.: What does the Bobcat do?

The NYU Bobcat is the ultimate representative of the All-Square spirit that embodies the NYU community. Walking with a proud stride, the Bobcat makes several appearances around the campus, including putting on enthusiastic performances at every home basketball game. Our fantastic feline also makes his presence known at several university events, from Welcome Week to Commencement Ceremonies and everything else in between!

If you are interested in having the Bobcat appear at your event, click here or on the Appearance Requests button on left!

If you are a current NYU student looking to find out how to get involved working with the Bobcat, contact us at NYUBobcat@gmail.com!

.: History of the Bobcat

For more than 100 years, New York University athletes have worn the distinctive violet and white colors that were derived from the violets that grew under the shade of the trees in Washington Square Park. While some questioned the resulting nickname-The Violets-because it lacked the aggressive, competitive connotation that goes along with sport, generation after generation of NYU athletes have carried the Violets name with pride and distinction into the arenas and onto the playing fields of virtually every sport invented.

From time to time, campus groups have tried to change the nickname. Suggestions of Vikings, Vanguards, and Victors were just a few. Each of these attempts was met with a resounding "no" on behalf of the long-standing Violets tradition.

In 1984, something happened in a somewhat unlikely campus location that would ultimately address this decades-old dilemna. The Bobst Library began the process of computerizing its catalog. To lead students and faculty through the new system, a Bobst Catalog character was derived to instruct users on how to prompt the new system. The Bobcat (from Bobst Library Catalog) was the character. Bobcat images appeared all over the library, in campus publications, and in many other campus locations. The Bobcat was a cartoon-cute and user-friendly.

Meantime, the athletic department had only a year earlier reinstated its men's varsity basketball program. With great fanfare, the department kicked off the reinstatement of the program in a game against CCNY at the Coles Center on November 26, 1983. In preparation for this contest, the Violets nickname was personified in the form of a walking, talking, acrobatic Violet. Clad in a skintight, green body suit; arms in the shape of green violet leaves; a necklace of large purple petals; and a purple face with yellow hair, the Violet was unveiled at a pep-rally right before the big game. The Violet served well. It was most amusing and was a good source of great entertainment for NYU fans. But in no way did this mascot instill any sense of awe or foreboding in our opponents.

Ultimately the time for executive action arrived. NYU president Dr. L. Jay Oliva directed that the Violets mascot be replaced by a new mascot-the Bobcat. The Bobcat would wear a violet uniform and even bear the name Violets. The original Bobcat was constructed in the NYU Tisch School of the Arts costume shop and looked like the cartoon character from the library. More important, the Bobcat came to represent the strong link between academic and athletic excellence that New York University was striving to develop through its athletic programs. How fitting it was the new mascot would arrive at Coles by way of the Bobst Library. It was also fitting that while our athletic teams had a new mascot, the nickname Violets had been preserved. It should also be noted that as late as 1920, the American lynx, or bobcat, was still seen occasionally roaming the remaining rural areas of Manhattan, Central Park, and much of the Bronx.

The original Bobcat lasted for three years. But as the costume became tattered through hundreds of appearances at athletic events and other University activities, it became apparent that while more awe-inspiring than the Violet, the Bobcat was just too cute. This image would also be changed.

During halftime of a basketball game against the Eagles of Emory University in 1988, the Bobcat was viciously attacked by a most belligerent Eagle. Our Bobcat barely escaped to a phone booth that was installed at half-court. The Eagle hovered. Seconds later, a new and fierce Bobcat emerged from the booth and hastily treated itself to a meal of Eagle snacks.

Thus, today's Bobcat mascot was born-still wearing violet and symbolizing the tradition of not only NYU's commitment to academic and athletic excellence but the same commitment of the newly formed University Athletic Association of which NYU was a founding member.

The Violet and the original Bobcat have been retired and can be found at the University's archives in the Bobst Library. Today's Bobcat can be seen at numerous athletic events at Coles and official and social events all over our campus. When you meet the Bobcat today, you can still be sure of one thing-it will always be wearing violet.

(Exerpt taken from the Coles Recreational Pamphlet)