I had a friend who went to WKU, and apparently his name is "Big Red." Either way, I think he's one of the strangest mascots I've ever seen.
By the way, I'd recommend the UT players be careful. WKU came to BGSU in Bowling Green, OH to play us two years ago for a Battle of the Bowling Greens (which we won handily, forcing the mayor of Bowling Green, KY to fly a BGSU flag over their city hall for a week). During said game, their players earned a reputation for taking cheap shots at our players' knees with their helmets.
WKU student here. At Western, most of the classes are situated on "the Hill" while the dorms are down at the bottom of the hill. Thus, the students haveto cliimb the hill every day to class, spawning the name "Hilltoppers".
Big Red is just a big red blob. Not much else to it.