As the basketball season approaches, some students are catching “Rattler Madness,” otherwise known as school spirit. To ecourage this school spirt the University Programming Council hosted a fun-filled Rattler Madness pep rally in the Alumni Athletics & Convocation Center on Nov. 11.

In hopes to fill seats for this spiritful event, UPC promised free t-shirts to the first 300 people who arrived at 9 p.m. By 8:30 p.m., crowds were rushing to the event to make sure they weren’t left out of the t-shirt frenzy before taking their seats.

To honor Veteran’s Day, the rally began with the “The Star-Spangled Banner” and a presentation of colors. Later, blindfolded students crawled on all fours and tried to collect the most money off the floor. Another activity included students competing against 6’11 Luiz Moreira, who plays center on the men’s basketball team.

“It was really exciting to get to show my Rattler spirit and support the athletic teams tonight. I really look forward to coming out to the basketball game,” English and elementary education freshman major Selena Rangel said.
Seats were not only filled with excited freshmen ready to show their school pride, but also with dedicated upperclassmen, faculty and staff as well.

As the rally came to an end, the men’s and women’s basketball teams showed the crowd that basketball is not the only thing they can do as they danced along with the cheerleaders and dance team.

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by Davilin Hamel