Ball State’s first home football game of the season kicks off Saturday night, and you can find the spirit team leaders — drum majors, cheerleaders and the Code Red dance team — on the sidelines of every home football game, helping boost student and team morale.
Here’s a look at some of the leaders of each organization:
Pride of Mid-America Marching Band Drum Majors
Cassidy Knowling, DN
Olivia Woolard: Junior, music education major
Hometown: Huntington, Indiana
Favorite thing about marching band: “The feeling you get when you are in the stadium, all the hype is all the way up - it's a really cool feeling.”
Favorite thing to do on campus: “Hanging with Sigma Alpha Iota, the only music sorority on campus.”
Favorite campus food: “My go-to is Starbucks.”
Cassidy Knowling, DN
Cameron Prill: Senior, music composition and computer technology, minor in business administration
Hometown: Carmel, Indiana
Favorite thing about marching band: “For me, it’s all the silly things that have happened over the years, the really strange things no one could have predicted that made droll and dreary days really fun.”
Favorite thing to do on campus: “Jogging around campus in the summer.”
Most excited about for first game: “We are doing a lot of collaboration with the spirit groups this year. I am looking forward to having everybody together, Code Red and the cheer squads. And we have the Canadian Brass coming to play with us, world class.”
Cassidy Knowling, DN
Keith Tye: Junior, music education major
Hometown: Carmel, Indiana
Favorite thing about marching band: “I enjoy the experience. The people and the band are awesome. Some of my best friends come from marching band. We also play a lot of fun music.”
Favorite thing to do on campus: “I love going to concerts at Emens and going to the student center and bowling.”
Most excited about for first game: “I am excited to see where the team is at. I am excited to see how James Gilbert and Riley Neal will be this year.”
Coed Cheer Team Captains
Kaiti Sullivan, DN
Kyle Kedra: First year graduate, sports administration major
Hometown: Southside of Indianapolis
Favorite thing about cheerleading: “I love that it’s honestly a lot more competitive and uses a lot more athletic ability than you think. It takes technique, form — just like football and other sports.”
Favorite thing to do on campus: “I love going to Friday Night Filmworks or the Rec Center.”
Most excited about for first game: “On coed, we have a young team so I am curious to see how they do. Also, I am excited for our first win.”
All Girls Cheer Team Captains
Kaiti Sullivan, DN
Halie Vitali: Senior, biology major
Hometown: Indianapolis
Why she joined: “I started cheer my freshman year of high school. I was a gymnast before that. My roommate and best friend freshman year got me into cheerleading at Ball State. Ever since I did cheer, I’ve just loved it.”
Favorite thing about cheerleading: “The family aspect. I love how we are all super close and all have each others’ backs, even underclassmen understand.”
Most excited about for first game: “Just the atmosphere, to see all the freshmen come out and support Ball State. Also, we are doing a new thing with the band this year.”
Code Red Dance Team
Kaiti Sullivan, DN
Sarah Tinkle: Senior, nutrition and dietetics major
Hometown: Muncie
Why she joined: “I originally joined Code Red because I have been a dancer my entire life, since the age of two, and I wanted to continue that when I came to Ball State. After I joined, I soon realized that Code Red is much more than dancing, it is about being a part of a team that will always have your back and gets young kids excited about Ball State.”
Favorite thing about Code Red: “My favorite thing about Code Red is the amount of pride I have developed for Ball State and the lifelong friendships I have created with my teammates.”
Favorite campus food: “My favorite food on campus is either the spinning salad bar at Woodworth or Quiznos in the Rec.”
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