In 1907, the South Dakota Agricultural College became South Dakota State College and with that, the Jackrabbit name was officially adopted which replaced the original name of Barnyard Cadets.

One group on campus is deciding to bring that name back by entitling their new spirit group the Barnyard Cadets.

According to John Green, a member of the group, its goal is to revive old traditions and begin new ones in order to engage more students, including the incoming freshmen.

There are several big plans in the works for the upcoming school year, including cowbells, a state shout and a one-of-a-kind game day walk.

The Barnyard Cadets plan to put cowbells into every freshman residence hall room this upcoming school year. They chose a cowbell because it is a tradition that stems from 1926. In a rivalry game against the University South Dakota, the Coyotes referred to South Dakota State as a “cow college.”

One student decided that the college should own this name and suggested the cowbells. From then on, fans brought cowbells to the game to cheer on the Jackrabbits.

The state shout is another activity the group plans to bring to SDSU. According to Green, the state shout will be similar to a pep rally, in which the group and students will go over cheers and chants for each of the home football games.

The other tradition that the Barnyard Cadets plan to create is a gameday walk. This walk will take place two hours before kickoff at every home game. The walk will start out on the green near Binnewies Hall and Young Hall. As a unified section of students, they will walk to the north end of the union towards the stadium and tailgate area.

If this goes as planned, it will be a one-of-a-kind event as there is no other school that has an event like this, Green said.

With only two-and-a-half months of planning so far, students can expect more from this newly found group in the upcoming year. All students, incoming freshmen included, can look for this group starting this Fall semester for more traditions and events.