100 Years of Bobcats

Until 1925, the University’s athletic teams were without a mascot, usually referred to with unofficial nicknames—such as the football team’s moniker of “Fighting Fools,” as noted in the student newspaper, Green and White. To solve this conundrum, the University sponsored a naming contest, with a prize of $10 for the winner. After more than 100 entries and several meetings of the Athletic Advisory Board of the Men’s Union, former student Hal Rowland’s suggestion of “Bobcats” was selected.

The “Mr. Bobcat” costume debuted in 1960 and featured a brown, bearish-looking cat in a varsity sweater and beanie. In 1983, The Post announced that “the Bobcat has gotten a facelift.” The new costume swapped the sweater for an open vest and was seen as more collegiate, but was still cartoonish; one Post opinion writer compared it to “a chipmunk, gopher or muskrat.” The costume saw yet another redesign to a slimmer, but still somewhat silly, build in the late ’90s.

During much of that time, Mr. Bobcat wasn’t the school’s only mascot. Created by all-female residents of Howard Hall, the Bobkitten was an unofficial addition to games and Homecoming parades from 1967 to 1990. Her costume included a papier-mâché head, a white sweater with a green “O” patched on, a skirt and bloomers that read “OH-IO.” The Bobkitten went dormant during the ’90s, and the costume was lost. While Bobkitten has not been seen since, women weren’t left out of mascot lore entirely, as in 1995 a female student—Dana (Hudson) Kelly, BSC ’99—donned the official Bobcat costume for the first time.

In September 2006, the University debuted the Bobcat we know and love today. Rolling into Peden Stadium on his motorcycle, the revamped mascot was slimmed-down, tougher-looking and sported the name “Rufus,” a reference to both the species name for the bobcat, Lynx rufus, and University co-founder Rufus Putnam.

After 100 years and many changes, Rufus the Bobcat stands as a beloved feature of OHIO, reflecting the spirit of the University and its students. Here’s to 100 more.

Feature photo from left to right, the evolution of Mr. Bobcat to OHIO’s beloved Rufus ... with some guest appearances by his onetime companion, Bobkitten. Photographs courtesy of the Mahn Center for Archives & Special Collections and Ohio University Photography