Bill the Goat, the GOAT of College Football

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by Matt Waldman

These days, it’s synonymous to nickname players who come up successful in pivotal situations “the goat,” which is an acronym that means “greatest of all time.” This term becomes ironic when you realize that Bill the Goat of the Naval Academy ranks up there as one of the “goats” of college football. The goat is one of the best in all of college football not just for its uniqueness, but because of the history and stories behind it.

Goats and the USN have always gone hand in hand. They originally made their way onto ships in order to provide fresh dairy, meat and leather. They required less maintenance than cows, and, like a true sailor, they could swim. Later on, goats became less of a necessary commodity, and more of a pet among the seamen. Given the history of how goats came to be with the Navy, it should be no surprise that this ultimately led to the adoption as the mascot for the academy.

One origin story involves officers who brought the skin of a beloved pet goat off of their ship to bring to a taxidermist. They made a pit stop at the academy during a football game, and one of them thought it would be hilarious to wear the skin and run around the field at halftime. The Naval Academy won the game, and the goat was praised. “El Cid” was the first live mascot to make an appearance in 1883, in a game against rival Army. West Point went home defeated, and “El Cid” went home a hero. Another victory over Army at the start of the 20th century officially gave us “Bill”, who spent the whole return train ride from Philadelphia celebrating with the Midshipmen.

Image from United States Naval Academy

Ever since then, there has almost always been a Bill roaming around the Navy football sidelines, donned in a blue blanket and having his horns wrapped in the prestigious blue and gold. And, just like any other member of the Naval Academy football program, he is almost solely judged on his record against the Cadets from West Point.

Given the importance of the Army-Navy game to both the game of football and to the country, it is no surprise that Bill and the Mids have had their fair share of hijinks with their rivals in New York. The “goat” at the USMA is the cadet who ranks the lowest in their respective class. According to the USNI website, cadets waited at attention at the 1971 game as a presidential limo with full security detail arrived. To their surprise, a goat, not the president, jumped out of the back seat. Multiple Bills have been kidnapped by cadets, and, even though a truce was reached in the 90s, Bill still has a special security detail, and his location on non game days remains unknown to everyone except his protectorates.

In all, there have been 37 Bill the Goats to date, not including the goats that came before the 20th century. With over 130 years of history and shenanigans, you’re hard pressed to find a more “goat-worthy” mascot than Bill the Goat and the U.S. Naval Academy.

Oh yeah, Beat Army!

Matt Waldman is a Wofford alum who works for the Fightin’ Blue Hens (another fantastic mascot) in Delaware.