The Big Red Freakout is an annual men's ice hockey event at RPI, held each year since 1978. It usually occurs during a late-season home hockey game at Houston Field House where students dress head-to-toe in the school's bright red color, receive commemorative gifts called "favors," and create an atmosphere of intense school spirit. It’s one of the most anticipated sporting events for RPI, and many students who don’t traditionally go to hockey games end up showing up, due to the sheer amount of energy displayed during the games.

Origins and First Event

The Big Red Freakout was first created by Dean of Students Carl Westerdahl and Grand Marshal Mark Feinstein in 1978. According to The Polytechnic, the organizers wanted to "get the fans psyched for one game and to pay them back for their support during the season." At the time, RPI was (allegedly) known as having the best fans in the ECAC hockey conference.

The first Big Red Freakout was on February 25, 1978 against the University of New Hampshire. Sports information director Jim Greenidge sent out a press release urging fans to wear red, bring noisemakers, participate in a banner contest, and enjoy free ice skating after the game. Earl Lee served as coordinator for the event.

A standing-room-only crowd of 4,594 packed Houston Field House for the first Freakout. The Engineers won an intense game 6-5 in overtime, with Steve Stoyanovich scoring a hat trick and adding an assist. The noise level was so intense that the visiting team and commentators complained, and referees threatened to penalize RPI because the pep band and crowd were excessively loud. During the event, the pep band reintroduced the school's alma mater, "Hail, Dear Old Rensselaer," to the Freakout crowd.

Fans at the first Freakout were encouraged to bring their own noisemakers, which included car horns connected to car batteries, air horns, and even a submarine klaxon. Engineer hats were given out as the first commemorative favor, though some attendees recall streamer pom-poms being distributed as well.

Evolution and Traditions

The Favor Tradition

As attendees file into the field house, students hand out small gifts known as "favors," to every person. Over the years, these have included pennants, pucks, buttons, clothing, banners, pom-poms, cowbells, foam fingers, thundersticks, and various noisemakers. The Institute Archives and Special Collections at RPI has collected many of these favors over the years and has displayed them in exhibitions at Folsom Library.

Cowbells were given out at the third Freakout in 1980 and made a reappearance four years later, right before RPI won their first ECAC championship in 1984. According to archival accounts, fans brought these cowbells to the championship game at Boston Garden, which may have also contributed to later rule changes restricting artificial noisemakers.

The 1987 Horn Incident and NCAA Rule Change

The most infamous favor in Big Red Freakout history came in 1987 when approximately 3,500 stadium horns were handed out to fans for the game against Brown University. RPI ended up with a 4-1 lead in the first period and went on to win the penalty-filled game 8-3. The combination of these new horns and noisemakers from previous years that fans had brought to the game created such an incredible amount of noise that it was credited with affecting the outcome.

The noise level became so extreme that the NCAA had to step in and implemented restrictions on the types of gifts that could be given out at college hockey games. The NCAA hockey rules committee voted unanimously to ban artificial noisemakers, air horns, and electric amplifiers at college games. This rule eventually became informally known as the "RPI Rule".

Atmosphere and Fan Culture

The Big Red Freakout has evolved into a combination of Mardi Gras, Halloween, and New Year's Eve rolled into one. Students and fans arrive in creative displays of school spirit, many with faces painted half cherry and half white, some with their hair dyed in school colors, and many wearing RPI themed costumes. The event draws significant alumni attendance, similar to a homecoming celebration.

The pep band, with alumni attending, sometimes grows to near-orchestral size on Freakout nights, and contributes to the level of noise and energy in the Houston Field House.

Notable Games and Performance Record

The Engineers have achieved decent successes during Freakout games. We in fact held a remarkable 17-game unbeaten streak from 1990 to 2007.

Several Freakout games stand out in RPI hockey history:

• 1983: A then-record crowd of 5,222 packed Houston Field House as RPI rolled over St. Lawrence 8-1, with Mike Sadeghpour scoring twice in the first period.

• 1984: RPI crushed St. Lawrence 10-2 in one of the biggest blowouts in Freakout history.

• 1985: An all-time record crowd of 5,506 filled the Field House to see Adam Oates & peers defeat Yale 8-2, en route to the school's second NCAA Hockey Championship.

• 2002 (25th Annual): Described as one of the most exciting games, The Engineers won 4-3 against Clarkson in overtime after “trailing 3-0 with just under 13 minutes remaining in the third period”

Scheduling and Significance

The Big Red Freakout is usually held on the last or second-to-last Saturday home game in February, close to the first weekend of the month.

It’s considered amazing tradition for RPI, and a unique event in college hockey, bringing together an entire campus, community and alumni base in a way that few other college hockey events can match. The tradition has proven remarkably durable, and at our school, thirty-two consecutive years of the same tradition with the same purpose is relatively rare.

The event continues to draw capacity or near-capacity crowds, with recent Freakout games regularly attracting more than 4,500 fans to Houston Field House. The last freakout, we saw RPI defeat Yale 5-2 in front of more than 4,500 fans.