I’m sure by now you have heard of or at least seen the hype video for Kennesaw State University. Well, what you may not know is that it was made by KSU students with absolutely no funding from the school.

The idea for the video started about a year ago at a party in Athens where some students had put “Go Georgia Bulldogs” into a mix. Brooks Payne and Jacob Morgan, two of the three stars of the video, decided to make a hype video for KSU. Brooks Payne said, “I love this school because I get to be present for all the ‘firsts.’ I think our student body doesn’t understand how great we are as a school, but I look further down the road when we’re playing other D-1 schools like Alabama, Clemson, and Tennessee to name a few.” In the words of his co-star Rasheed, “We’re Destiny’s Child and you’re Beyonce.”

While Payne and his friends were just having fun and not taking the video too seriously at all, the video received plenty of overwhelmingly positive attention. Many of the departments at KSU have asked to use the video for their preview days. This is a big deal considering the video was 100 percent student funded; Payne and his friends did not take any money from KSU to make this video. They did, however, get help from Brandy Chenoweth, their main marketing connection, who then introduced them to Vaughn Williams, who was able to provide the support of the Athletics Department.

Sturgis the Owl, KSU’s stellar mascot, even guest-starred in the video! Sturgis is very busy and it can be hard to pin him down for a photo-op. Thankfully, Sturgis was on campus for freshman orientation that day. His handler, Daniel Walthers, was able to allow a few extra minutes so the crew could film with him. This filming led to more publicity from the KSU Athletics Instagram page, which posted this photo featuring the guys and Sturgis.

The guys are extremely proud of their video and are hoping that with enough shares they can get it to Ellen DeGeneres! The video is already being viewed internationally and has been picked up by the AJC, and a few other news outlets. Payne’s advice to anyone wanting to make a hype video is, “Be crazy! It’s a hype video.” There were plenty of times when the guys were filming those shots at the top of Kennesaw Mountain and they were having to fake all of that excitement, “It’s hard to be excited when you’re wearing a tux outside in the middle of a Georgia summer.” Payne noted that they have actually gotten messages from multiple schools that are interested in making a video similar to his, but for their school.

I know that I find the video hilarious; it makes me love my school even more than I already do! Special thanks to the guys for collaborating with us on this article, HOOTY HOO!!!!