In just a little more than a week, Mr. and Mrs. Wuf will be out cheering on the Pack as the football team enters Carter-Finley Stadium for the first time this season. While we are familiar with these two mascots, many students may be unfamiliar with how the mascots we have today came to be.
1946
The first “Mr. Wuf” was actually a mechanical wolf built by mechanical engineering student, Ira Helms Jr. At least, students were lead to believe it was mechanical. In 1946, NC State’s administration was going through an identity crisis and wanted to change the wolf mascot. Helms was determined to have a mechanical wolf at the next football game to help bolster student support to keep the wolf mascot. However, there was no time to build an actual mechanical wolf. So at the next game, Helms was inside a crudely built wolf costume while another student walked behind him with what appeared to be a control box, according to the blog of the NC State Alumni Association. No one could see inside the wolf, and no one asked questions. This edition of Mr. Wuf was retired in 1947 after NC State’s loss in the Gator Bowl.
1947
When NC State officially became known as the Wolfpack in 1947, the first mascot to parade the field at football games was a live timber wolf named State, according to The New York Times. The live mascot was brought to games by students and had a short tenure with the Wolfpack due to his uncomfortability around crowds. After just a few years of service, the timber wolf was sold to a traveling animal show.
1960
In the 1960s, Student Government decided it would like to have a live mascot as well as Mr. Wuf, who was now being portrayed by cheerleaders in a somewhat creepy wolf costume. They began to sell 25-cent shares in order to purchase a timber wolf named Lobo III. The animal made its first appearance at the first football game played in Carter-Finley Stadium in 1966, according to NCSU Libraries. At the game, the animal howled, making the howl popular among fans. Eventually, a zoology professor discovered that the canine was actually a coyote, not a wolf. When his true identity was discovered, it was time for Lobo III to retire in 1970.
1975
“Mrs. Wuf” was created in 1975 to cheer on the newly created women’s athletic program. Just a few years later, the university officially named the mascots Mr. and Mrs. Wuf. It has been said that they were named Wuf instead of Wolf because the seamstress could not fit Wolf on the back of Mr. Wuf’s jersey.
1981
Chris Belton, the student portraying Mr. Wuf in 1981, thought that since the name Mr. and Mrs. Wuf implied they were married; they should actually conduct a marriage ceremony, according to NCSU Libraries. So on Feb. 28, 1981, at a men’s basketball game against Wake Forest, the couple was wed. Chancellor Joab L. Thomas escorted Mrs. Wuf while the Demon Deacon mascot officiated the wedding. There were even two wolf cubs at the wedding, but it is unknown whether they were portraying the flower girl and ring bearer or were supposed to be Mr. and Mrs. Wuf’s children. The couple renewed their vows in February 2011 at another Wake Forest basketball game to commemorate their 30-year anniversary, according to SB Nation.
2010
Tuffy, NC State’s latest live mascot was found in 2010 when Debbie Yow took over as the new athletic director. This was the first live mascot since Lobo III in 1970. Students had encouraged Yow to establish a live mascot once again. As such, the search for Tuffy began. Since wolves are nocturnal animals that are not comfortable around humans (which NC State learned from experience), officials decided to find a Tamaskan dog. Tamaskans are a mix of German shepherd, Alaskan malamute and Siberian husky. The dog looks almost identical to a wolf but is much better with people. Tuffy’s actual name is Wave; Tuffy is just his stage name. Wave belongs to a local family that has an agreement with NC State to let the dog appear at home football games.
