Blog

Mike Wade, a former two-time Academic All-American at Western Carolina University, will tell you that football is the greatest metaphor for life: to survive you have to get back up every time you get knocked down — and you will get knocked down, he insists, many, many times.

In this edition of Cat Chats, we talk with Curtis Roach and Clyde Simmons. Clyde played for the Catamounts in the 1983 National Championship game and was drafted in the ninth round by the Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL.

Building connections with current and former Catamount student-athletes is key to the success of our athletics programs.

Announced in conjunction with Western Carolina’s football home opener back on Labor Day weekend, the Catamount Club, the Athletics department fundraising arm, is celebrating a milestone this year with its 50th year of operation. Fifty years of supporting student-athletes; fifty years of celebrating successes both on and off the field. Fifty years of connecting and engaging with alumni and community friends; fifty years of investing in the unlimited potential of student-athletes to inspire the WCU campus community.

In this edition of Cat Chats, current football student-athlete Mike Murphy talks with former player Dan Brooks '76. Dan went on to coach at Tennessee and Clemson. He is also a member of the Catamount Club Board of Directors.

During her four years on the soccer field at Western Carolina University, Endye Frazier showed the kind of growth coaches love to see. Off the field, her work with the Special Olympics displayed the type of compassion everyone should seek to have.

As the son of two athletes, a lifetime career in athletics could have seemed defined for Onno Steger. His mother was an ice skater and his father played collegiate basketball. But, his parents never forced him to become an athlete. He found his own way into sports.

Current Catamount Student-Athlete Onno Steger chats with former Student-Athlete Jake Robinson about how former WCU student-athletes who are now making an impact in the professional world and giving back to their alma mater.

In June 2025, the House v. NCAA Settlement reshaped college athletics by allowing Division I schools to provide more financial support to student-athletes, including backpay for past NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) opportunities and a new revenue-sharing model.

A long-awaited $37 million upgrade to renovate the west side stands of Western Carolina University’s aging E.J. Whitmire Stadium is now underway with an official groundbreaking ceremony held Thursday, June 12, in the shadows of the construction zone.