21-04-2025
Odessa native, Permian HS alumni named 2025-26 Texas A&M Head Yell Leader
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KMID-KPEJ) – From the Permian Basin to the Brazos Valley, Odessa native and Permian High School alumni, Kyler Fife has been named to one of Texas A&M's most-prestigious roles.
The Aggie Junior communications major has been named the 2025-26 Head Yell Leader for the academic year and will guide the four other Yell Leaders as they represent the spirit of Aggieland.
Fife spoke with ABC Big 2's Chris Talley about how it feels to represent West Texas.
'Extremely proud – very proud, of where I've came from, I love the time I had in Odessa growing up, shoutout Permian High School – Go Mojo, and our Friday Night Lights out there back to my roots where I learned the value of Tradition and Excellence, what really carried me to Texas A&M was seeing those former Permian Panthers who went on to A&M to be aggies from one tradition to the next,' explained Fife.
Fife offers this piece of advice to other high school students across West Texas looking to follow his footsteps to Aggieland.
'Work hard because it will be worth it and all the effort you put in – in high school to get to college it really pays off whether you're at Midland High, you're at Legacy, you're at Odessa High School, any other school in the area – you represent what it means to be an Odessa and Midland Native, you represent what it means to be from West Texas, a hard worker, excellence, and respect,' said Fife.
But what is a Texas A&M Yell Leader?
According to an article by Texas A&M University 'The job of Yell Leaders is to entertain and energize the crowd at all Texas A&M football games, as well as other events. They do this by leading Aggie fans in yells, such as Farmers Fight and Old Army, accompanied by hand signals. Yell Leaders are also known to be role models of the Aggie Spirit for current students and embody the spirit of the 12th Man.
The tradition of Yell Leaders began during a football game in the early 1900s. The Aggies were losing badly, and the audience was growing bored. The upperclassmen ordered the freshmen to find a way to entertain their guests, many of whom had been invited from Texas Woman's University. The freshmen found white coveralls and began leading the crowd in yells. They had so much fun and received so much attention from their audience that it was decided that only upperclassmen would be allowed to participate in leading yells in the future.
Aggie Yell Leaders still wear white during games and attend all home and away football games and all home basketball, volleyball and soccer games. They also attend post-season football, basketball and volleyball games. They can always be found on the sidelines of the playing field in front of the student section, encouraging the Aggies to show their Aggie Spirit.' Said Texas A&M University.
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