Spirit, the contemporary version of one time live Bobcats, is today Montana State University's (MSU), official mascot. Waaaaaay back when, when MSU was established in the nineteenth century, live mascots were less often frowned upon, resulting in the university's having more than one live Bobcat as a mascot. More recently, however, they have had to make do with a bronze replica of the real thing. Thus we have "Spirit", the bronze Bobcat which has stood in the centre of Alumni Plaza since 2009.
In the centre of Alumni plaza,
Spirit, standing menacingly atop a round concrete plinth made to look like natural stone, is the work of master sculptor and MSU alumnus R. L.
Bob Slayton. Spirit's name is intended to evoke the rambunctious, Wild West
Spirit of MSU and its students and faculty.
Montana State University (MSU) was founded in 1893 as the Agricultural College of the State of Montana. Initially housed in a high school and expanded to a vacant store on Main Street, it saw the opening of the first buildings on campus in 1898. These were the Main Building, now Montana Hall, and the Agricultural Experiment Station, now known as Taylor Hall. Both were constructed beginning in 1896. Expanding rapidly, many more buildings and facilities have been added, with expansions and additions continuing to this day. in 1913 MSU was officially renamed the
Montana College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts and by the 1920s, the school came to be commonly referred to as
Montana State College.
MSU today occupies an 1,170 acre campus serving nearly 17,000 students, with an Academic staff of over 1,300 and an Administrative staff of over 2,000. The largest research enterprise in the state, MSU offers over 250 Undergraduate programs and more than 115 Graduate programs.
“Spirit,” 2009
“Spirit,” a bronze sculpture of MSU’s bobcat mascot installed at the center of Alumni Plaza in 2009 is of particular note, because of its visual impact on the northern approach to Montana Hall.
Artist and alumnus R. L. Bob Slayton created “Spirit,” a large cast bronze statue depicting MSU’s bobcat mascot. It stands as the central feature of the round Alumni Plaza, which sits approximately 400’ north of Montana Hall along the northern half of campus’s north/south axis. The bobcat faces northeast and stands upon a pile of granite slabs. The statue provides visual interest along the northern approach to Montana Hall and effectively “brands” campus.
From the NRHP Registration Form, Section 7 page 22