Big Red (Western Kentucky University)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Big Red is the mascot of
Western Kentucky University Western Kentucky University (WKU) is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky, United States. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a few decades earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glas ...
's sports teams, the "Hilltoppers" and "Lady Toppers". It is a red, furry blob created by Ralph Carey in 1979. Big Red is meant to symbolize the spirit of WKU students and alumni as well as the sports teams' nickname, the "Hilltoppers," a name chosen because the school's campus sits atop a hill 232 feet above the Barren River flowing through WKU's home city of
Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...
.


Creation

Prior to the start of the 1979 college basketball season, WKU student Ralph Carey volunteered to create a mascot for the school's sports teams. It was hoped a mascot would generate enthusiasm and supplement the iconic red towels waved by fans in the stands. Carey said he wanted to create something unique that stayed as far away as possible from the stereotype many have of Kentuckians. Although he liked the antics of the
San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...
' chicken mascot and initially sketched a bear wearing a sweater emblazoned with the letter "W", he ultimately decided not to use a known animal or entity. Carey eventually presented the sketch of a red, furry blob-like mascot concept to a committee which included future university president
Gary Ransdell Gary may refer to: *Gary (given name), a common masculine given name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name Places ;Iran * Gary, Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan Province ;United States *Gary (Tampa), Florida *Gary, Ind ...
. When asked what the character should be called, Carey suggested 'Big Red' as an acknowledgement of the nickname given to WKU sports teams. The concept was approved. After some refinement, Carey constructed the first Big Red costume by hand. It consisted of "air conditioner foam, fake fur, plastic tubing and aluminum framing". The materials cost was roughly $300. Carey then performed in the suit he created when Big Red debuted at a home basketball game on December 1, 1979, in WKU's
E.A. Diddle Arena E. A. Diddle Arena is a 7,326-seat multi-purpose arena in Bowling Green, Kentucky, United States. The arena, built in 1963, is home to the Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers men's basketball team and Lady Toppers basketball and volleyball t ...
. Carey graduated in 1980. The suit was then handed down to fellow student Mark Greer. Greer was the first to portray the character at a WKU football game in the fall of that year. Historically, tryouts for students who want to portray Big Red are held in April of each year. The university library maintains an archive of every student who has portrayed the character. When a WKU student who portrayed Big Red graduates, they are allowed to wear the Big Red "gloves" on graduation day to let people know they were a WKU mascot.


Description

According to WKU's branding guide, Big Red is neither male nor female. It must always be red and display "WKU"—the abbreviation for Western Kentucky University —– on the front. The character cannot talk, but Mark Greer, the second person ever to portray Big Red, noted, "It’s a very funny suit. ... It can make expressions where most mascots have one stupid expression on their face at all times. Big Red can show emotion like no other mascot." The character's signature moves are the belly slide and the belly shake. The ''
Bowling Green Daily News The ''Daily News'' is a daily-except-Saturday newspaper based in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It is published Sunday mornings and Monday through Friday evenings. History The current newspaper can trace its roots to the ''Bowling Green Democrat'' fou ...
'', the paper of record in WKU's home city, described Big Red as the "amorphous, ambiguous, asexual and always lovable representative of the school’s athletics", although in response to a
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
message from WKU wishing Big Red a happy birthday, Ryan Nanni of
SB Nation ''SB Nation'' (an abbreviation for their full name ''SportsBlogs Nation'') is a sports blogging network owned by Vox Media. It was co-founded by Tyler Blezinski, Markos Moulitsas, and Jerome Armstrong in 2003. The blog from which the netwo ...
's college football blog "Every Day Should Be Saturday" speculated that having a birthday implied that Big Red was the result of—and was created by—sexual reproduction.


