Special to NKyTribune
Fans at BB&T Arena for the NKU Norse game against Morehead State University Saturday night got a special treat — and experienced a tradition in the making.
Over a six-month process, the Northern Kentucky University department of athletics has been working on a replication of a 10-foot gjallarhorn, a historic instrument used to call the Norse into battle.
Saturday night, NKU President Geoff Mearns celebrated the unveiling of the giant horn as he became the first to summon the men’s team to the battle on the basketball court with the Morehead basketball team.
NKU athletics partnered with Todd “TJ” Johnson from Grothe Music in Minnesota to create the horn and assist with the audio R&D to transmit the sound throughout the arena.
Bill Kashatus from BB&T Arena built the skeleton of the Norse ship that carries the horn and Ron Shaw form Northern Kentucky’s scene shop incorporated the aesthetic appeal.
Conrad Krieger, NKU’s Student Pep Band director, stepped in to play the sound sample on the actual horn that ultimately became the sound used with it.
The athletic department hopes the gjallarhorn is something that will build tradition at NKU while increasing awareness of their brand.
The horn will be sounded prior to the starting line-up for both the men’s and women’s basketball games. A guest sounder will have the honor of calling the Norse to battle.
Unfortunately there was no magic this time in the gjallarhorn. After a back-and-forth game, Morehead State pulled away in the final minutes to defeat Northern Kentucky, 64-56. The Norse fall to 1-2 on the year.
From NKU Athletics