The Quarterback Club donated a brand new tunnel to the Tunnel Crew Oct. 22 right before the LBJ game Friday night.  

“I was so excited,” junior Tunnel Crew member Rebekah Pearce said. “It was so much fun getting to see everyone’s happy faces when they got to see the tunnel for the first time. I am so glad that we got the new tunnel for the rest of the year, and we get to use it my senior year. I know the boys and the crowd loved it, and they were excited to see it. It is definitely something we needed for a while, and I think it makes our program look even better.” 

The Tunnel Crew will take donations at the last home game Nov. 6 for a new generator. There will be two Ace Hardware buckets by the tunnel to collect donations or see Sophie Bookerson.

“Since we are a non-profit organization and not sponsored by the school, we are hoping the community will help us supply a new generator with donations,” senior Tunnel Crew member Avery Hamrick said. “As of right now we are having to borrow people’s personal generators.”

The old tunnel has been in use for approximately 10 years and was starting to slowly fall apart.

“I personally enjoyed having our old tunnel because it had history, but with the new one it’s so much more efficient for what we need for our football players,” Hamrick said. 

The football team gives a huge thanks to the Quarterback Club and Tunnel Crew for the new tunnel.

“When I first saw the tunnel, I was really surprised because it looked really good,” senior Lane Haviland said. “Running through the tunnel with the crowd roaring was an amazing feeling all thanks to the Quarterback Club.”

The new tunnel is significantly heavier than the old tunnel reaching 380 pounds, but the benefits outweigh the slight disadvantage.

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“This tunnel is one piece, while the old one was two separate pieces,” Hamrick said. “The setting up process is a lot quicker compared to the old tunnel. We used to have to use a generator and two air compressors, but now it’s just one air compressor to blow it all up. It is larger in size and provides the space needed for all the players to enjoy the tunnel experience.”

The student section gave great feedback after seeing the new tunnel up and ready.

“As soon as I saw the tunnel from the stands, I knew I liked it better than the old one,” senior Parker Gibbs said. “The fact that it’s an actual badger and not just a helmet really caught my attention.”