Who is Gompei?

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In 1891, the sophomore class gifted a black goat to WPI. A Japanese student, Gompei Kuwada, was elected to take care of the goat because his initials, G. K., also stood for Goat Keeper. Overtime, the animal became very difficult to maintain, and the goat was eventually beheaded and its head was mounted. The actual Goat's Head, also known as Gompei's Head, was eventually replaced with a bronze replica for preservation.

Starting with the Class of 1928, a competition between the freshman and sophomore classes was organized. The classes could earn points through events, such as sports and the tech carnival, and the Goat's Head was present to the class with the most points. Once a year, the winning class was obliged to show the head publicly to allow the other class to steal it back. Some of the notable "showings" include hanging the head from a helicopter during a football game and dropping the head from a bridge into a moving convertible. The competition was canceled for some time because of its violent nature; however, it has resumed recently with a new set of rules.

In 1998, FIRST decided that team names and numbers would carry over from year to year. It was at this time Team 190 decided to include "Gompei" in its name.