Cheerleaders, dancers, pumped-up students and homecoming court nominees gathered together to celebrate homecoming at UCA’s annual homecoming pep rally.
The pep rally was held Oct. 23 in the Farris Center and featured one of UCA’s most high-spirited crowds in years.
“This is a great week. This is the best week. We all love this week,” UCA Athletic Director Brad Teague said while kicking off the event.
The room was buzzing with chatter and cheers as students and faculty awaited the moment of truth as to who would be in the 2023 homecoming court.
Miss UCA 2023 Jada Simpson introduced all the nominees and relished the opportunity to speak to her peers and the future homecoming king and queen.
“My one piece of advice when putting yourself out there and stepping out of your comfort zone is to always just make sure you’re being yourself and having fun. That’s what people want to see, the audience, the judges, whatever the case is. They want to see someone whose being authentic to themselves because they want to know who they’re going to be represented by,” Simpson said.
Everyone in the Farris Center was feeling energetic and excited for the night of homecoming hijinks, especially the dance team, who completed a seamless routine after the music track stopped midway through their performance.
The crowd helped out by clapping and singing — with some even screaming — along to the song to help the dancers finish strong, which they did fiercely.
Homecoming queen nominee Mattie Neighbors, a senior biology major, said she is excited to serve on the 2023 homecoming court.
Neighbors represented Delta Zeta and the UCA band with pride, saying, “I am simply so honored to be able to represent music, fine arts, science and my sorority, and I am just thrilled that I have been chosen to represent so many different diverse groups. It means the world to me and it’s the biggest honor I think I could ever have while attending UCA.”
Another member of this year’s homecoming court, Kylie Garritty, put her public relations major to work while networking and promoting herself during her campaign.
“It’s been such a crazy ride of campaigning, and honestly, the best part of this experience has been meeting new people and having genuine conversations and connections with people I wouldn’t have known before this,” Garritty said.
Garritty said she is honored to represent UCA, the Student Government Association and the student body.
Many students joined each other on the Farris Center court to play a cup-grabbing game, which sent the entire stadium into laughing frenzies.
Following closely after was a highly competitive game of knockout from the 3-point line, which had everyone on the edge of their seats waiting to see who would come out victorious.
Brooklyn Inscore, a senior finance major graduating this December, attended the pep rally as a last hurrah before leaving campus.
“The little games they do in the beginning are my favorite part. I don’t go out there, but I love seeing people I know acting crazy, and it’s just so fun to see everyone acting like kids together,” Inscore said.
The pep rally was hosted by The Bear Den and Student Life and served as the perfect shindig to get students enthusiastic about the upcoming homecoming football game.
