Fans fill FAU's new stadium for first football game

College football fever is catching at Florida Atlantic University. For the first time, they kicked off their home opening football game at their own brand new $70 million stadium.

More than 25-thousand FAU Owls and fans turned out to be a part of school history as their team took on the Western Kentucky Hilltops. Parents and tiny children dressed as cheerleaders and quarterbacks, along with students and alumni filled the stands, excited that the FAU Owls finally have a permanent football home.

"You feel a sense of pride," said FAU alumni Navon Wallace. "Now you feel proud to go to FAU because you have something to represent the school."

"This is the most exciting thing," said Alexis Heck, an FAU student who went with her roommates to the game. "This is the only thing anybody has been talking about all week. All week, everybody's talking about where they're going, who they're going with, where they're sitting."

No longer will FAU fans have to travel all the way to Fort Lauderdale to root and hoot for their team. They now have their own 30-thousand seat stadium, complete with concession stand, room for the band, stadium lights and even a JumboTron right in their own backyard.

"The reason I didn't go to any of the games before is because they were somewhere else," explained FAU Junior Ian English, "and now they're here and I have absolutely no excuse not to go to a game and I don't need transportation. I can just walk here."

Even alumni like John Starr, whose daughter now attends FAU, are thrilled to be part of it all.

"There's a lot of new buildings and a lot of new energy in the place," he said, "so it was good to come back."

The Owls ended up losing 20 - 0 to Western Kentucky; however, win or lose, these fans' feathers won't be ruffled as they're already eager to cheer on the Owls at their next game.