 1903, beginning with a dog named Squirt. More dogs followed until 1919, when the football team’s abilities were likened to the speed and tenacity of a cougar. The analogy was quickly adopted, first with two mounted and stuffed cougars present among the yell squad that hyped up the team at games.
In 1927, Washington state Gov. Roland Hartley gifted the first live cougar to the school. Named after the short but ferocious quarterback Herbert “Butch” Meeker, the cougar was the first of six over the next 50 years. All the cougars lived in a man-made “den” by the stadium and were a thrilling feature at games, running alongside the yell squad in the stadium and screaming. After Butch VI passed, 63% of a survey of 403 students proactively voted against adopting another live cougar, and the request was accepted by the administration.
Regardless of whether it’s a dog, a cougar costume, or an actual cougar, mascots have always been a way to help draw people to a cause and distinguish between otherwise-similar groups. We certainly know our Cougars from Huskies.
Some mascots aren’t based on an animal, but for WSU, our mascot came from our football team having the spirit of the powerful mountain lion: the cougar, fast and free.