Resourceful Lindsey Wilson University Students Find Multiple Ways to Enjoy 'Couch Night' and a Pair of Blue Raider Soccer Wins over Campbellsville University
'It's like I'm sitting at home on a couch watching a big-screen TV.'
COLUMBIA, Ky. (10/09/2026) — For a few hours on the evening of Thursday, Oct. 8, the hillside at Lindsey Wilson University's Walter S. Reuling Stadium was transformed into an outdoor living room.
At least that's how Lindsey Wilson student Kamilah Nana '29 saw it.
Nana was among several hundred Lindsey Wilson students who took to the hill for the university's annual "Couch Night" at Reuling Stadium. Nana was joined by classmates Mugisha Constance '30, Kammora Gaston '30 and Jenesis Bowling '29 on a couch that Bowling borrowed from her boyfriend, graduate student Alexis Santamaria, to watch the Lindsey Wilson-Campbellsville (Kentucky) University women's-men's soccer doubleheader on Ray Wells Field.
"It's like I'm sitting at home on a couch watching a big-screen TV," said Nana, a human services and counseling major from Louisville, Kentucky.
Nana and her friends got to enjoy some very good real-life must-see TV on a near-perfect autumn evening. The Blue Raiders swept the Tigers in the doubleheader with a 2-0 win in the women's match, followed by a 3-1 men's win in the nightcap. The pair of wins capped off a Lindsey Wilson sweep of Campbellsville in volleyball, football, and women's and men's soccer from Oct. 2-8.
Pizza makes everything better
Thursday evening, which was also senior night for the Blue Raider soccer teams, was made all the more enjoyable for Lindsey Wilson students thanks to 150 complimentary pizzas distributed by the Lindsey Wilson Student Government Association.
"I feel rich. I feel real bougie," said Gaston, a business administration major from Chicago.
The evening might have caused Gaston to feel a bit bougie, but many of the students slummed it when it came to what they brought to sit on during the games.
Although the annual evening is called "Couch Night," the event's title is more of a guideline than a hard-and-fast rule. More than a dozen couches, several of which appeared to have been through watching several sports seasons on TV, were carried to Reuling Stadium. But so were an equal number of pieces of lawn furniture, folding chairs and large blankets, which were generously spread out over the grass. One group of students lounged in an unfilled inflatable children's swimming pool.
Daira Bautista '29 borrowed an outdoor patio sofa from her mother's garage in Russell Springs, Kentucky, which accommodated her and friends Ava Salazar '29 and Konny Gonzalez '29, both of Russell Springs.
"I just told my mom I was taking it with me," said Bautista, an education major from Russell Springs. "At first, she was confused, but I just said it was for a soccer game."
Then there was the furniture that Connor Holmes '30 and Adriana Thomas '30 brought to watch the games -- a pair of matching reclining easy chairs. The recliners came from Thomas' house in Russell Springs, and they were transported by Holmes' truck. The pair were among the first to stake out a space on the Reuling Stadium hillside, as Thomas explained, in order to make sure they would secure a pepperoni pizza.
"There's more people here than I thought there would be," said Thomas, a nursing major.
Building community
"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.
This year's "Couch Night" included a spirit station -- hosted by the gender and cultural studies and sport performance majors -- outside of the entrance gate to the Reuling Stadium bleachers. The spirit station was part of the university's Arts & Humanities Month celebration, led by the School of Arts and Humanities.
Celebrating community and soccer -- and pizza -- were reasons that persuaded Trevor Huff '29 to haul a couch with his friends to Reuling Stadium from the university's Draper Apartments.
"I think it's just a fun night where all the students are engaged and come together, and there is pizza," said Huff, a biology major from Bowling Green, Kentucky.
This year's "Couch Night" even attracted a few fans from the other side of the field.
Ella Adams of Columbia enjoyed the evening with her boyfriend, Mynor Chic '29 of Russell Springs, on a hammock they borrowed from a friend.
