The University’s annual Falcon Family Weekend leaves students and their families happy as the University’s football team welcomes their first big win of the season Saturday afternoon.
In this head-to-head game against Eastern Kentucky, the Falcons came out on top with a final score of 42 to 35. Sophomore running back for the Falcons, Bryson Denley, had family come all the way from San Antonio,Texas to see him play. Denley expresses how having the extra support from these families, as well as his own, impacted his performance. “Having this support affected me in a positive way, I mean, just knowing that you have family coming to support you and support the things that you do just makes you want to go harder and want to see them happy with your performance” says Denley.
The game wasn’t the only highlight of the day — the halftime show performance had families on their feet as well. Bands from all over the state came out to participate in the annual Band Day Fest. Over 1,000 musicians came to perform several family-friendly theme songs from popular cartoons, such as Spongebob Squarepants and The Incredibles. To end their performance, the bands all came together to perform the University’s unofficial fight song “Ay Ziggy Zoomba!” This had the Falcon fans pumped and ready for the second half of the game.
Visiting families were not the only ones showing Falcon pride as local University students were volunteering to help run this event. Scholars of the President’s Leadership Academy were helping run concessions throughout the game in hopes to raise money for their annual leadership retreat, says PLA scholar Jeremey Hill. There were also several other stands being run by fellow University students, such as University apparel and ticket booth sales.
Overall, the game left several students and visiting families cheerful as their weekend was coming to an end. Although it was not the only event, the University football game is always a great part of Falcon Family Weekend.
