The OU campus is bleeding crimson this week, and tonight the 15th annual Big Red Rally kicks off another season of Sooner football.

The Big Red Rally is a campus-wide pep rally and an OU custom, but this year the Campus Activities Council is mixing things up, said Katie Smith, the Big Red Rally chair and microbiology senior.

“This year’s rally is very different than it has been in the past, mostly because it’s the night before the first game,” Smith said.

The Center for Student Life hopes this change will attract more alumni and keep students pumped up all weekend, said Quy Nguyen, assistant director of Student Life.

“There is nothing like coming back to campus after an extended leave and feeling like you are home again,” Nguyen said. “We hope that by doing this we create an even stronger sense of tradition with this program.”

Smith said the Gaylord Family-Memorial Stadium will not be the location for this year’s rally, The Big Red Rally will now be held on the North Lawn between the stadium and McCasland Field House.

CAC usually hosts a Little Red Rally following the Big Red Rally, but instead, they are teaming up with the Union Programming Board and Farmers Insurance Group to throw a Big Red Rally After-Party, Smith said.

TJ McFarland is performing an hour-long set at the after party, and free games and snacks will also be available, Smith said.

The new festivities are exciting and will appeal to a wider range of people, said Meredith Mosier, the sponsorship chair and a pre-nursing and business sophomore.

“Now we have more to build on for next year,” Mosier said.

Energy management junior Samantha Pennards said she has attended Big Red Rally in the past, and also plans to attend this year.

“It gets everyone pumped up for the game,” Pennards said.

Pennards and Smith recommended all students come to the event so they can become more acquainted with the university and its beloved football team.

“I think it’s important for students to attend because tradition is so ingrained in everything we do here,” Smith said.

She said Clarke Stroud will be the master of ceremonies, and will be accompanied by performances from The Pride of Oklahoma and spirit squads.

Bob Stoops will also speak, as will Joe Washington and OU President David L. Boren, Nguyen said.

The Big Red Rally begins at 7 p.m. on the North Lawn, and the after-party begins immediately after, at 8:15 p.m. on the east lawn of the Oklahoma Memorial Union.