Homecoming is only a few weeks away and practice for one of the loudest events of the week, Yell like Hell, is echoing over campus.

Yell like Hell has traditionally been a greek event. About 13 percent of ISU students are greek, which leaves 87 percent that don’t usually participate in Homecoming, said Linda Evers, member of Cyclone All-Stars, a team of off-campus and residence hall students who will perform the fight song in Yell like Hell.

“I think it’s great that we’re going to get a more broad representation [of students],” said Evers, junior in marketing.

JoAnn Ford, Homecoming general chairwoman and junior in psychology, said a group of residence halls students signed up last year, but they dropped out before the first round of cuts.

Jill Baumgartner, Yell like Hell chairwoman, said each of the 16 groups coordinate a five-minute skit and perform the fight song. Practices are held four days a week in two-hour blocks, she said.

Competition will start Oct. 14 with the first cuts knocking the teams down to eight, said Baumgartner, junior in psychology. The field will be narrowed to three teams Oct. 17, and the finals are slated for Oct. 20. The winning team will perform at the alumni tailgate during Homecoming, she said.

The idea to have an off-campus and residence hall team started with a group of students in the Student Alumni Leadership Council, which plans the homecoming events, Evers said. Once the idea became a reality, the group started advertising and searching for more team members off campus and in the residence halls, she said.

Michael Todd, team leader for the Cyclone All-Stars, said the team had obstacles to overcome. The lack of an organizational base and accessibility to a large number of people makes it difficult to build a team from scratch, said Todd, senior in electrical engineering.

Due to the small number of people on the off-campus Homecoming team, they only will be participating in the fight song at Yell like Hell, Evers said. A small team that isn’t completely sure of what they expect from the skits isn’t comparable to a team with hundreds of members who have experience in Yell like Hell, she said.

“[Yell like Hell] is a great opportunity to get involved in homecoming,” Evers said.

Although only a few weeks are left, the Cyclone All-Stars are still seeking team members. If interested in helping, contact Todd at [email protected].