Lil' Red

Lil' Red
Lil' Red
University	Nebraska
Conference	Big Ten
Description	Inflatable mascot
Origin of name	Contest
First seen	1994
Related mascot(s)	Herbie Husker
Hall of Fame	2007

Lil' Red is one of two official mascots of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln's athletic programs. Though Lil' Red's initial intent was to represent the school's volleyball team, he can now be seen on the Memorial Stadium sideline at Nebraska football games, as well as Pinnacle Bank Arena during Nebraska basketball games.

History

Lil' Red was created in 1993 after a statewide contest was conducted to find a counterpart for Herbie Husker. Then-associate athletic director Barbara Hibner spearheaded the contest, hoping a second mascot would appeal to Nebraska's young fans. The mascot has since become a part of Nebraska athletics culture.^[3]

The mascot is manufactured by Omaha-based Signs & Shapes International, Inc. The operator of the costume wears a "PowerBelt," a belt with an attached air circulation system, which brings in over 100 cubic feet (2.8 m³) of outside air per minute, enough to accommodate roughly 1,000 people. Due to the outfit's incredibly light weight, the larger-than-life mascot can run, dance, shake hands, and crowd surf.

Lil' Red won the national championship at the NCAA National Mascot Competition in 1999, and was inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame in 2007, which selected its winners through an online vote.^[4]

References

^ Jablonski, Sidney (2003). "Legends of the mighty Husker mascots". Omaha World-Herald. Archived from the original on 2003-12-22. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
^ "Lil' Red". Hall of Famers. Mascot Hall of Fame. 2007. Archived from the original on 2009-01-31. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
^ "Barbara Hibner". Huskers.com.
^ "Nebraska Mascots". huskers.com. Retrieved 23 April 2018.

[1] Jablonski, Sidney (2003). "Legends of the mighty Husker mascots". Omaha World-Herald. Archived from the original on 2003-12-22. Retrieved 2008-05-02.

[2] "Lil' Red". Hall of Famers. Mascot Hall of Fame. 2007. Archived from the original on 2009-01-31. Retrieved 2008-05-02.

[3] "Barbara Hibner". Huskers.com.

[4] "Nebraska Mascots". huskers.com. Retrieved 23 April 2018.

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v t e Nebraska Cornhuskers football
Venues	Lincoln Park (1891–1893) Antelope Field (1894–1908) Nebraska Field (1909–1922) Memorial Stadium (1923–present)
Bowls and rivalries	Bowl games Colorado (Buffalo Head) Iowa (Heroes Trophy) Kansas Kansas State Miami (FL) Minnesota ($5 Bits of Broken Chair) Missouri (Victory Bell) Oklahoma Wisconsin (Freedom Trophy)
Culture and lore	History Herbie Husker Lil' Red "Dear Old Nebraska U" "Hail Varsity" Cornhusker Marching Band Blackshirts Origin of "Cornhuskers" nickname 1939 Kansas State game Game of the Century (1971 Oklahoma game) Fumblerooski 1982 Penn State game Flea Kicker Black 41 Flash Reverse Pass 2009 Big 12 Championship Game Yes Man
People	Head coaches All-Americans Athletic directors College Football Hall of Famers NFL draftees Pro Football Hall of Famers Statistical leaders
Seasons	1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

v t e Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball
Venues	Grant Memorial Hall (1896–1926, 1924–1926) State Fairgrounds Coliseum (1921–1923) Nebraska Coliseum (1926–1976) Bob Devaney Sports Center (1976–2013) Pinnacle Bank Arena (2013–present)
Rivalries	Creighton
Culture & lore	Herbie Husker Lil' Red "Dear Old Nebraska U" "Hail Varsity"
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25

History

See also

References