Northwestern Wildcats

Northwestern Wildcats
The Northwestern Wildcats are the athletic teams representing Northwestern University, a founding member of the Big Ten Conference, and the only private university member. Northwestern has eight men's and eleven women's Division I sports teams. Before 1924, Northwestern teams were known as The Purple and informally as The Fighting Methodists. The name Wildcats was given to the university in 1924 by a writer for the Chicago Tribune who published an article that described the football team as, a wall of purple wildcats. The university board members made Wildcats the official nickname just months later. The mascot is Willie the Wildcat.

History
The Northwestern Wildcats football team once had the longest losing flash in NCAA Division I-A history at 34 games. The men's basketball team has never made it to the NCAA tournament. The school continued to field competitive teams in non-revenuesports, including tennis and swimming. Moreover, in the last decade, the school has begun to put many of its athletic woes behind it. Notable programs usually ranked in the Top 20 include men's swimming, and women's tennis, fencing and lacrosse. The football team has appeared in several bowl games since 1995, and the men's basketball team has made irregular appearances in the postseason, as well. The Northwestern women's lacrosse team has won successive national championships (2005 and 2006). The Northwestern women's softball team finished 2nd nationally in 2006, after losing to Arizona in the title game series of the Women's College World Series.

Traditions
The Northwestern University Wildcat Marching Band forms the Sculpted N and performs Go U Northwestern! to close its pregame performance at the 2005 Sun Bowl under the direction of Daniel J. Farris.
The Northwestern University Wildcat Marching Band forms the Sculpted N and performs Go U Northwestern! to close its pregame performance at the 2005 Sun Bowl under the direction of Daniel J. Farris.

During football games, students ring their car keys before every kickoff and dribble. This began as a proud taunt; Big Ten rivals often bested Northwestern at football, and the keys implied while your school may win the football game, in a few years your school's graduates will be parking Northwestern graduates' cars. When Northwestern is on defense, students extend their arms, make a claw with their hands, and growl.

The Northwestern student section is led in their cheers by NUMB, (Northwestern University Marching Band). NUMB performs on the field and in the stands at all home games and follows the football team to one Big Ten away game per season.

For many years, students would as a tradition throw marshmallows at the kick-off of football games. Northwestern archivist Patrick Quinn says that students were likely trying to get them into the tubas, and then started throwing them at each other,While Gary Barnett, football coach, banned marshmallows because they supposedly detracted from the serious level of football.

2006
Spring 2006 was one of the best athletic seasons in Northwestern University's history. Following the Women's Lacrosse team's 2nd National Championship, the Women's double's team of Christelle Grier and Alexis Prousis won the National Championship as well. The Women's Softball teams made an incredible run to the finals of the Women's College World Series, finishing in second place.

Recently, another women's team has made national news and generated argument for what they were wearing in a picture. In May 2006 the website BadJocks.com republished photos a reader had found on Webshots, women's soccer team hazing its freshmen. The whole team was suspended for a time as a result and in the wake of the incident Head Coach Jenny Haigh resigned. Since, Athletic Director Mark Murphy named Stephanie Erickson, the school's all-time leader in goals and points, as Haigh's substitute.

They are a team of fierce, mean, agile and headstrong wildcats that only want to be the best and they are none other than Northwestern Wildcats. As the name implies they are truly the wildcats of all the sports that they play. The Wildcats are amongst the Big Ten of the Conference playing in NCAA Division 1. The women's lacrosse team of Wildcats has won an incredible Six NCAA Championships. Fans the cats are ready to take on another strong rival so don't miss it, grab your Northwestern Wildcats Tickets only from us and feel the adrenalin rush!

The Northwestern Wildcats history dates back to the early 1900's but initially they weren't called by this name, instead they had different names such as The Fighting Methodists and The Purple. In the year 1924 the name wildcats for officially adopted. The university has its own marching band called NUMB (Northwestern University Marching Band); it performs in all home games and can be seen on the field and in the stands. The mascot is the very famous Willie the Wildcat.

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