Full Story of Freshman Class Traditions

Although Fish Fest, the fifth and current chapter of the freshman class tradition, began in 2005, the freshmen class tradition of hosting a unifying class event spans several decades.

The Freshman Class Tradition was long fought for by the freshman class as upperclassmen students actively prevented giving freshmen their own class tradition.

In 1918, the first Fish Banquet was held by the freshman class in honor of the upperclassmen. Throughout the 1920s, the Fish Banquet transitioned to an event that could be enjoyed by both freshmen and upperclassmen. However, in the Spring 1929, for the first time in the 52 year lifespan of Texas A&M at the time, the freshman class was able to host the Fish Banquet for their class only to honor their accomplishments after completing their first year of college. Fish Banquet was recorded to have occurred 3 years in a row to honor the freshman class, with the last recorded Fish Banquet happening in Spring 1931. As such, it marked the end first chapter of the freshman class tradition.

In 1937, a Freshman Ball was organized to celebrate freshmen class unity, becoming the second chapter of the freshman class tradition and the first seen in over 5 years. 

The Freshman Ball remained largely the same throughout the years. However, some notable changes include the freshman needing to sign up to bring dates in 1942, allowing seniors as guests in 1943, and charging for overnight rooms for out of town dates in 1944.

1946 was the only year the Freshman Ball occurred twice, although the reason behind this is unknown.

In 1948, a freshman sweetheart started to be chosen at the Freshman Ball. 

The Freshman Ball was canceled in 1951 due to bad weather. Freshmen were instead invited to attend an all-college dance.

In 1969, Fish Council began hosting the Freshman Ball and has continued to host the freshman class tradition through present day. 

From 1969-1971, a short-lived Freshmen Weekend, which featured activities such as a picnic, volleyball, and live music, was held leading up to the Freshman Ball.

In 1996, the third chapter of the freshman class tradition, Fish Olympics, was started. In the Fish Olympics, freshmen competed in six events to grow in unity with their classmates. The last Fish Olympics was held in the spring of 1999.

In the 1990s, the Freshman Ball started to lose popularity. As such, it was rebranded as the Freshman Beach Ball in 1997 in an attempt to make the dance more casual and to attract more attendees. The Freshman Ball officially ended after its last occurrence in the spring of 1998.

1996-1998 marked the only three year period where the freshman class was able to participate in more than 1 class tradition.

In Spring 2003, the fourth chapter of the freshman class tradition Night Under the Stars, or N.U.T.S. was started. It consisted of a movie night for freshmen with live music performances, speeches, and food. 

N.U.T.S. was rebranded as Fish Fest in 2005 to represent a celebration of the freshmen class’s completion of their first year in college. Over the next few years, the entertainment at Fish Fest came to include games, live performances from different campus organizations, a freshman yell practice, and pictures with Reveille.

In 2020, Fish Fest was not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fish Fest, like all past freshman class traditions, promotes unity among the freshman class and serves as a celebration of freshmen’s hard work over the course of their first year at Texas A&M University.