When knock-out vocal performances mix with championship-winning athletics, everybody wins.

That’s the idea behind #RiseUpNU, a campaign for Husky pride that combines some of the best student performances—on the stage and on the court.

We’re thinking about our students rising up to their best performances, but more broadly about the entire Northeastern community rising up together in support of one another.
—George Gardner, executive senior associate athletic director of external affairs

The campaign, which culminates in the premiere of a new music video Tuesday night, was borne out of a series of focus groups held by the athletics department this past fall regarding student attendance at events. The resounding response from students was the desire for a common thread throughout the Northeastern community.

“Athletic events are a great place to gather as a community to celebrate the accomplishments of our teams and our incredible student-athletes,” said George Gardner, executive senior associate athletic director of external affairs. “But to shake things up a bit, we wanted to partner with a student group that likely has a very different audience, to widen the popularity of both groups.”

The resulting event, a joint effort by the athletics department, the Nor’easters a cappella group, and the Office of Alumni Relations, will be held in Blackman Auditorium Tuesday at 8 p.m., and will feature two sets by the Nor’easters as well as speeches by student-athletes. And it all leads up to the unveiling of a stirring music video that highlights some of the best Northeastern has to offer.

Tickets for the event are free, but must be reserved in advance.

In the video, Nor’easters cover the Grammy-winning Andra Day song “Rise Up,” while footage of the performers and game footage from recent years are spliced together to tell a story representative of the whole Northeastern community.

“We’re thinking about our students rising up to their best performances, but more broadly about the entire Northeastern community rising up together in support of one another,” Gardner said.

Though he’s seen the video through its creation, Gardner said the “raw emotion on display” both from the performers and the athletes in the video gives him “goosebumps every time.”