A Story of Spirit, in a Time of Disruption: "Big Red" - WKU's College Mascot - Makes the Final Four!

ALL POSTS PRIOR TO 2021 HAVE NOT BEEN REVIEWED NOR APPROVED BY ANY FIRM OR INSTITUTION, AND REFLECT ONLY THE PERSONAL VIEWS OF THE AUTHOR.

In a world where sporting events have largely been canceled, college spirit can remain strong. As evidenced by unlikely rise of "Big Red" - Western Kentucky University's beloved mascot, to the "Final Four" of the SiriusXM Mascot competition, which began earlier this week and concludes next week.

Western Kentucky's "Big Red" was not even originally in the competition, when the bracket organizers selected 64 college mascots to participate. But, as a result of tremendous outpouring of support from its fans, Big Red was permitted to challenge the #16 seed, the Ole Miss Rebels, in a "play-in game."

Fans of the 64 teams were initially stunned. They couldn't believe that a mascot - the form of which they couldn't even identify as a person or animal - would even be allowed in the competition. Fans of other teams' mascots have commented:

.... "What the hell is it? Grimace's red cousin?"
.... "What is it? Elmo's bigger cousin?" 
.... "This due is literally a red circle lol how long did it take to come up with that? not even the best mascot in Kentucky"
.... "Big Red Booger"

"Big Red" is the mascot of Western Kentucky University's sports teams, the "Hilltoppers" and "Lady Toppers. The mascot can best be described as a red, furry, fun-loving blob. Inside the costume is actually a senior student at WKU - a top student whose name is only revealed when, at graduation, the student wears Big Red's gloves during commencement proceedings. Big Red not only supports the athletics teams at Western Kentucky University, but he also aids other student organizations at WKU, and makes numerous visits to high schools and community events to spread the Spirit of WKU.

Despite the disbelief from other college's fans that Big Red would even be included in the competition, the incredible happened. Western Kentucky University's Big Red, from a regional state university with only 17,000 students, "topped" - in successive rounds of voting - these five much larger SEC and ACC schools:

• Ole Miss' Tony the Landshark;
• #1 seed LSU's Mike the Tiger;
• Auburn's Aubie the Tiger;
• Ga. Tech's Buzz the Yellow Jacket; and
• Tennessee's Smokey

With the support of Big Red's loving fans - students, alumni, and more - and including hometown band Cage The Elephant - Big Red conquered these "Power Five" teams - with four of the contests fairly close, and only one in which Big Red had a significant lead in the final vote tally.

The impact on students, all of whom have suffered disruptions due to the shift from in-person to online classes (due to COVID-19) this Spring, has been incredible. As Stephanie Martin, one alumnus, wrote: "During one of our most challenging times in @wku history, our biggest cheerleader continues to unit us & bring smiles our way! Thank you @WKUBigRed! Toppers are resilient! #TogetherWKU."

To encourage student participation even further, another recent WKU alum raised the stakes. Matthew Wine offered: " If @CageTheElephant helps @WKUBigRed win the @SXMCollege Mascot Tournament, I will give a random Cage fan 2 tickets to a Cage concert."

On Monday, April 13th, "Big Red" faces off against No. 6 seed Oklahoma's Sooner Schooner in the first round of the Final Four competition.

If Big Red wins again, it will face either Wisconsin or BYU with the SiriusXM Mascot Championship on the line.

Can Big Red pull off yet another upset? Tune in Monday evening, to find out!