I’m speedwalking to the Fred alongside my friends, hoisting our sorority’s flags with pride. We’re determined to get to the gym early, scan in for our Homecoming Cup points, and get the best seats and limited-number rally towels. Once we settle into our section of the bleachers, I look around and see a sea of white with pops of color from the flags of different organizations. To my left, I see the purple, green and gold of Lambda Chi Alpha. To my right, an athlete waves the red and black flag representing Bulldog Athletics. Smoke pervades the air as more students and faculty file in. Cheers start to break out, with the occasional blowing of a trumpet or a noisemaker. The lights go down and anticipation sets in. The men’s and women’s basketball teams break through a banner and take the court for the first time this season in front of their student body, exchanging high-fives and putting up shots.
This is Bulldog Madness.
At first glance, this event may seem like a pep rally on steroids, but it’s much more than that. Organized by the Office of Student Discipleship and Engagement, Bulldog Madness is the kickoff event for Homecoming Week and basketball season as a whole.
Makayla Baker, assistant director for student activities and greek life, said that Bulldog Madness and succeeding Homecoming Week activities are meant to bring people together, both within the student organizations that they get to compete through and among the student body as a whole. Not only that, but it is a way to bridge the gap between students and athletes, a divide that takes intentionality to merge at any university.
“We do a lot of just communicating with athletics and just striving to involve them in the things that we’re doing already as a student body because they are a part of our student body,” Baker said. “We want to highlight them and the hard work that they’ve put into the upcoming season. We love having them participate as students … we want them to be able to participate in everything else that all of the other organizations are participating in.”
Joe Ball, executive director for student discipleship and engagement, views the competition aspect of the Homecoming Cup as an avenue for getting students involved.
“It’s always good to have some friendly competition at Union to bring us together,” Ball said. “The Homecoming Cup gives student organizations a reason to show up as a team all week, and while the points get people in the room, the real win is the community that happens once they’re there.”
This year’s event was hosted by Sadie Shaeffer, a sophomore exercise science major, and Ty Clark, a sophomore Christian ministry and missions major and member of the men’s basketball team.
Shaeffer said that Bulldog Madness is a great way to kick off the basketball season. As a sports fan, she hopes to see Bulldog Madness generate excitement and bring out students for the next few months of games.
Clark, who plays guard for the Bulldogs, switched back and forth between hosting the event with Shaeffer and participating as part of the basketball team. For him, Bulldog Madness is about creating expectations for the season, not just for his team but for the students and fans as well.
“We want this event to really set the tone for what you can expect at our games. Super high-energy, super fun, and we want that to carry over to the regular season,” Clark said.
Athletics is not always a primary focus of Union culture, but the basketball program, especially given the Lady Bulldogs’ success in recent years, is a centerpiece for Homecoming Week that can help get the campus community excited and invested.
“Obviously, academics and the gospel is the main thing here at Union,” Clark said. “But what sports can bring to the table for the whole student body … is just a chance to kind of get a reset from the hard academics and the test prep and enjoy this awesome community.”
For Clark, Bulldog Madness is a preview of the culminating homecoming events on Saturday — the season openers for the men’s and women’s teams.
“It’s gotta be walking out Saturday … and then that first tip-off of the season,” Clark said, pinpointing his favorite part of the week. “We’ve been working hard for about two and a half months now … so to have that culminate at one event, that’s the pinnacle for me.”
The event included introductions of both the men’s and women’s teams, a three-point shooting competition, a reveal of each competing organization’s banner and the announcement of the 2026 Homecoming Court.
The spirit of Bulldog Madness was clearly seen in the final event of the evening. Three students were randomly selected by ticket number from the crowd to compete in a shooting contest. The students traded three-point attempts back and forth to finish the challenge, until finally Abigail Van Neste, junior journalism major and editor-in-chief of the Cardinal & Cream, hoisted up a three — granny-style.
The ball arced as the crowd held its breath — and then swished straight through the net. Following the winning shot, the students in the bleachers went crazy, and the women’s basketball team surrounded Van Neste with high-fives and pats on the back, painting a picture of what it looks like for the whole student body, athletes and non-athletes alike, to come together over Bulldog Madness, Homecoming Week and the long-awaited start of the basketball season.
“One of the girls told me to granny shot it; she was the one who ran to me first,” Van Neste said. “I saw her on campus the other day, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, hey girl!’ Now I feel like I have a bond with half of those girls.”
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