°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹æÂÉÂÛ̳

What to Expect at Midnight Yell

Every Friday night before a home game, more than 25,000 Aggie football fans head to Kyle Field to prepare for the game on Saturday. Midnight Yell is also held for every away game, usually at a location in or near the city where °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹æÂÉÂÛ̳ will play its opponent.

The event begins when the Yell Leaders lead the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band and current and former students into the stadium. Once there, the Yell Leaders lead the crowd in practicing yells, some of which started back in the earliest days of °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹æÂÉÂÛ̳.

The crowd sings "The Aggie War Hymn" and listen to fables from the Yell Leaders, telling them how the Aggies are going to beat their opponent on the field the next day. Parsons Mounted Cavalry also attends, firing their cannon three to five times during the event. And before fans disperse for the night, the stadium lights are turned off for a moment so that Aggies can kiss their dates.

How Midnight Yell Began

Yell Practice became a regular after-dinner ritual starting in 1913, but the first Midnight Yell wasn’t held until 1931. It began when a group of Corps of Cadets members was gathered in Peanut Owens’ dorm room in Puryear Hall. Someone suggested that all of the freshmen should meet on the steps of the YMCA Building at midnight to practice yells before the game against The University of Texas the next day.

The freshmen asked the two senior Yell Leaders at the time to attend. The two said they couldn’t authorize the event, but they just might happen to show up. Word about the midnight gathering quickly spread, and that evening, Midnight Yell was born.

When Owens became a Yell Leader, it became a tradition to walk back and forth. This was because Owens’ feet were too big to fit on the steps of the YMCA Building, the original location of Midnight Yell, so he paced to keep his balance — and the other yell leaders joined in.