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Wilbur and Wilma Wildcat, the University of Arizona mascots, pose together on Arizona Stadium's football field.

Wilbur & Wilma

Most schools are content with one mascot. We have two.

A historic black-and-white image of Wilbur Wilcat posing with a University of Arizona student at an event.

We Wildcats got our nickname from a 1914 column in the Los Angeles Times that described the U of A football team as having “showed the fight of wildcats” in a win over Occidental College. It wasn’t long after that we got our first mascot, Rufus, a live bobcat who was later retired for the more humane costume of Wilbur. 

A historic black-and-white image of Wilbur Wildcat sitting on a bench at a University of Arizona football game. He is seen looking down and cheerleader pom-poms are on the ground beside him.

A dedicated follower of fashion, Wilbur has gone through a preppy phase, a “natural” phase and, in the 1970s, a cowboy phase, donning a vest, a blue, flat-topped cowboy hat and a cardinal bandana around his neck. He met his wife, Wilma, on a blind date in 1986 and they were joined in holy catrimony shortly thereafter.

An image of Wilbur and Wilma Wildcat posing with a group of University of Arizona students.

In a longstanding U of A tradition, the identities of Wilbur and Wilma — always played by students — is revealed at the last regular-season home game for men’s basketball. One former Wilma compared the thrill to being a superhero: “Here I was, the most well-known person on campus,” she said, “but nobody knew it was me.”

TRADITIONS

BEAR DOWN GYM