Kansas State University athletic teams were originally known as the Aggies. The term Wildcats was first adopted for them in 1915, when football coach "Jawn" Bender called his players wildcats after they fought Missouri to a 0 - 0 tie. Willie the Wildcat, introduced in the early 1960's, is the oldest active logo. The Powercat logo arrived in 1989 and was first used by the football team. Today it is the most popular mark in sales in the history of K-State.