Wilbur and Wilma Wildcat are probably the most iconic “married couple” on the UA campus.
“People often think we are an old, married couple,” said Christina Tellez, who has worn the Wilma uniform for the last three years. “We spend so much time together, travel together and have gone through many issues and problems.”
But Tellez sees her Wilbur Elijah Leyba as her “second brother.”
“We get along so well, we are like puzzle pieces,” Leyba said. “Christina’s brother is also on the cheer team, so they are like family to me.”
Many associate the college mascot life with being the center of game day photos, infinite hugs from fans young and old and a free ticket to football and basketball games.
While this is also part of the package, the UofA mascot life is not for the faint-hearted: apart from maintaining good grades and physical fitness, the right candidate has to be able to keep their identity a secret potentially for years.
They can’t even tell their roommates.
“I came up with the story that I was the manager of the cheer team, that’s why I was always around them,” Tellez said.
They also have to endure the often 90-plus desert heat while wearing a furry costume and being crowd-surfed at Arizona Stadium.
Sometimes the crowd drops them.
But that hasn’t discouraged people from applying for the job.
“Not only the part, but the selection process is top secret,” said Tellez. “Applicants don’t know who the other contenders are. In the try out game, they each have to perform on the court with the costume on for seven minutes, so we have to figure out a way for them not to run into each other.
Leyba, a 20-year-old nursing major, is a huge superhero fan, which could explain why he was fascinated by the idea of a secret identity.
“One of my happiest memories in my life is getting the job of being Wilbur,” said Leyba, who is leaving after two years in the costume. “Creating memories for other people is very special to me.”
In addition to sporting events, Tellez and Leyba had to wear the Wildcat costumes to hospital visits and the recent presidential installation when the thermometer hit 97 degrees.
“People ask how we keep cool in our suits; we don’t,” Tellez said. “I’m a Type 1 diabetic, so my blood sugar jumps when I’m stressed or sweating. I had to learn how to take strategic breaks during games to keep cool and hydrate.”
Game days meant a 12-hour work shift for Tellez and Leyba, where they often put themselves in physical danger to entertain the crowds.
“Crowd surfing usually goes pretty well for Wilma, because people say, ‘She’s so cute, make sure we don’t drop her’,” Tellez said. “But on family weekend, they dropped me on the bleachers. I thought I broke my leg and I had to leave the stadium. Still to this day I have a bruise going across my leg.”
Apart from the scars, sweat and secrets, Tellez and Leyba both look back to their time as mascots as one of the best times of their lives.
“Realizing what we do for the community is very rewarding,” Leyba said. “Seeing lifelong fans and their kids having the opportunity to take pictures with us is special.”
“It’s just never the same,” added Tellez, who also made her own themed Wilma costumes. “My full circle moment as Wilma was when I had an appearance at Banner’s Children’s Clinic, and I met my former doctors for my diabetes.”
Tellez and Leyba finished their final season together and unveiled their true identities after the final men’s basketball game at McKale on March 4. Leyba will continue his nursing studies and Tellez will start her master’s program in nutrition and dietetics.
Arizona Sonoran News is the student news service of the University of Arizona School of Journalism.
