When planning tonight's pep rally, student body president Grant Schmidt said student government's mantra was "back to the basics."
About 2,500 people will be packed into Stepan Center for only 30 minutes of cheering on the band and the football team.
And the catch?
Breaking the usual pep rally tradition, only students will be admitted.
"It will literally just be students," Schmidt said. "This is one of the things people have been constantly asking me about."
Students will have to show a Notre Dame, Saint Mary's or Holy Cross ID to enter Stepan Center.
Kevin Doyle, student government's representative to the Athletic Department, said they have eliminated all filler material that usually takes up time in pep rallies.
"There will be no sitting around, waiting and watching videos," he said. "There won't be any commercialization, no catering to the alumni."
The rally will be about the students, the band and the football players, he said.
"I think students are going to like the pep rally back to the basics," Doyle said. "The football players will be right by the crowd and it will just be a bunch of people inside sweating and screaming."
Schmidt said although Game-Day Operations chose the venue, student government pushed for Stepan.
"We wanted it to be tight and we wanted some resemblance to pep rallies of the past," he said. "We're trying to bring back an older venue, something somewhat historic."
Since Stepan cannot fit the entire student body, Schmidt said students should line up early. The doors will open at 7:15 p.m. and the band will show up at 8:15.
"We can only fit 2,500 people which I guarantee we will get," he said. "People might be frustrated, but we'll have to turn people away."
Players Sergio Brown, Michael Floyd, Brian Smith and Coach Charlie Weis will speak at the pep rally. Dan Collins, this year's leprechaun will run the show.
"Last year, there was some frustration with pep rallies. Obviously we would be lying if we said there weren't complaints," Schmidt said. "We're trying to make this a true pep rally where people get really pumped."
As of now, tonight's pep rally is the only rally planned for an away game, but Schmidt said he wouldn't rule out doing another one.
"On one hand, this is a pep rally, but it's also a send-off for the football team," he said. "This will be such a cool way for these guys to go to Ann Arbor on Friday. We want to make sure when the team is leaving, they know students are behind them."
