\u201cIt’s pretty cool to think about how I used to get autographs from Furman players, and now kids and fans of the show often want autographs from me,\u201d Cothran said. \u201cI don’t let it go to my head, but I do enjoy trying to be a good example and role model when I can.\u201d<\/p>\n
The \u201cBootie Bandwagon\u201d was on display June 13 when NBC affiliates broadcast the show’s Miami City Qualifier episode, and the fans were treated to the site of the 49-year-old Cothran “beating the wall” and completing a course for the first time since first appearing in Season 5.<\/p>\n
Watch Bootie Cothran beat and wall and hit the buzzer for the first time<\/a><\/h3>\nNow in its 10th season,\u00a0\u201cAmerican Ninja Warrior\u201d<\/a> follows competitors as they navigate a series of obstacles for an ultimate prize of $1 million. Cothran has become one of the show’s most popular contestants, with spectators chanting<\/a>\u201cBootie! Bootie! Bootie!\u201d as he swings, pulls and balances his way toward the finish line.<\/p>\n\u201cI stumbled across \u2018Ninja Warrior\u2019 on TV right after Season 4, and I was just amazed at what I was seeing, because it was the sport that I never had growing up,\u201d Cothran, who is 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighs 110 pounds \u201csoaking wet,\u201d said. \u201cI\u2019ve always been fairly athletic, but I never played high school-level or college-level sports and I somewhat regretted that \u2026 When I was a kid I loved the monkey bars on the playground. I loved climbing trees in the woods growing up. To see all those same elements applied in one kind of sport and show, it was just an ideal and perfect fit for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Furman](\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\")
Longtime Furman fan Bootie Cothran works out in the Speed, Strength & Conditioning Center inside Furman’s\u00a0Timmons Arena as part of his “American Ninja Warrior” training.<\/p><\/div>\n
Bootie Cothran has long been an iconic figure at Furman athletic events. His father, trustee emeritus John Cothran \u201954, is an influential past chair of Furman\u2019s Board of Trustees and president of the Paladin Club, and the younger Cothran estimates he\u2019s been to \u201chundreds\u201d of games in his life.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you attend a Furman athletic contest, there is a better than 50 percent chance you will see a Cothran there, cheering for the Paladins,\u201d Furman athletic director Mike Buddie said. \u201cBootie and the entire Cothran family have been long time passionate fans of Furman athletics.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI grew up going to football games over at Sirrine Stadium. That\u2019s how far back it goes,\u201d Cothran said. \u201cI\u2019ve been out to see the national championship game in Tacoma, Washington, our first venture out there in \u201985. I\u2019ve seen us beat Georgia Tech and N.C. State and South Carolina and UNC on the football field \u2026 I love pulling for the Paladins.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are no age or sex divisions in \u201cAmerican Ninja Warrior.\u201d Cothran was one of only 11 competitors to complete the course, and with his ninth-place finish he advances to the the Miami City Finals episode, which airs in August.<\/p>\n
When not supporting himself with his upper body, Cothran works as the media and technology coordinator at First Baptist Church in Greenville and is planning to open a gym in Greenville specializing in \u201cAmerican Ninja Warrior\u201d-type training. And, no, his name isn\u2019t actually Bootie.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy real name is Scott, and as best as we can recall (Bootie) is nickname that just evolved over time,\u201d he said. \u201cBootie has pretty much been the name I\u2019ve gone by around the house as long as I can remember.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI stumbled across \u2018Ninja Warrior\u2019 on TV right after Season 4, and I was just amazed at what I was seeing, because it was the sport that I never had growing up,\u201d Cothran, who is 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighs 110 pounds \u201csoaking wet,\u201d said. \u201cI\u2019ve always been fairly athletic, but I never played high school-level or college-level sports and I somewhat regretted that \u2026 When I was a kid I loved the monkey bars on the playground. I loved climbing trees in the woods growing up. To see all those same elements applied in one kind of sport and show, it was just an ideal and perfect fit for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Furman](\"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/218\/2022\/08\/Bootie-Furman-Weight-Room-scaled.jpg\")
Longtime Furman fan Bootie Cothran works out in the Speed, Strength & Conditioning Center inside Furman’s\u00a0Timmons Arena as part of his “American Ninja Warrior” training.<\/p><\/div>\n
Bootie Cothran has long been an iconic figure at Furman athletic events. His father, trustee emeritus John Cothran \u201954, is an influential past chair of Furman\u2019s Board of Trustees and president of the Paladin Club, and the younger Cothran estimates he\u2019s been to \u201chundreds\u201d of games in his life.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you attend a Furman athletic contest, there is a better than 50 percent chance you will see a Cothran there, cheering for the Paladins,\u201d Furman athletic director Mike Buddie said. \u201cBootie and the entire Cothran family have been long time passionate fans of Furman athletics.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI grew up going to football games over at Sirrine Stadium. That\u2019s how far back it goes,\u201d Cothran said. \u201cI\u2019ve been out to see the national championship game in Tacoma, Washington, our first venture out there in \u201985. I\u2019ve seen us beat Georgia Tech and N.C. State and South Carolina and UNC on the football field \u2026 I love pulling for the Paladins.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are no age or sex divisions in \u201cAmerican Ninja Warrior.\u201d Cothran was one of only 11 competitors to complete the course, and with his ninth-place finish he advances to the the Miami City Finals episode, which airs in August.<\/p>\n
When not supporting himself with his upper body, Cothran works as the media and technology coordinator at First Baptist Church in Greenville and is planning to open a gym in Greenville specializing in \u201cAmerican Ninja Warrior\u201d-type training. And, no, his name isn\u2019t actually Bootie.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy real name is Scott, and as best as we can recall (Bootie) is nickname that just evolved over time,\u201d he said. \u201cBootie has pretty much been the name I\u2019ve gone by around the house as long as I can remember.\u201d<\/p>\n