Players Mentioned
“Day Six” Kicks Off Fall Semester
8/24/2015 10:02:00 PM | Football
Pep rally teaches the traditions of Georgia Southern
PHOTO GALLERY
STATESBORO, Ga. - Georgia Southern held its annual welcome back pep rally Monday night by teaching traditions to the newest members of Eagle Nation during the fifth annual DAY ONE celebration at Paulson Stadium. DAY ONE, playfully renamed DAY SIX after it was rained out last Monday, is designed as a pep rally to kick off the new academic year.
Dr. David Dudley got things kicked off with his eloquent poem about the great university, finishing with "We are Georgia Southern and this is the Eagle Nation!"
Students were greeted by "Voice of the Eagles" Chris Blair and heard from speakers including interim president Dr. Jean Bartels, athletic director Tom Kleinlein, football student-athletes Antwione Williams, Matt Breida and Matt Dobson and head football coach Willie Fritz.
Dr. Bartels shared her excitement for the upcoming season, saying that as the first woman president of Georgia Southern, she also wanted to be at the team's first bowl game. The Eagles are bowl eligible for the first time in program history as their transition period to the FBS is over.
Williams along with the Southern Pride Marching Band and the cheerleaders helped teach students the cheers and traditions of GSU, while Fritz shared his excitement for his first season at the helm of the storied program. Kleinlein helped cap off the event by sharing the many definitions of GATA. Even Freedom made an appearance, majestically soaring down from the top of the press box to the field, much to the delight of the Class of 2019.
Student Government President Charles Glover gave an impassioned speech imploring GS students to not only support the football team, but every team, asking them to "show up with their bellies painted blue."
The Eagles are less than two weeks away from their season opener on Sept. 5 at West Virginia. The home opener will follow a week later on Sept. 12 against Western Michigan. Season tickets are on sale, and single-game tickets went on sale Monday, as well. Fans can purchase tickets to Georgia Southern Athletics events by calling 1-800-GSU-WINS or by visiting GSEagles.com.
Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA.
