TAMUG Yell Leaders    

TAMUG Yell Leader Logo

Patrick Smith '25
Maritime Business Administration
League City, TX

Jett Taylor '25
Ocean Engineering
Friendswood, TX

Kolbe Hatz '25
Maritime Transportation
Pearland, TX

Scott Lyons '26
Tourism & Coastal Community Development
Vicksburg, MS

Joshua Swasey '26
Marine Biology w/Minor in Diving Technology & Methods
Houston, TX

 

In the Spring of each year, five students (two juniors and three seniors) are elected by the Galveston student body to serve as the TAMUG Yell Leaders.

Former TAMUG Yell Leaders
Former TAMUG Yell Leaders

Todd Burford ‘95

Chris Benson ‘95

Todd Wolf ‘96

Mark Kaulen ‘96

Tim Sandberg ‘97

Stephen Polk ‘97

Jason Baca ‘97

Danny Oliver ‘98

John Dumsick ‘98

Mike Koehn ‘99

Bryant Moore ‘99

Dylan Nash ‘00

Scott Reed ‘00

Toby King ‘00

Chris Cook ‘01

Steven Holcomb ‘01

Andrew Bohlin ‘01

Paul Long ‘02

BJ Hartman ‘02

Devin Arnold ‘02

Hugh Marney ‘03 

Ben Clausen ‘03

Ty Ta ‘03

Wade Howell ‘03

Will Bridges ‘03

Johnathan Allen ‘04

Matthew Allen ‘04

Joey Dean* ‘05

Tanner Do ‘05

Chris Epstein ‘05

Adam Gomez ‘05

Chris Pinkston ‘06

Chris Fenwick* ‘06

Mark Bautsch ‘06

TY C Reasonover* ‘07

Robert Thornton ‘07

AJ English (Filkins) ‘07

Matt White ‘08

Ryan McCreary* ‘08

Grant Williams ‘08

Ben Strack ‘09

Chris Katerinakis* ‘09

Mike Parrent ‘9

Colt Snapp ‘10

Marc Cutaia* ‘10

Mike Spiers ‘10

AJ Oullette ‘11

Mike Robertson* ‘11

Matt Johnson ‘11

Reagan Martin ‘12

James Atteberry ‘12

Josh Bennett* ‘12

Patrick Delahoussaye ‘12

Chris Gonzales ‘13

Robert Howell* ‘13

Chad Beverage ‘13

Travis Rhodes’ 14

Kyle Lonquist* ‘14

Nick Tealer ‘14

Thomas Ibrom ‘15

Hugh Keller ‘15

Garrett Payne* ‘15

Jake Dumaine ‘15

Dylan Mann ‘16

Bobby Macko* ‘16

Justin Schwartz ‘16

Emery Hiebert ‘17

Nick Kistler* ‘17

Cody Klindt ‘17

Jacob O’Kelley ‘18

Cole Farine* ‘18

Grant Lincecum ‘18

Michael Renning ‘19

Joshua Porter* ‘19

Jack Clark ‘19

Eric Amason ‘20

Jacob Ponchot* ‘20

Jacob Pratt ‘20

Breidon Johnson ‘21

Ryan Meriwether* ‘21

Cade Ingram ‘21

Landon Degner ‘22

Jordan Davis* ‘22

Wesley Ide ‘22

Antero Aguilar ‘23

Cosmo Kinsey* ‘23

Jensen Smith ‘23

Kaleb Soule ‘24

Vincent Garcia* ‘24

Morgan Milburn ‘24

Tre Higgenbotham ‘24

(* Indicates Head Yell Leader)

The History of the Yell Leaders    

When A&M was an all-male military college in 1907, cadets often invited ladies from Texas Woman's University in Denton to take the train to College Station to attend Aggie football games. Then as now, a certain amount of tickets were set aside for guests, and these would be handed out based on seniority, so freshmen were rarely able to bring guests to the games. According to legend, during one football game the Aggies were being out-scored so badly that the ladies were threatening to leave the game from boredom. The upperclassmen ordered the freshmen, or “fish,” to find a way to entertain the bored ladies. The freshmen raided a janitor’s closet and changed into the white coveralls they found there, and began leading the crowd in yells from the track in front of the stands.  It was an instant hit and was quickly incorporated into the game day repertoire for the Aggies. However, the freshmen became a little too popular with the ladies and after the seniors became “instantly irritated.”, it was decided that only upperclassmen would be allowed to participate in this entertainment in the future.

The History of Yell Leaders in Galveston

The TAMUG Yell Leaders were founded in 1993 when Todd Burford ‘95, a marine science student who had transferred from College Station, became the first TAMUG Yell Leader. The first Galveston Midnight Yell was held in 1993 in front of the dining hall with a crowd of less than 10 people. It was brought to a halt when the campus police told them they were too loud, so they finished the yell practice on the other side of campus away from the dorms. Midnight Yells were then held at the boat dock and eventually moved to McCloy Gymnasium like they are today. Galveston Yell Leaders wore jeans and a maroon or white T-shirt until they started wearing overalls later on.

 

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The History of Midnight Yell    

In 1931, the first official Midnight Yell Practice was held before the t.u. game. That night, some cadets in Peanut Owen’s dorm room in Puryear Hall had the idea of getting all the freshmen to fall out and meet on the steps of the YMCA building to practice yells. The two Senior Yell Leaders said they couldn’t authorize it, but they just might attend. The rumor spread and everyone fell out of their dorms that night. Railroad flares and torpedoes were stuck into flower pots around the YMCA building to light the area. After Peanut Owens became Yell Leader, it became a tradition to pace while telling fables because Peanut Owens' feet were too big for the YMCA building steps, so he paced to keep his balance, and the other Yell Leaders joined in.


TAMUG Midnight Yell

The TAMUG Yell Leaders hold Midnight Yell every Thursday night before a home game in McCloy Gymnasium in the Campus Recreation Center. Aggies gather to practice yells and sing school songs for the approaching home game, a junior and senior fable is told making fun of the opposing team, and the lights go out after the War Hymn, which is when you get to kiss your date, or if you don’t have a date, take a lighter and "flick your bic" and hope to find a random mug. This part of the night is known as “Mugdown”. The TAMUG Yell Leaders do the same yells that College Station does, but instead of calling it a night where they do, we allow the freshman class to tackle us and throw us in the pool anticipating the Aggie win, followed by auxiliary yells outside the Rec Center.

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Request the TAMUG Yell Leaders    

Appearance Fees

Requests for the TAMUG Yell Leaders have surged in recent years and in order to ensure they are not paying out of pocket for appearances, a standard rate has been instituted to be fair and consistent to all parties.

Costs:

Distance from Galveston Campus:

0-50 miles: $50

50+ miles: $50 + $.60/mile

Travel Restrictions: The TAMUG Yell Leaders receive many requests throughout the year and do their best to honor all of them, but may need to decline due to schedule conflicts or distance. In addition, the TAMUG Yell Leaders will not be able to attend events outside of the Houston area on week nights during the fall and spring semesters.

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