July 18, 2012
Cullowhee, N.C. -
Just days before the Southern Conference's Media Day in Spartanburg, S.C., and on the heels of the Monday's announcement of the addition of ESPN Radio 1310 & 970 AM to the list of affiliates of the Catamount Sports Network, excitement for the 2012 season of Catamount football continues to build.
Western Carolina and first-year head coach Mark Speir released that beginning this fall, the Catamounts will again wear purple helmets on the gridiron, returning to a long-standing tradition in Cullowhee.
The 2012 version of the Catamount football helmet features a deep purple color with reflective gold metallic flake and a matching deep purple facemask and chin straps. The current WCU athletics logo will adorn both sides of the helmet.
WCU's new purple helmet was debuted at the Catamount Football Classic golf tournament in early June, 2012.
Since 1969 when the legendary former head coach Bob Waters stepped foot on the WCU campus, Catamount football teams have worn purple helmets for 38 of the 43 years. The only exceptions are the 1989 season under Dale Strahm with the "yellow LSU" look and four seasons under former head coach Dennis Wagner which featured metallic gold helmet with the new logo and three "cat scratches" down the center. (The 1989 helmet had a yellow shell with "WCU" arched over a Catamount head in purple).
With the introduction of the newest Catamount logo in 2008, the football program converted to gold helmets marking just the third time in program history it had gone away from the purple headgear.
Whereas Western Carolina has sported solid purple domes on the football field numerous times in its history, the team has also used myriad of logos to adorn the helmets over time. Prior to the 1971 season, Waters and his staff decided that the helmets needed a new look - and as it turned out, it became the most recognizable helmet moniker in program history. The script "The Cats" hit the headgear and, over time, became the tradition of WCU football.
Although the print of the script changed in color - going from white to gold - "The Cats" remained on the Catamount football helmets for 27 of the next 29 years with the lone exception coming in 1989 under Strahm and the 1990 season which again featured a un-logoed, purple helmet.
Under former head coach Bill Bleil, WCU underwent another helmet change in 1999 with a golden block "W" on both sides and a white-and-gold, tri-stripe down the middle which was on the headgear for three seasons. Former Waters' quarterback and assistant coach, Kent Briggs, brought "The Cats" back to the helmets in 2002 upon his hiring, adding a modern treatment to those dynamic duo of words, and a cat-like look with eyes and whiskers enveloping the word mark.
The modern "The Cats" look stayed until 2008 when the purple helmets gave way to the aforementioned golden domes.
WCU will host the "Purple Party" on Wednesday, July 25, at the Hickory Tavern in Asheville's Biltmore Park to help gear up for the 2012 season. Fans in attendance can see the new headgear up close that night. The following day, the preseason All-SoCon teams and projected standings by both the league's nine head coaches and voting media will be released as a part of the annual Media Day that will be held at the Spartanburg Marriott on Thursday, July 26. Western Carolina and the Catamount Club will host the "unofficial kickoff" to fall with the Western Open on Wednesday, Aug. 1 with the squad officially reporting for fall camp on Thursday, Aug. 2.
First practice of the fall season is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 3.
