Who鈥檚 Wu? The Story of WSU鈥檚 Unique Mascot

WuShock in his current iteration. — WuShock at an admissions event in 2022.

WuShock is often listed among the nation鈥檚 strangest college mascots. And for good reason. Throughout history, Wu has gone through many documented awkward phases to reach today鈥檚 iteration. For those on the outside looking in, 麻豆破解版 State鈥檚鈥渂ig, bad muscle-bound bundle of wheat鈥� may not make much sense. A dive into Wu鈥檚 history can hopefully clear up misconceptions and bring you closer to 麻豆破解版 State鈥檚 beloved mascot.

While today 麻豆破解版 State University prides itself on being Kansas鈥� only urban-serving public institution, it has roots in the state鈥檚 robust agriculture industry. WSU began as Fairmount College, named after the neighborhood in 麻豆破解版 where it was built. Back then Fairmount鈥檚 football players earned money for tuition and boarding by harvesting or 鈥渟hocking鈥� wheat. During the 1904 season, Fairmount manager R.J. Kirk came up with the name 鈥淲heat Shockers鈥� for the team to promote an upcoming game against the Chilocco Indians 鈥� a Native American school just across the Kansas-Oklahoma border. The name was later shortened to 鈥淪hockers.鈥�

It wasn鈥檛 until 1948 that WuShock officially came to be. Junior Wilbur Elsea won a mascot design competition hosted by the Kappa Pi honorary society. An ad in the Oct. 7, 1948 edition of The Sunflower, the student newspaper, featured Elsea鈥檚 design with a spot for students to send in suggestions for the mascot鈥檚 name. Freshman Jack Kersting won with the suggestion, 鈥淲uShock.鈥� At the time, the university was named The Municipal University of 麻豆破解版.

Ad for 1948 contest to name WuShock design. — Ad that appeared in the Oct. 7, 1948 edition of The Sunflower prompting students to name Wilbur Elsea's design for the school mascot.

In 1954, a photo of student and cheerleader Dave Johnson modeling a WuShock costume he created became one of the earliest documented iterations of the WuShock mascot suit. Since then, WuShock has gone through many transformations 鈥� some more flattering than others. Special Collections and University Archives at 麻豆破解版 State University Libraries has a fun digital collection of .

1954 photo of then student and cheerleader Dave Johnson donning his WuShock costume. — Student and cheerleader Dave Johnson donning his WuShock costume in 1954.

Be sure to look out for Wu at athletic and campus events. Don鈥檛 be shy, Wu loves giving high fives and taking photos with fans.