The sports team of Northwest University is called Wildcats. Before 1924, they were called "Purple Team", and informally they were also called "War Guard Team". A reporter from Chicago Tribune 1924 wrote, "Even after losing to the University of Chicago, Evanston's football team was not discouraged; The name wildcat is more suitable for them. " The name was so popular that a few months later, members of the university board of directors adopted "Wildcats" as the name of the team. 1972, students voted to change their name from "wildcats" to "purple fog", but the name was not popular.
The mascot of Northwest University athletes is Wiley the wildcat, but Wiley the wildcat was not their mascot at first. It was originally a bear in Lincoln Zoo. 1923 autumn, this bear will play before the game. But after a failed season, the team thought it was bad luck, so they stopped using it. Willie first appeared as a symbol in 1933, but it was not until 1947 that he became a mascot. When the team plays in Evanston, the marching band of Northwest University always performs and plays the school song after the game.
The football team of Northwest University performed poorly, with the highest score of 449-596-44. Seven times, only 1949 entered the final. This is the team that lost the most in the championship. It is also the creator of losing streak: from 1979 to 1982, losing 34 games in a row. In recent years, its achievements are commendable. It participated in 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005 and 2008. In 2004, it defeated the Ohio State University team at 33: 27, breaking a 33-year losing streak [89]. After the coach's sudden death in 2006 [90], a 365,438+0-year-old former national football player and a graduate of Northwest University became a coach, becoming the youngest college team coach in history.
Recently, the events with better results include men's football, wrestling, men's swimming, men's golf, women's tennis, softball, fencing and women's baguette. The women's long stick won the championship four times in a row and did not lose a game in 2005. 193 1 year, the men's basketball team won the national championship.