Wildcat sculpture, Main St., University of New Hampshire

Created by Matthew Gray Palmer, of Friday Harbor, Washington, the Wildcat sculpture is a bronze statue located on the street side of Memorial Field on Main Street in Durham. It was unveiled during the 2006 Homecoming Weekend. The sculpture represents the University of New Hampshire mascot, the wildcat, which has been the symbol of the university since 1926.

The Wildcat sculpture is a bronze statue located on the street side of Memorial Field. It was unveiled during the 2006 Homecoming Weekend.

For several weeks in early 1926, lively debates were conducted through The New Hampshire, the student newspaper, on the merits of the contenders for the official UNH mascot. Entrants included the Durham Bulls (a named already used by the local press for the varsity hockey team), huskies, eagles, and even a unicorn.

When the votes were tallied on February 4, the majority of students believed that the speed, litheness, cunning, and resourcefulness of the wildcat were attributes found in UNH athletic teams. In practical New Hampshire, some may have been persuaded that a wildcat could be "more easily transported from place to place than a bull."

Once the Wildcat was chosen as the mascot for UNH, its likeness began to appear on athletic uniforms, posters and publications. The face of a snarling wildcat appeared first on the warm-up jacket of the 1929 baseball team. In 1939, the varsity hockey team added the cat logo to their team jersey.

It is the first piece of commissioned artwork on the UNH campus. The $160,000 project was funded entirely with private gifts, including support from the Edward '42H and Selma '42 Bacon Simon Fund, many alumni donors, the Alumni Association, and the UNH Parents Association.

^[1] UNH Mascots: History of UNH Mascot: Wildcat sculpture. University of New Hampshire. https://library.unh.edu/exhibits/mascots. Accessed 3 April 2023.