Why the Wildcats?
As competitive athletics increased in popularity and prominence during the 1920s, the Linfield student body voted that the college’s athletic mascot would be a “Wildcat” because Linfield was “a small school with a lot of fight and scratch.”
Before the 1924 vote, spectators at Linfield athletic events cheered variously for the “Baptists”, owing to Linfield’s early heritage, or the “Cardinal and Purple,” a reference to the school colors.
The current Linfield athletic logo, showing a scowling Wildcat wearing a jauntily cocked sailor's cap, first became a fixture in 1963 under Hall of Fame coach Paul Durham. It remains a recognizable symbol of all Linfield varsity athletic teams.
