Lindsey Wilson University Students Enjoy the Comfort of 'Couch Night' at Walter S. Reuling Stadium

Blue Raider tradition brings campus together around soccer, pizza and creative uses of furniture.

by Duane Bonifer

COLUMBIA, Ky. (10/02/2025) — Lindsey Wilson University senior Jada Yann '26 saw the last three "Couch Nights," but she didn't fully appreciate what makes the event special until she got to experience her first one as a fan on Wednesday, Oct. 1.

Yann was among several hundred Lindsey Wilson students who dragged couches, office chairs, lawn chairs, folding chairs and blankets onto the hillside of Walter S. Rueling Stadium to watch the Lindsey Wilson-Cumberland (Tennessee) University soccer doubleheader on Wednesday evening at Ray Wells Field.

"Couch Night" has been a Lindsey Wilson tradition since 2003, when the university's student government started it as a way to celebrate Blue Raider soccer and bring together the student body on an autumn weeknight. Students who attend the event are encouraged to watch the action from a couch -- or from another piece of furniture -- and also given complimentary pizza.

Yann saw the previous three "Couch Nights" while a member of the Lindsey Wilson women's soccer team, but this year was the first time she experienced the event from the other side of Wells Field.

"It's a little weird, but it's kind of nice," said Yann, a nursing major from Louisville, Kentucky, who is now a member of the Lindsey Wilson JV women's basketball team. "I get to eat the pizza before it gets cold because I get to watch it this year."

Yann watched the soccer games from a couch with her boyfriend, Hunter Tomes '26 of Leitchfield, Kentucky. Tomes, also a nursing major, carried their couch from a gazebo near the university's Trabue Apartments where it had been sitting.

"It's been sitting over there for at least a couple of weeks, so we decided to use it," said Yann.

Pizza and comfort

The complimentary pizza was a big draw on "Couch Night." That's why Zach McCaslin '27 of Owensboro, Kentucky, and six of his track and field teammates hauled a couch from the fourth floor of Harold J. Smith Hall to the weight room on the west side of campus, before carrying it over to Reuling Stadium for the soccer doubleheader.

"It was a big walk, but last year we didn't get pizza because we got here late, so we took our couch with us to the weight room this year," said McCaslin, a physical education and health major.

The opportunity to sit closer to the soccer action -- and in comfort -- also appealed to Lindsey Wilson students. Even if much of the furniture used had seen better days.

Andy Willis '28 of Columbia joined classmate Seth Ousley '26 of Lancaster, Kentucky, on a couch that had been sitting in the carport of the Pickett House where Ousley lives. A couch that had been used for what Ousley calls "porch sitting" was used Wednesday night to watch soccer.

"I think it's one of the best traditions Lindsey Wilson has," said Ousley, a sustainability and environmental studies major who also serves as an admissions intern. "I always mention it on my campus tours."

That was something that caught the attention of freshmen Maebrie Cochran, Emerson Gregory and Harper Gregory, all of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, when they toured Lindsey Wilson last school year.

They were joined Wednesday night on an inflatable couch by teammate Tyria Tanner '27 of Cleveland, Tennessee. The four had come from JV women's basketball practice and were taking a break -- and working on homework -- before heading to women's flag football practice. The quartet's flag football teammates and coach, Chris Raggard, enjoyed the women's soccer game while lounging next to them on blankets.

Cochran said she brought the inflatable couch to campus when she moved into her Phillipps Hall room last August.

"I had one hanging around and it came in handy," said Cochran, a psychophysiology major.

Couch alternatives

An inflatable couch wasn't the only alternative piece of furniture to appear at this year's "Couch Night." Several students sat on lawn chairs and folding chairs. Sadie Kemp '26 of Columbia and Amanda Skipworth '26 of Winchester, Kentucky, watched the soccer games while sitting on a futon.

"It's helpful to have guy friends who have a truck," said Kemp, an elementary education major.

"Besides, it won't fit in our cars," said Skipworth, a nursing major.

Kemp said that "Couch Night" is one of her favorite Lindsey Wilson traditions because "I love soccer."

"What I tell people on tours is that you get to watch soccer from the comfort of your own couch and you get free food," she said. "I'm really glad I got to do this one last time before I graduate."

Jared Wyatt '26 of Glasgow, Kentucky, took relaxation to a new level by watching the games from a hammock he brought from outside his Draper Apartment.

"You just got to stay as comfortable as possible," said Wyatt, a nursing major.

A record night

This year's "Couch Night" set a record, according to Lindsey Wilson Student Government Association President Zachariah Lawson '26 of Williamsburg, Kentucky. He said that a total of 133 pizzas were handed out this year -- eight more than last year's total.

"You think of a couch, you think of the living room. You think of family. Lindsey Wilson is family, and 'Couch Night' represents family," said Lawson, an English major.

Lindsey Wilson Hall of Famer Kirsty Marr Chapman '04 said that extra "family" support made a difference when she was playing women's soccer for the Blue Raiders more than two decades ago.

"Couch night brought out a lot of students who didn't always come out for soccer games," said Chapman, who settled in on one of the hills above the goals to watch the women's game. "Students would be yelling and screaming, and that really helped us on the field. It's just a great tradition for Lindsey Wilson to have."

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