Almost $50 million has been spent in the renovation and expansion of Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium including new and refurbished locker rooms, meeting rooms, weight rooms and training rooms along with an expanded academic advising center. Seating capacity has expanded to 23,500 and the stadium also features club seats, a $1.5 million video replay scoreboard and a state-of-the-art playing surface.
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The Mascot: Big Red
"Big Red," Western's athletic mascot, was born in the fall of 1979 . The huge, furry, lovable creature was originally designed and built by WKU student Ralph Carey ('80) of Cincinnati, and made its debut during the Hilltoppers' 1979-80 basketball season.
"Big Red" has become a big hit with fans of all ages throughout the state and the nation. The ultimate fan and supporter of all of WKU's intercollegiate sports, "Big Red" won the "Key to Spirit" award - the highest honor presented to team mascots at the time - at the Universal Cheerleading Association competition in 1980, 1981 and again in 1983. And, in the spring of 1990, "Big Red" reached the "Final Four" of the UCA's second annual national championship event in San Antonio, Texas, taking third-place honors. Then, in the spring of 1996, "Big Red" reached the "Final Four" of ESPN SportZone's "Battle of the Mascots" in public balloting on the Internet.
"Big Red" was the centerpiece of ESPN's promotion of the 25,000th SportsCenter, airing in August 2002, and is one of only two mascots to be named to the first three Capital One All-America Mascot Teams from 2002-04. After a year off, Big Red was named again to the Capital One All-America Mascot Team in 2006. (made it to the final four of the competition)
In addition, Big Red was a part of the NCAA's "Mascot Mania" Exhibit and was inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame in 2007. Big Red has also appeared on the 2005 and 2006 Southern Sports Awards as well as appearing on NBC's Deal or No Deal.
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THE HILLTOPPER TRADITION
Located in picturesque Bowling Green, Western Kentucky boasts one of the most beautiful campuses in the nation, with 200 acres of the main campus sprawling over Southcentral Kentucky.
For over 90 years on this campus there has been a common thread among Western students called the "Western Spirit" and it's a spirit well known to Hilltopper fans. Defined as a special feeling of belonging, more than 66,000 alumni and nearly 15,000 WKU students share that Western Spirit.
The first official intercollegiate athletic competition involving Western Kentucky University was a baseball game with rival Eastern Kentucky in Bowling Green in 1910. The Hilltoppers won that first contest 6-0.
Though the first game took place more than 90 years ago, World War I and World War II interrupted Western athletics from 1916-1921 and again from 1943-45. While baseball ranks as the oldest sport on the Hill, football has recorded 81 seasons of competition. Hilltopper basketball also has 81 seasons in the record books.
The first women's athletic event for WKU was a basketball game in 1914. Women's basketball competition was suspended from 1916-1920; started again in 1921 and halted from 1932 until it began again in 1974. An overall athletics program for women had its first official push in 1973, with the start of golf and tennis. The growth of women's athletics on the Hill has continued in recent years with the addition of swimming in 1997, softball in 1999, and women's soccer in 2001.
Western was a member of the Ohio Valley Conference for 34 years (1948-82), winning the All-Sports Championship 12 times. Western joined the Sun Belt Conference in 1982, winning the Commissioner's Cup, significant of overall athletic excellence, in 1987. Western has finished in the top half of the league 15 times in the last 18 years.
Western Kentucky has enjoyed great success in its athletic endeavors over the years. The women's basketball team has competed in three Final Fours, advancing to the title game in 1992. The men's basketball team went to the Final Four in 1971, and was runner-up in the prestigious National Invitation Tournament in 1942.
The Hilltopper football team has won eight Ohio Valley Conference titles, competing as an independent from 1982-98, and returning to the league in 1999. WKU is slated to join the Gateway Football Conference in 2001.
Western Kentucky football has produced 18 first-team All-Americans, competed in the NCAA playoffs four times and finished the year ranked in the Top 20 poll on 11 occasions.
The baseball team has won three Ohio Valley Conference titles, won more than 1,200 games and produced seven All-Americans. Western athletes have claimed NCAA individual titles in cross country, track and gymnastics, and have earned All-America honors in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, gymnastics, riflery, swimming and track and field.
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