UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

Wally Pilot

Wally Pilot at 75

Happy Birthday to Wally Pilot! For 75 years Wally Pilot has exemplified the spirit of University of Portland at athletic and campus events. From appearing on textbook covers, student manuals, spirit buttons to t-shirts, actual mascot costumes, and Wally Pilot figures, this most recognized figure on The Bluff was recently feted with a Wally Pilot memorabilia display from the University Museum at First-Year and Sophomore family weekend. For photos and links to our Wally story, visit our post.

For more information contact Carolyn Connolly, Museum Coordinator, museum@up.edu, 8038. 

Pilots Basketball, Mascot Night, Coaches vs. Cancer

wallyThe ever popular Mascot Night, Wally Pilot’s favorite event, is coming to the Chile Center on Saturday, January 28 as Wally and his best friends plan to take over the Chiles Center and hang out with the Pilots. We hope you make plans to bring out the family for a night of basketball as the Pilot men take on San Diego with a 7 p.m. tip-off.

Additionally the night will also be the annual Coaches vs. Cancer game presented by the American Cancer Society, featuring a post-game free-throw drive to raise funds for cancer research. All fans in attendance will be invited to come down to the court and shoot free-throws with a small donation to the American Cancer Society and UP Relay for Life.

For more information contact athletics at x7117 or go to portlandpilots.com.

 

Presidential Campaigns at UP

ronnieThe presidential elections series on the University Museum and Archives blog features past presidential candidates who have campaigned on the Bluff. The last two  entries in the six-part series are President Ronald Reagan and his re-election campaign in 1984 (pictured), featuring a stop in the brand-new Chiles Center, and Texas governor George W. Bush and his Chiles Center campaign stop in the 2000 election.

For previous entries to the series and other history posts, visit the Museum and Archives blog at: https://sites.up.edu/museum.

For more information, contact Carolyn Connolly, museum coordinator, at piatz@up.edu or x8038.

All You Ever Wanted To Know About Wally Pilot

wallyAs another academic year draws to a close, it seems as though a lighter post about the University’s longtime mascot would be in order. See a brief history of SPU (“Spirit of Portland U.”) and/or Wally Pilot, and a slideshow showing Wally’s development over the years on the Museum WordPress site at https://wordpress.up.edu/museum/851/. For more information contact Carolyn Connolly, museum coordinator, at 8038 or piatz@up.edu.

Happy 65th Birthday, Wally Pilot

UP Mascot Wally PilotThe University’s Wally Pilot was created in 1948 when Nolan Drurey ’49 won a Beacon design contest for a new UP mascot. Ever since, Wally has been a part of life on the Bluff at sporting and social events. To celebrate Wally’s milestone 65th year, the University museum has created a “Happy Birthday, Wally Pilot” display in the case near the computer stations in the Pilot House. Stop by and view photos of the many faces of Wally Pilot through the years. The Wally Pilot costume head from the 1980s era is on display in the University museum in the basement of Shipstad Hall, room 014, Monday and Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Wednesday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and also by appointment. Contact Carolyn Connolly, museum coordinator, at 8038 or piatz@up.edu for more information.