This time next year, we will be talking about the Mercer Bears football team and their weekly foes opponents, but Thursday night fans got a taste of what's to come.
Toby the mascot greeted fans in their first bear walk as hundreds marched onto the field for a ceremony.
The first one hundred Bears got a souvenir football to mark the occasion.
Mercer President Bill Underwood told folks that because of brisk ticket sales the stadium once slated for six thousand will now swell to a ten thousand seat capacity.
But the big moment came when head coach Bobby Lamb escourted his guys onto the field to meet people in thier new uniforms.
Lamb says he spent a good bit of time coming up with the design.
"You gotta take the colors you have and work with them and you look at other schools with the same colors," Lamb said. "I can't tell you how many times I Googled orange and black football uniforms and just looked at them, so it's a process like everything else here. And hopefully everybody will be really happy with them."
Lamb says his Bears have been practicing this week, and next Monday morning they will put on the pads during their drills.