Today is the first football game of the season for the Colonels, and organizations all over campus say they are preparing for an exciting game experience and a thrilling season. Plenty of activities are planned before and after the game. “This is not just a game; this is an event,” new head football coach Jay Thomas said.

The Student Programming Association is planning to start the day off early with a football toss in the Quad from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Bag-O-Donuts, a local band, will perform from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the pre-game tailgating area in the Barker Building parking lot. Those in attendance can also participate in Jell-O wrestling and a tug-of-war. Cheerleaders will be in the tailgating area to hang out, visit and take pictures with students and fans.

“We want all the students to come out and enjoy the pre-game activities, but we also want them to stay for the game,” Amy Borne, SPA president, said.

The SPA will also be planning bus trips to away games during the season.

Tailgating will end about an hour before kickoff, and the SPA is encouraging students to head into the stadium 15 minutes before kickoff so everyone can enjoy the entire game.

The Colonel cheerleaders’ 15-member squad will put on a pep rally today in the Quad or in front of the Student Union. “Hopefully we can get more students excited to come to the game,” Jenny Matherne, a cheerleading team captain, said. “If we have support from students and family and friends, then we can have a really good season. It’s all about teamwork.”

This year will be an important one for the cheerleaders, they said, because they are planning to cheer at all conference away games and have just purchased new uniforms. “We are definitely excited,” Matherne said. “We were sad to hear what happened to the football team, but we are cheerleaders, and we have to keep up the spirit no matter what.”

Tillou, the Nicholls mascot will not be at any game this semester because he was retired last year in a controversial decision. “We are still keeping our same cheers and sidelines,” Matherne said. “We just can’t have a physical Colonel on the sidelines.”

As usual, the cheerleaders will be throwing T-shirts into the stands after every Colonel touchdown.

The football team is looking to improve on its 5-6 record from last season in which it finished third in the Southland Conference. The Colonels are starting off this season with a fifth-place conference ranking. “The kids are really looking forward to getting out and hitting someone else besides themselves,” Thomas said. “I can see the excitement in their eyes.”

Despite the academic fraud incident this summer, the team is still optimistic. “Bottom line, we still have a good football team. We still have a lot of great players,” Thomas said. “These guys have been out there working their tails off for the last three weeks.”

Thomas emphasized the need for students to fill the stands tonight. “We need the 12th man. We need the students behind the opponents bench cheering for us.”

Also the band is the biggest it has been since director Eric Gueniot took over eight years ago. Their halftime show for the first game will have a patriotic theme.

“Hopefully, fans will pick up on our enthusiasm,” assistant band director Cristina Mendoza said.