The Wingmen Take Flight

A. McKinney Issue 30: October 2, 2024

The Herald is back, and so are McMurry Football tailgates, thanks to a student group formed last year! Enter The McMurry Wingmen! Spearheaded by Hayden “The Captain” James in partnership with the Athletics Department, The Wingmen have emerged as the premier, committed tailgate revitalizers on campus. However, their mission has not been a solo endeavor. They’ve enlisted the support and partnership of various student groups, including all 11 fraternities and sororities on campus and special interest groups. McMurry’s own Religious and Spiritual Life organization has contributed to making our new tailgates great!

This unity brings a unique opportunity for our student groups as well, one of the Wingmen’s goals is to break the old habit of clubs and Greek life groups staying within their circles. Tailgates are all about community and coming together in anticipation of the game! So, to that end, the Wingmen have delegated each group or set of groups an activity to hold for two hours before the game. Each group has something fun and unique for everyone to enjoy! Here’s a breakdown of what each group has contributed:

  • Theta Chi Lambda Sorority: Hot Wing Competition
  • Gamma Sigma Sorority: “Get Game Ready” Prep
  • Makona Fraternity: Music & Tailgate Pit
  • T.I.P. Sorority: Hydration Station
  • PAATH (McMurry’s African American Student Union): Photo Op Area
  • Ko Sari Fraternity: Yard Games
  • Pi Phi Sorority: Poster Design Table
  • Eta Iota Epsilon Fraternity: Poster Design Table
  • Barstool (Unofficial to McMurry, the Official Barstool Sports): Online/Social Promoters
  • Kiva Fraternity: Desserts Table
  • Delta Beta Epsilon Sorority: Desserts Table
  • Alpha Psi Alpha Sorority: Face Painting
  • McMurry Capture (McMurry’s Yearbook Team): Polaroid & Disposable Camera Return Station
  • Chi Omicron Fraternity: Video Game Area
  • McMurry RSL Student Org: Game Prayer and Food Blessing
  • Latin Hispanic Club: Chips & Dip Station

In addition to all their official partners, the Wingmen have also inspired other groups to come show up and out at the tailgates and games, such as the Campus Activities Board (CAB) who brought blow-ups, the McMurry Student Government’s (MSG) Student Life Committee, and of course, we could never forget the parents of the War Hawks Club who provide food at no cost to the students at each tailgate.

Now, to boil the Wingmen down to just tailgate organizers would be disingenuous because they do so much more! The Wingmen themselves include Hayden “The Captain” James, Leo Hernandez-Garza, Kyle Smith, Marcos Tellez, Jack Greenwald, Mateo Herrera, and Eduardo Garcia. These Wingmen are present as yell leaders for both the Wild Wings Student Section in the stands and the War Zone Student Section each football game, but their mission’s scope is larger than football. A priority of the Wingmen is also to support every sport at McMurry indiscriminately, as they feel that some sports outside of Football are underrepresented in the amount of McMurry Spirit for their players to draw on while they play. For example, The Wingmen were present at the first Home Volleyball Kickoff game against Austin College and will be at many more!

The Wingmen have also led a successful fundraiser already, a 1$ garage sale using community-donated items, raising over $200 to help further their mission! Further, beyond that, they are recruiting private sponsors to help fund their tailgates and uniforms, yours truly being one of them! Having shown their prowess at the first two tailgates on September 14 and 21, the Wingmen are exhilarated for the next tailgate on October 19th during McMurry Family Weekend; the theme is Blackout against HSU. Don’t let your babies grow up to be Cowboys!