NEWS RELEASE

Contact: David West (west@nsula.edu )
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466

10/07/2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATCHITOCHES - The fight song they play may seem a bit strange, but the "Spirit of Northwestern" Marching Band will be there to support McNeese State's football team Saturday when they play Texas Southern at Turpin Stadium on the Northwestern State University campus.

Northwestern offered to host Saturday's 3 p.m. game to assist fellow University of Louisiana System institution and Southland Conference member McNeese, whose stadium was damaged by Hurricane Rita. The Cowboys have been housed at Southeastern Louisiana University for more than a week while waiting for the reopening of their campus in Lake Charles.

"We saw this as an opportunity to help another UL System institution," said Northwestern Student Government Association President Alan Sypert, a former member of NSU's band. "I've gotten to know student leaders at McNeese over the last several months and wanted to do what we could to create a good atmosphere for them."

Approximately 80 band members have signed up to play at Saturday's game, many of whom had planned to go to Huntsville, Texas, for the NSU ­Sam Houston game.

"McNeese is a rival of ours but it has been a friendly rivalry. This Saturday, we will give their team our full support," said head drum major Jerry Whorton, who is organizing the band. "We are going to sound our best and make it feel as much like a home game for McNeese as we can. The Northwestern band feels like it is worth seven points for the Demons, so we hope we can be worth a few points for the Cowboys."

Whorton said about 10-15 members of the McNeese band are also planning to attend the game and perform.

"It will be a little odd playing Jolie Blon (McNeese's unofficial fight song which the band plays after each touchdown), but we have been trying to learn it and hopefully we get to play it several times," said Whorton.

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