Former K-State Willie the Wildcat and his wife give back to the K-State mascot with their influential scholarship.
From the outside, being Willie the Wildcat seems like a carefree outlet for charismatic people to shine. Inside the mask, Willie has an overload of responsibility and time commitment to contend with. As mascots are not considered athletes, students are not eligible for full-ride athletic scholarships or NIL contracts.
Willie’s work
As a former Willie, Brian Rader knows exactly how hard it is to balance college academics with being a mascot.
“I didn’t have any backup Willies, so I had to do everything — volleyball games, football games, basketball games, parades, etc.,” said Brian. “I was only Willie for one year, but during that time, my GPA was terrible. I lost money being the mascot because I had to pay for fuel and drive across the state for activities. It was fun, but a lot of work.”
Now, there are more backups to assist the head Willie, but the student inside the mask still shoulders responsibilities like those of athletes, but without the benefits. Willies attend more sports games and school activities than any athlete and often must do rigorous physical activity among their other duties.
Giving back
Despite the hardships, Brian and his wife, Adrienne, know how important school mascots are, especially Willie. Willie inspires enthusiasm, gives the crowd someone to rally behind, entertains kids and generally brightens the atmosphere of all K-State activities.
When the Rader’s one-year-old son died from a heart virus, they decided to use the fundraised money to create a scholarship for Willies.
“Instead of doing something specifically related to what had happened to us, we decided to put the money toward something that brought us joy and happiness,” said Adrienne. “The scholarship was started by lots of generosity in a dark time for us, but it has evolved into something positive that we want to grow.”
Throughout the year, the Raders hold a 50-50 raffle during football season to raise funds for their scholarship. So far, they have only been able to pay for a portion of the Willies’ tuitions but have a goal to eventually foot the entire tuition bill. To do that, they need more donations and support.
Support the Shepard Rader Memorial ‘Willie the Wildcat’ scholarship
https://www.givecampus.com/s/fl4op3
By Kate Ellwood