ESPN College GameDay Debuts Midnight Yell Spot Filmed At A&M
As part of the kick-off to the college football season, ESPN has unveiled a new College GameDay commercial featuring the time-honored Midnight Yell tradition at Texas A&M University. The commercial was posted online earlier today, and will make its TV debut on Monday, Sept. 3, across all ESPN networks.
Filmed at Texas A&M’s historic Kyle Field with students earlier this summer, the spot brings Midnight Yell to life in an inspiring, but comedic way. First-year Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin, mascot Reveille and thousands of Aggie students and alumni “known as former students” star in the spot along with GameDay‘s Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Lee Corso, Chris Fowler, Tom Rinaldi and Samantha Steele.
The Midnight Yell tradition dates back to 1913 and attracts more than 25,000 fans to Kyle Field the night before every home game. At midnight, yell leaders lead Texas A&M students and fans “known as the 12th Man” through “yells,” not cheers, and various songs in preparation for the following day’s game.
“We are looking forward to sharing one of college football’s most unique traditions with ESPN’s national audience throughout the upcoming season,” said Jason Cook, Texas A&M’s vice president for marketing and communications. “With Texas A&M’s transition into the SEC this year, the excitement level in Aggieland is at a feverish pitch as the 12th Man is preparing to welcome the Florida Gators to Kyle Field Sept. 8 on ESPN.”
The spot follows a nationwide voting contest, “Bring GameDay To Your Campus,” that allowed fans of 124 FBS schools to vote to bring a College GameDay commercial shoot to their campus. Fans could vote via gamedayvote.com (online or mobile) or on the ESPN College GameDay Facebook page. Celebrities rallied their Twitter fans to vote as the contest came down to the University of Nebraska and Texas A&M. Nearly a million votes were tabulated during the 10-day contest, with Texas A&M emerging as the victor. ESPN filmed the Midnight Yell spot in College Station in late July.
Added Scott Parker, vice president, ESPN marketing, “The GameDay Vote contest and the Midnight Yell GameDay spot are a really big step for this iconic franchise. From fans selecting the location of the shoot to thousands of A&M students participating in the spot, the campaign really captures the unique, interactive, on-campus experience of College Gameday in a brand new way.”
College GameDay Built by The Home Depot returns for its 26th season on Saturday, Sept. 1, live from the Cowboys Classic as part of Dick’s Sporting Goods Kickoff Week at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, at 9 a.m. on ESPNU and 10 a.m. on ESPN.
Media contact: tamunews@tamu.edu.
