Among the many changes Wildcat Week brought to campus this year has been the return of purple shirt Fridays.

While brainstorming ways to revamp what was formerly known as Welcome Week, Caddie Coupe, director of new student programs, and her seven student directors decided to look back before working forward.

“It’s not a new tradition,” Coupe said. “We went back and looked at old traditions. We wanted to put emphasis on things that past ACU students have loved.”

Purple shirt Fridays began in the mid-1990s when faculty and staff wore purple on the Fridays before football games.

The goal with restarting this tradition was to help build school spirit and pride, especially within the incoming freshman class, Coupe said.

This tradition was part of the reasoning behind making the shirt for Wildcat Week purple, said Coupe.

In addition, the ACU Alumni Association funded another purple shirt that students and leaders received and wore on the Friday of Wildcat Week.

“We wanted them to be set for the first two Fridays of the year,” Coupe said.

The Campus Store will also be involved in re-implementing purple shirt Fridays. This fall, game-day shirts will be for sale before each football game. The shirts are regularly priced at $10, but students can purchase them for $5 on the Fridays before games.