Recognition

Big Red won the Universal Cheerleading Association's Key to the Spirit award in 1980, 1981 and 1983. It reached the Universal Cheerleading Association's Final Four and was awarded 2nd runner-up to collegiate Mascot of the Year in 1990. In 1996 it reached the Final Four of
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
's "Battle of the Mascots." In 2002, the character was part of
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
's promotion of the ''
SportsCenter ''SportsCenter'' (SC) is an American television sports news broadcasting show broadcast by ESPN. Originally anchored by Chris Berman, George Grande,  Greg Gumbel, Lee Leonard, Bob Ley, Sal Marchiano and Lou Palmer, it premiered on Septem ...
s 25,000th. In 2007, WKU alumna Kate Mercer Miller appeared as a contestant on the game show "
Deal or No Deal ''Deal or No Deal'' is the name of several closely related television game shows, the first of which (launching the format) was the Dutch '' Miljoenenjacht'' (''Hunt/Chase for Millions''). The centerpiece of this format is the final round (a ...
" and brought Big Red as one of her seven supporters who appear on the show. Big Red has also appeared as a guest on "
The Ellen Degeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. The show ran for nineteen seasons from September 8, 2003, to May 26, 2022, in which it broadcast 3,339 episodes. It was produced by ...
", " The Tony Danza Show", and "
The Early Show ''The Early Show'' is an American morning television show that aired on CBS from November 1, 1999, to January 7, 2012, replacing the original incarnation of '' CBS This Morning'', and the ninth attempt at a morning news-talk program by the n ...
". Big Red has been selected eight times to compete in the Capital One Mascot Challenge in the competition's ten-year history, reaching the semifinals of the 2006 Capital One Mascot Challenge. That year, Big Red appeared on the game show " Wheel of Fortune" as part of the promotion of the Challenge. In 2012, Big Red was the first mascot inducted into the Capital One Mascot Challenge Hall of Fame. Big Red also ranked tenth in the inaugural
Cheetos Cheetos (formerly styled as Chee-tos until 1998) is a crunchy corn- cheese puff snack brand made by Frito-Lay, a subsidiary of PepsiCo. Fritos creator Charles Elmer Doolin invented Cheetos in 1948, and began national distribution in the United ...
Top 25 Cheesiest College Mascots that year. In 2017, WKU's student newspaper, the ''College Heights Herald'', reported that a
crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and Alternative Finance, alternative finance, to fund projects "withou ...
campaign on the website SpiritFunder raised over $7,000 from 44 donors in three days to purchase a new costume for Big Red.


Italian copyright lawsuit

In 2003, Western Kentucky University sued Antonio Ricci and Italian television station
Mediaset Mediaset S.p.A. is an Italian mass media and television production and distribution company that is the largest commercial broadcaster in the country. The company is controlled by the holding company MFE – MediaForEurope (the original ...
for $250 million, claiming that
Gabibbo Gabibbo is an Italian mascot for the Mediaset-controlled channel Canale 5 created in 1990. Gabibbo's main role has been in the programs '' Paperissima'' and ''Striscia la notizia'', but he has appeared in several other Canale 5 programs. He is nor ...
, a character created by Ricci and featured on Mediaset's show ''
Striscia la Notizia ''Striscia la notizia'' (, "the news slithers") is an Italian satirical television program on the Mediaset-controlled Canale 5. Launched in 1988, it is meant to be a parody of the daily news, which airs right before the program, but ''Striscia'' ...
'', was a "carbon copy" of Big Red and infringed on the university's intellectual property rights.
Gabibbo Gabibbo is an Italian mascot for the Mediaset-controlled channel Canale 5 created in 1990. Gabibbo's main role has been in the programs '' Paperissima'' and ''Striscia la notizia'', but he has appeared in several other Canale 5 programs. He is nor ...
debuted and was trademarked in Italy in 1990; although Big Red first appeared in 1979, the character was not trademarked in Italy until 1991. WKU cited a 1991 interview with Italian magazine '' Novella 2000'' in which Ricci told the interviewer that the idea for Gabibbo came to him after seeing a photo of Big Red, noting "Big Red became Gabibbo." When a reporter from ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' confronted Ricci about the quote in 2004, shortly after WKU's lawsuit had been filed, he recanted, saying he was joking in the 1991 interview and had only seen Big Red after the ''Novella 2000'' interviewer showed him a picture. Because the infringement was alleged to have occurred in Italy, the dispute was adjudicated in the Italian court system. WKU won each round of the case in lower Italian courts, but in 2008, the Court of Lugo ruled in favor of Mediaset. The ruling held that Big Red's function as a mascot was entitled to copyright protection, but that the likeness of Big Red was in the public domain and ineligible for copyright protection. It further noted differences in the appearance and behavior of the characters, including Gabibbo's trademark tuxedo (in contrast to Big Red's apparel bearing the "WKU" abbreviation) and Gabibbo's ability to speak. On appeal, the court of appeals in
Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
ruled in favor of Ricci and Mediaset. In 2018, WKU and Big Red's creator, Ralph Carey, re-filed the lawsuit, and the Italian Supreme Court ruled that the case had merit, sending it back to the Milan Court of Appeals.


References


External links


Big Red's official Facebook page
{{Western Kentucky University Cartoon mascots Conference USA mascots Western Kentucky University Mascots introduced in 1979 1979 establishments in Kentucky