The Catamounts are opening the season with black uniforms, spruced up field, new skybox, drones and the largest freshman class in the history of the university. The first of the six home games this season is against Eastern Kentucky Colonels on Aug. 29 at E.J. Whitmire Stadium on the Bob Waters Field.
The game starts at 7 p.m., with doors opening at 5:30 p.m. WCU will celebrate the 15th annual Freshman Run this year with a largest freshman class where around 2000 freshman will have the chance to run out the tunnel onto the E.J. Whitmire Field at approximately 5:45 p.m.
The two programs first met in 1988 in Cullowhee, a 32-14 Eastern Kentucky victory. They have played seven times since, and most recently in 2023 in Richmond, where Western Carolina Catamounts earned a 27-24 win. Eastern Kentucky leads the all-time series 5-3.
This year WCU is putting the first sports-affiliated drone show event right after the end of the game. Be warned that, because of the drone show, the pedestrian bridge across the stadium from the parking lot will be closed shortly before and during the drone show.
To celebrate the long-standing relationship WCU has with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, WCU Athletics is passing the word of the day is ‘we-tsa-du-ga,’ which, translated into English, means ‘throw it.
Season tickets and single-game tickets for all six home games remain on sale through the WCU Athletics Ticket Office, located on the first floor of the Ramsey Center, by phone at (828) 227-2401, or online at CatamountSports.com/BuyTickets. Advance parking is available for $15, while day-of-game parking is $20.
The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and live on the radio on the Catamount Sports Network. Listen to the Stray Cats, a student ran pregame and postgame show on 95.3 WWCU.
