Aggie Yell Leaders

The Yell Leader tradition dates to 1907. According to A&M lore, the Aggies were being soundly defeated and a large number of women who had taken the train from Texas Woman's University in Denton were threatening to leave. The upperclassmen ordered the freshmen to find a way to keep the women entertained. Several freshmen snuck into a maintenance closet and changed into white coveralls. They then began leading the crowd in yells and telling jokes from the track in front of the stands. It was an instant hit and was quickly incorporated into the gameday repertoire for the Aggies. However, the freshmen became so popular with the ladies that it was becoming a problem, and "it was decided that only upperclassmen would be allowed to participate in this entertainment in the future." While usually a position held by members of the Corps of Cadets, non-Corps students have been elected to the position. Bill Beck, Class of 1942, was the first non-corps yell leader elected in 1946 and Ricky Wood, Class of 2001, became the first non-corps Head Yell Leader in 2000–2001. Since the tradition began there have been 32 non-Corps yell leaders. In the early 1990s, the student body elected its first African American yell leader, Ronnie McDonald, Class of 1993. In 1999, McDonald became the youngest African American to become a county judge in the history of Texas. ==Current tradition==

Personnel The Aggie Yell Leaders are composed of three seniors and two juniors, with one senior designated as "Head Yell Leader." NCAA rules prevent the Yell Leaders from participating in athletic practices, but the Head Yell Leader can usually be found during two-a-days, running and lifting alongside the football team. The Yell Leaders, along with junior and senior cadets of the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band, and Seniors of the Fightin' Texas Aggie Singing Cadets are the only students on campus who receive a varsity letter without playing a sport. The Yell Leaders attend all home and away football games, all home men's and women's basketball games, post-season basketball games, all home soccer games, all home volleyball games, and selected home and away games for other sporting events. The 2024-2025 yell leaders are Head Yell Leader Jake Carter '25, Senior Yell Leaders Grayson Poage '25 and Josiah Brantley '25 and Junior Yell Leaders Kyler Fife '26 and Luke Widener '26. They lead an additional, smaller, Yell Practice on the Thursday night before all away games (even bowl games), called Arch Yell, which is held in front of the 12 arches at the entryway to the Corps of Cadets quad area. At the various yell practices, the Aggie Yell Leaders wear either maroon (seniors) or white (juniors) T-shirts and denim overalls that are embroidered by a seamstress, often featuring their graduation year and various depictions of the A&M traditions. During a game, the Yell Leaders signal the crowd to start a yell by flashing pass backs. They also use pass backs to signal when to sing the various school songs, in much the same way as cheerleaders lead songs at other schools. When the Aggie football team is defeated at home, the crowd remains in the stands at the end of the game while the Aggie Yell Leaders conduct a short yell practice, including the singing of the song 12th Man, in preparation for the next week's game. If the Aggies win a home football game, the freshmen in the Corps of Cadets chase them around Kyle Field behind the 20 yard line, and, once they are captured, carry them across campus and toss them into Rudder Pond, a fountain full of cold water. After the last Yell Leader has been thrown into Rudder Pond, the soaking-wet Yell Leaders lead the fans in a yell practice against the following week's opponent. ==List of Yell Leaders==

The following is a list of Yell Leaders since 1970: ==Pass-backs==

Image:Aggie-Yell-Leader 2007Baylor.jpg|The "Farmers fight" rotating arm motion ==References==