Sports Illustrated - USA (2022-05)

MAY 2022 25

SCOUTING REPORT VERDICT

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FUZZY LOGIC

COLLEGE MASCOTS IS WRONG

Based on the tail and

stripe pattern, most

likely a golden-mantled

ground squirrel

100% gopher

Likely a mountain lion.

Except for the lack

of a tail , which is not

mountain-lion-like

Possibly dirty

mountain lion

He’s a lynx

Bobcat

The most wildcat-like

wildcat around

WILBUR (Arizona Wildcats)

More than 100 years ago, Arizona used a live bobcat as its mascot. What’s a bobcat look

like, you ask? In short, Wilbur. “Wilbur is reddish in color, with a light fringe on his face—

which would suggest he’s actually a bobcat,” says Hoekstra.

WILLIE (Northwestern Wildcats)

“He has no stripes and no tail, which definitely rules out a wildcat,” says Hoekstra.

“The white fringe on his face—a sideburn-beard kind of thing—is also characteristic

of a lynx. His gray color and exceptionally pointy ears seal it.”

WILL D. CAT (Villanova Wildcats)

The self-described “coolest cat on campus” (from his school bio) is actually the most

legit cat, as well. “He may actually qualify as a biologically correct wildcat,” says

Hoekstra. “He has a long tail and carnivorous teeth, and he even has stripes on his head.”

teams are off in another phylum. Sports Illustr ated’s Conor Orr talked to Hopi Hoekstra, a professor and

mammalogist at Harvard, about some especially fraught mascot critters—most notably gophers and wildcats.

MAMMALOGY

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