Hurd campout draws 800 students
Whether it was in a tent, on a tarp or in a hammock, USU students were excited to sleep under the stars on the Quad Thursday night in preparation for the “Battle of the Brothers” football game against the University of Utah on Friday.
Around 800 students converged on the Quad during the evening to eat free pizza brought by head football coach Gary Anderson and quarterback Chuckie Keeton. The students set up a miniature tent city on the grass in front of the new Agriculture Science building.
“It’s awesome to be around everyone and the whole Aggie spirit,” said Samantha Burrows, a sophomore in business administration and marketing.
Students began setting up tents at 7 p.m. and the celebration continued well past sundown. Glow-in-the-dark Frisbees flew in the air as the HURD committee dished out Aggie Ice Cream and played music on the grass.
For Burrows, who camped outside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum for last year’s basketball season opener, a tent was the way to go.
“We’re definitely sleeping in a tent,” Burrows said. “This is not our first rodeo.”
Not all students elected to shelter in a tent, however. Freshmen Natalie Tea and Nick Langford chose to roll out sleeping bags on a tarp and sleep under the stars.
“It’s true camping,” Tea said.
Aggie fan Sam Judkins and another friend hung their hammocks from a tree along the edge of the Quad. Judkins said he and friends like to sleep in hammocks in various places around Logan.
HURD committee member Chris Steele said this year’s camp out on the Quad seemed more successful than last year’s, held before the homecoming game against Colorado State University.
“Each year we’re getting better and better as we make improvements on managing the students and getting them involved as much as possible,” Steele said.
The HURD is operating differently this year, Steele said. Originally a club with benefits exclusive for paying members, Hurd membership this year consists of the entire student body. The idea is to unite all USU students for sporting events, he said.
“The purpose is to unite the whole student section, the whole school, to be unified, to be one,” Steele said.
Excited for the match up the next night, students expressed optimism in their team’s ability to beat the Utes, a PAC-12 team.
Jaden Johnson, a freshman studying business, said it was the fans who might tip the mark.
“We’re part of the best student section in the nation and we want to see the Aggies kill the Utes,” Johnson said.
Those who stayed the whole night received a wristband to get in fifteen minutes early for the game the next day, Steele said. Romney Stadium housed over 25,500 fans at the stadium the next day, and the line to get in snaked up the street. Steele said the wristbands did not guarantee a spot in line, however.
Steele said aside from a few pranksters, the carefully-planned camp out went smoothly.
Sergeant Travis Dunn of the USU Police said he is not aware of any problems reported to the police during the campout.
“We just want everybody to be safe and have a good night,” Dunn said.
-la.stewart@aggiemail.usu.edu