In preparation for Saturday’s football game against the Limestone College Saints, ETSU hosted a pep rally and paint party open to all students at Lucille Clement Hall.

Excluding the band, the football team and the cheerleaders, around 300 students attended. Booming fight songs and elaborate cheers were just the beginning of the exciting night that was to come.

ETSU President Brian Noland performs at the pep rally. (Photograph by Cole Woo / East Tennessean)

Shortly after all of the traditional pep rally festivities ended, Chris Dula with the accompaniment of his band, performed a variety of songs. At one point in the show, President Brian Noland even tried his hand at the guitar in assistance of Dula’s band. Students responded positively to seeing the president of the university getting involved.

“It was really cool to see President Noland slamming on the guitar in his ETSU pants,” a student in the crowd said. “I am really excited to go to the football game tomorrow.”

After Dula’s show ended, hundreds of students received white shirts from the football players. After donning their new apparel the students rushed the stage in the hopes of being doused in paint. These hopes were soon fulfilled as the paint party began.

An associate DJ from PBJ Lights and Sound took the stage now lit with fluorescent strobing lights of many colors and began to play high-energy music. The students’ natural response was lots of dancing, jumping and overall rowdiness. Around five minutes into the DJ’s set, a few select students began to coat the dancing students with yellow and blue colored paint.

Students participate in the Paint Party. (Photograph by Cole Woo / East Tennessean)

The ETSU football team did exactly what they promised at the pep rally the following day, beating Limestone College 31-10. Although there may not be a direct correlation between the pep rally and the victory on Saturday, hopefully, it was one of many ways that students at ETSU will become more involved throughout the school year. Indeed, many students, such as Sael Diaz responded very positively to this new level of student involvement.

“I had a lot more fun tonight than I expected,” said Diaz. “I will definitely come to more school functions.”

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