Students gathered to show their EMU pride at the Homecoming pep rally held outside Big Bob’s Lakehouse Friday night.
The pep rally featured music, dance performances and a visit from channel 95.5’s Shannon Murphy of Mojo in the Morning.
The EMU marching band kicked off the festivities and could be heard from inside the Student Center, marching on beat as they made their way to the Amphitheater.
“They came in at great timing,” one student said. “I at first thought they were drumming but it was their feet and it got louder and louder and suddenly there were 200 people walking through.”
Amber Lawson, last year’s homecoming queen, introduced each of the couples running for this year’s Homecoming Court and then announced the three couples that made court this year: Aby Cryderman and Chloe Grey, Kerri Musik and Jared Schueren and Theresa Riles and Tim Smith.
The Homecoming King and Queen, Tim Smith and Theresa Riles, were crowned at Saturday’s game.
The EMU cheerleaders got the crowd going as the DJ blasted hits like “Breaking Free” by Arianna Grande and remixes to popular songs like “All About That Bass” by Meghan Trainor.
Jillian Travis, an EMU cheerleader, shared her reactions to the overall event.
“I feel really good and felt the crowd was really reacting with us and are really excited about [the] game,” she said. “I feel hype and feel that Eagle nation’s ready for tomorrow. I hope we win.”
The EMU dance team performed after the cheerleaders and really turned up the heat with a fun, high-energy performance to “Turn Down For What.” The dancing continued throughout the night.
“The dancers’ performance was pretty awesome,” EMU student Hannah Howard said. “They looked like they trained really hard and if I were to do that, I’d die.”
The EMU cheerleaders and dance team also performed at Saturday’s Homecoming game.
Another pep rally will be held before the Oct. 25 home game against Northern Illinois University.