Students gathered at the B United event in Renaissance Coliseum to celebrate school spirit Aug. 23.
As attendants trickled in, Vice President of Student Affairs Nathan Thomas said what began as an event primarily targeted at freshmen ended up exciting and inviting to students of all levels, exceeding all of his expectations.
“I wasn’t sure [what] to expect coming into it, but there is a ton of energy and positive feedback springing from this already,” Thomas said. “We talk about the Bradley bubble a lot, but [B United] was such a fun start to the school year and an energy and a life that’s so good for everyone.”
The Bradley Braves Cheerleaders, Bravettes dance team, Kaboom!, the Bradley University pep band, men’s soccer, women’s volleyball, Red Sea and various administrative heads joined more than 1,500 students in kicking off the year with the fight song, cheers, a grand entrance for Kaboom!, cowbells from Association of Residence Halls, audience interaction games and pep talks from two athletic team coaches.
Men’s soccer head coach Jim DeRose started the night by introducing some of the men’s soccer players to the crowd and citing his hopes for the upcoming season.
“We want the soccer program to be an arm of the campus,” he said.
DeRose told students that he and the soccer team plan to attend and participate in other university student group events, just as he hopes student groups will attend the games.
“Your attendance 100 percent matters,” he said. “Our student-athletes 100 percent recognize you’re there. We talked about it during the [Bradley vs. Notre Dame game on Aug. 19] in the locker room at halftime, and it makes a difference.”
The event’s emcees, junior business managment major Mitchell Kuldell and junior secondary education major Sumayya Qudrat, led the night and set the tone with games such as a men’s soccer player T-shirt challenge, a women’s volleyball passing challenge, an introduction to Rise of the Red and several wardrobe changes throughout the night to showcase various Bradley apparel.
“I really wish we could bottle all this energy up and bring it to all of the games,” Kuldell said. “It was a positive event to start the year, and it absolutely surpassed my expectations.”
Athletics Director Michael Cross agreed with Kuldell.
“It was a tremendous event for the student body,” Cross said. “I’m really excited about how it turned out and how everyone got into it. I definitely want to do it again next year.”
Sophomore sports communication and political science double major and Assistant Resident Advisor David Jorgensen brought his floor to the event and said it was something he would like to see again.
“I’ve never learned the Bradley cheer before, so it was nice to get a huge group of us together and teach us all,” he said. “[B United] was a great icebreaker event to start off the year with high energy and strong school spirit.”
