Fridays have long been a day to go purple, but this year TCU added a little spirit.
The marching band and spirit groups introduced a new tradition before the home opener: a parade from the TCU Music Center to Frog Fountain.
On Fridays at noon, marching band and spirit members parade through campus, pumping up students and fans for Saturday home football games.
“It was definitely a pleasant surprise,” First Year student Cat Brannon said. “We just walked out from studying for a couple hours, and it really made me happy.”
Other students agreed, adding that it made them excited to attend the upcoming game.
“That’s the idea,” said director of athletic marketing Rory Rutledge. “It builds spirit within the students and campus as a whole, and then we bring that into the stadium on Saturday.”
Rutledge said the idea for the parade came from students who attended football brainstorming sessions and wanted to ramp up school spirit on Fridays.
The first parade included the Horned Frog Marching Band, TCU Showgirls and Dutchmen. TCU Rangers stood at the end of the parade route.
TCU Showgirls danced at the helm while the Dutchmen followed with stickers to hand out to students and fans.
The marching band played the TCU fight song, Horned Frog Pride and cadences, the same sequence they perform before home games.
TCU Cheer was not in attendance for the debut, as the spirit groups alternate weeks due to class schedules and outside responsibilities, Rutledge said.
Students watching the parade said the parade not only got them excited for the game but also got them excited for being back in person.
“We’re all sophomores, so we haven’t really had the whole real experience, I guess you could call it,” said sophomore Lexi Pepper about her and her friends. “We’re excited to actually get involved, be on campus and have some school spirit.”
Because this is a new tradition, every week will be a test run, and the parade may look different every week.
“We want it to be something that lasts and sticks,” Rutledge said. “As long as people want to see us and want to see the group out there, we’ll keep this going.”
