Colleges go crazy for big athletic wins

UNC is not alone in its passion for collegiate sports. Campuses across the country find their own ways to rejoice or agonize over big sports events.

Most of these traditions come from combining thousands of frenzied fans, big sports games and a little alcohol consumption. The results often get out of hand, ranging from police using tear gas for suppressing enthused mobs to students destroying university property.

Michigan State University
Location: East Lansing, Mich.
Tradition: Riots
Sport: Men’s Basketball


Win or lose, thousands of students congregate at an apartment complex off campus, known as Cedar Village.

After men’s basketball losses, the crowd becomes violent when students throw bottles and taunt city and university police at the scene, said Ginny Haas, the school’s director of community relations.

“Essentially the riots are a combination of a lot of alcohol, some arrests and police using tear gas,” she said. “We had some very serious issues in the late 1990s and some problems in 2003 and 2005.”

The school has a celebrations committee made up of students, university officials, police and town representatives to campaign for safer crowds.

Texas A&M
Location: College Station, Texas
Tradition: Bonfires, “Yell leaders”
Sport: Football


A&M has no cheerleaders and holds no pep rallies — instead it has “yell leaders” and “yell practice,” said Lane Stephenson, the director of news and information services at Texas A&M.

The midnight “yell practices,” sponsored by the university, happen before football games against rival University of Texas-Austin and can attract as many as 30,000 fans, Stephenson said.

“It’s a big doing, but police are on hand. With that many people, something’s bound to happen, so they keep it under control,” he said.

A&M used to be known for their university-sanctioned “Aggie Bonfire” — a massive bonfire held the night before the annual game against UT-Austin.

The bonfires were stopped in 1999 when the bonfire structure collapsed and about a dozen were killed, Stephenson said.


Appalachian State
Location: Boone, N.C.
Tradition: Taking down goalposts
Sport: Football

In 2007, ASU’s football team upset No. 5 ranked Michigan at the Big House, Michigan’s stadium. Students back at ASU responded by rushing the empty football stadium and tearing down the goalposts.

“The campus went nuts. We carried the goalpost all the way to the chancellor’s house,” said Andrew Edmonds, a junior political science major at the school.

“It was just a wild experience. People just flooded the streets and went into a frenzy. A girl I was with rode goalposts the whole way,” he said.

The students repeated the antic when the team won in the playoffs the next year. They also tore down the goalposts again after President Barack Obama won the 2008 election.

“Even though it’s hazardous, it’s an atmosphere you don’t get anywhere else,” Edmonds said.



Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.