This year’s Ram Roast wasn’t like the traditional pep rally that occurs on N.C. State’s campus each year prior to the UNC-Chapel Hill football game.
Ram Roast is usually the Thursday before the Carolina game and starts with a pep rally where the band, cheerleaders and dance team perform for students. Typically, the football team’s senior captains and head coach then energize the crowd for the upcoming game, according to Sutton Porter, student ambassador and traditions director for the Alumni Association.
This year, due to a prescheduled pep rally on Friday night prior to the Homecoming concert, Ram Roast had a variety of different activities including a disc jockey, a N.C. State Craziest Fan competition, free pizza from Marco’s and a spirit competition.
The event was held at Wolf Plaza Wednesday evening prior to the men’s preseason basketball game in Reynolds Coliseum, and more than 1,000 students attended the rally.
“Ram Roast was very different because the Carolina game is also Homecoming this year,” Porter said. “With the PackHowl concert on Friday and Halloween Thursday, we were forced move Ram Roast to Wednesday.”
In addition to the new activities, students participated in the Ram Roast tradition of painting the free expression tunnel red and white.
According to Porter, Ram Roast became an N.C. State tradition after Carolina fans painted the free expression tunnel blue several years ago.
“We started Ram Roast to protect the tunnel so it would never get painted blue again,” Porter said.
As a part of the homecoming spirit competition, competing organizations painted murals on the tunnel to be judged by Student Government.
“I couldn’t wait to express my love for the Pack,” said Mary Tedder, a sophomore in communication. Tedder, along with her sorority sisters from Alpha Delta Pi, painted a wolf mural on the tunnel.
While students painted the tunnel, organizations competed in a Craziest Fan dance-off, judged by the volume of applause from watching students. Graham Freels, a sophomore in aerospace engineering who represented N.C. State CRU, danced to the cheering of fans and won the competition.
“I’ve never competed as Craziest Fan before,” Freels said. “This is a great way to represent my love for the Wolfpack. I can’t wait to see us beat Carolina this weekend.”
The Alumni Association Student Ambassadors Program, which is in charge of all Homecoming events this year, passed out “Beat UNC”T-shirts to student members of the club who stood in a line that extended from Wolf Plaza to Bowen Residence Hall.
“We’re so excited to host one of the best N.C. State traditions,” Porter said.
Students followed the event with a preseason basketball game at 7 p.m. against UNC-Pembroke in Reynolds Coliseum.
