Contact: Taiah Gallisath, Associate Director of Athletics Communication, 630-637-5302
Oct. 7, 2025 – With clear skies and temperatures climbing into the 80s, Army Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) cadets from North Central College and Wheaton College continued a growing tradition this past Saturday, Oct. 4, by running the Cardinal-Thunder football game ball the eight miles campus-to-campus ahead of the 106th matchup between the two teams during North Central’s Homecoming weekend.
ROTC Game Ball Run Tradition
The earliest account of the ROTC cadet game ball tradition dates back to the 1970s, with Virginia Tech Ranger Company running the game ball to the yearly football rivalry game against Virginia Military Institute. The tradition is meant to promote unity and camaraderie for rivalries and foster teamwork and relationship building among cadets and ROTC programs. Many colleges and universities have since adopted the tradition, including Iowa and Iowa State, Michigan and Michigan State, BYU and Utah, as well as in the storied Army-Navy game, where cadets deliver the game ball approximately 300 miles.
The tradition was introduced to North Central and Wheaton in 2023 by Army Lt. Col. Alex Moen, who was inspired by his own time as a cadet at Texas A&M when he participated in a similar run for the Texas A&M vs. Texas rivalry game. The past two seasons, it has become a part of the CCIW rivalry game with Col. Moen encouraging the cadets to lead the planning and logistics of each year’s run with his guidance.
Beginning at 3:30 p.m., 12 cadets from the two schools began the eight-mile relay run, carrying the official game ball from Wheaton’s McCully Stadium to North Central’s Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium. It marks the third year of the run and served as one of many special events during North Central’s Homecoming festivities.
Cadets were divided into four teams, with some running two legs of the relay. North Central’s cadets participating in the run were Tony Cole ’26, Jack Wasser ’28, Brennan Powell ’28, and women’s softball student-athlete Bailey Miller '26. The group arrived at North Central around 5:35 p.m. with North Central’s Campus Safety officers escorting the cadets past the Cardinal tailgate zone and into the stadium, where they presented the official game ball to the officiating crew before the coin toss.
Among those on the field during the game—but not in the run—were fellow ROTC cadets and Cardinal football players Danny O’Malley ’28 and Gabe Gyorgy ’27, as well as 10 Wheaton Thunder football players.
While the cadet runners were the face of the new tradition, they represented a much larger commitment as 217 cadets of the Rolling Thunder Battalion are training to be commissioned as Second Lieutenants in the United States Army upon graduation.
North Central's History With ROTC
North Central is one of eight institutions affiliated with the Army ROTC Rolling Thunder Battalion housed at Wheaton College and one of 15 institutions with the Air Force ROTC Detachment 195 housed at the University of Chicago. Though the agreement began in the last decade or so, many North Central students have participated in ROTC programs before then. Through the ROTC program, cadets work towards a college education while receiving outstanding leadership training and preparation for a career as an officer in the U.S. Military.
Since 2000, 17 North Central Army ROTC cadets have pursued careers in the U.S. Military, with eight serving in the Army, four in the Army Reserves, four in the Air Force, and one in the Army National Guard. For more info about ROTC opportunities for NC students, click here.
The Cardinal football program went on to deliver a commanding 35-0 shutout over Wheaton, the program’s first shutout over the Thunder since 1964. North Central retained the coveted Little Brass Bell trophy for the fifth straight year and closed out the Homecoming weekend with a lights and fireworks show. To learn more about the Little Brass Bell, click here.