Traditions Thursday: Hilltopper Namesake

In the 1926-27 basketball season, WKU lost to Vanderbilt 20-40. Legendary coach E.A. Diddle offered the team brand new uniforms if they could defeat Vanderbilt in a rematch. WKU got its revenge on the hardwood with a 26-25 victory. The following season featured jerseys which exhibited the Hilltopper namesake. The Hilltopper name is derived from the massive 232-foot hill which the campus sits upon.

The name stuck and all six male sports adorn the name Hilltopper, while the eight women's sports use the name Lady Toppers.

While Western Kentucky University was founded in 1906, it has not always called the current campus home. Southern Normal School was the location of the original campus of WKU. When the Pleasant J. Potter College closed its doors, WKU came in and bought the property. The Pleasant J. Potter College had a rich history in the city of Bowling Green.

The school dates back to 1889, with the purchase of four acres known as Vinegar Hill. This would become the school's campus. During construction of facilities, the school's funding was running low and they were in danger of shutting its doors before they even opened. Banker Pleasant J. Potter donated $5,000 to make sure the school could be completed. To thank him for his generous donation, they named the school after him. This all-girls school would eventually close in 1909.

WKU bought the property and the buildings, along with the surrounding 160 acres later that same year. After two years of arrangement, WKU moved to its newly acquired land in 1911, which would later be known as "The Hill." The move was completed after students marched pieces of equipment from Southern Normal School to the new campus.

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