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Om Western Carolina Catamounts
The Western Carolina Catamounts are the athletic teams of Western Carolina University. The Catamounts compete in the NCAA Division I Southern Conference. Western fields sixteen varsity sports teams. The Catamount football team competes in Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
Mascot
The university's mascot is the Catamount. This moniker has been Western's mascot since 1933."What exactly is a Catamount?" Wild cats of the "catamount variety", including the bobcat, cougar or lynx, have roamed the southern Appalachian Mountains for years. But the nickname evolved from a contest that was held on the Cullowhee campus in 1933. The contest came down to Mountain Boomers, a small ground squirrel that scampers about the woods and is extremely difficult to catch, and Catamounts. Head Football Coach C.C. Poindexter selected Catamounts, as he wanted his players to display a "fierce spirit, savage attacks, and lightning quick moves." WCU is one of only two universities in the United States with this mascot (the other is the University of Vermont).