"I think it's really cool," said Adams, who is a Campbellsville student. "I like how everyone has come together and has fun. The pizza is pretty awesome, too."
Although it was Adams' first "Couch Night," she said it wasn't the first time she had sat with Blue Raiders.
"I always sit on the Lindsey Wilson side," she said.
Lindsey Wilson University is a vibrant liberal arts university in Columbia, Kentucky. Founded in 1903 and affiliated with The United Methodist Church, the mission of Lindsey Wilson is to serve the educational needs of students by providing a living-learning environment within an atmosphere of active caring and Christian concern where every student, every day, learns and grows and feels like a real human being. Lindsey Wilson offers 30 undergraduate majors, five graduate programs and a doctoral program. The university's 29 intercollegiate varsity athletic teams have won more than 120 team and individual national championships.
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Lindsey Wilson University student Emma Johnson ’30, a psychophysiology major from Coxs Creek, Kentucky, applies glitter to the cheek of classmate Natalie Bartrug ’30, an English and psychology double major from Russell Springs, Kentucky, at the spirit station, hosted by the gender and cultural studies and sport performance majors, on Thursday, Oct. 8, outside of the entrance gate to the Walter S. Reuling Stadium bleachers. Thursday was “Couch Night” at Lindsey Wilson, and the Blue Raiders’ swept a women’s-men’s soccer doubleheader against Campbellsville (Kentucky) University.
Lindsey Wilson University students Luke Popplewell ’29, a business administration major from Russell Springs, Kentucky, left, and Austin McCombs ’28, a business administration major from Brownsville, Kentucky, organize some of the 150 complimentary pizzas the LWU Student Government Association gave to Lindsey Wilson students during “Couch Night” on Thursday, Oct. 8, at Walter S. Reuling Stadium. Lindsey Wilson swept a women’s-men’s soccer doubleheader against Campbellsville (Kentucky) University, which capped off a Blue Raider sweep of Campbellsville in volleyball, football, and women’s and men’s soccer from Oct. 2-8.
Lindsey Wilson University students Adriana Thomas ’30, a nursing major from Russell Springs, Kentucky, and Connor Holmes ’30, a physical education major from Russell Springs brought a pair of recliners to “Couch Night” on Thursday, Oct. 8, at Walter S. Reuling Stadium. Lindsey Wilson swept a women’s-men’s soccer doubleheader against Campbellsville (Kentucky) University, which capped off a Blue Raider sweep of Campbellsville in volleyball, football, and women’s and men’s soccer from Oct. 2-8.
Stephanie Archey of Columbia, left, helps Lindsey Wilson University student Jenesis Bowling ’29, a business administration major from Taylorsville, Kentucky, carry a couch on Thursday, Oct. 8, into Walter S. Reuling Stadium for “Couch Night.” Lindsey Wilson swept a women’s-men’s soccer doubleheader against Campbellsville (Kentucky) University, which capped off a Blue Raider sweep of Campbellsville in volleyball, football, and women’s and men’s soccer from Oct. 2-8.
Several hundred Lindsey Wilson University students participated in the university’s annual “Couch Night” on Thursday, Oct. 8, held on the hillside of Walter S. Reuling Stadium. Lindsey Wilson swept a women’s-men’s soccer doubleheader against Campbellsville (Kentucky) University, which capped off a Blue Raider sweep of Campbellsville in volleyball, football, and women’s and men’s soccer from Oct. 2-8.
Lindsey Wilson University mascot Blue Raider Bob lounges among a group of Lindsey Wilson students during the university’s annual “Couch Night” on Thursday, Oct. 8, at Walter S. Reuling Stadium. Lindsey Wilson swept a women’s-men’s soccer doubleheader against Campbellsville (Kentucky) University, which capped off a Blue Raider sweep of Campbellsville in volleyball, football, and women’s and men’s soccer from Oct. 2-8.