By Graham Smithson

      Few things get Arkansans as excited as seeing the Razorbacks take the field during football season. Much like “calling the hogs,” watching the Razorback football team enter the field by running through the “A” is a tradition that has been around for decades. However, one former AECT alumni is using his expertise of gases to boost the already renowned pageantry of Arkansas football.

     Brett Crumley, an AECT graduate from the class of 2005, spends gamedays at the Hog Pen gates in the north end zone. This is where Crumley releases the smoke that the players run through as they make their entrance onto the field. As a lifelong Razorback fan, Crumley is always excited to be a part of the gameday festivities that take place on the field.

     Although Crumley, who is an account manager for Airgas USA, views the opportunity to be on the field as simply a part of his job, the experience still triggers an adrenaline rush and an opportunity to stamp his footprint on the gameday atmosphere.

     “I’m down in the mix, in the heat of it all,” Crumley said. “We get to be on the field and do our thing, and it’s crazy how much hype there is down there.” Crumley has been working for Airgas USA for 14 years. He credits his experience in AECT with helping him get to where he is today. Crumley said he enjoyed the close, family-like atmosphere of AECT and the close relationships he formed with students and teachers during his college career.

      “I thought it was impactful to grow those relationships,” Crumley said. “The welcoming atmosphere was the most important part of my time in college.” 

      Not only did Crumley leave AECT with great relationships, but he also credits the knowledge he gained from AECT classes to his success with Airgas. He personally built the pipe system used to release the smoke, which is actually a gas, used during the football team’s entrance. Through the years, Crumley has fine-tuned the amount of smoke released to make the entrance just right for the enjoyment of Razorback fans. Regarding his job with Airgas, Crumley said the knowledge he gained in college helped sync everything together for him.

     “Of course, some of that came from traits that I gained from the AECT program,” he said. “It helped me understand mechanical piping and mechanical processes.”

      Airgas and Razorback athletics are in their sixth year of partnership. The company now supplies smoke for the entrance of men’s and women’s basketball games as well. Expanding on their partnership with Arkansas Athletics, Airgas now also constructs smoke entrances for athletic programs across the country, including the Texas Longhorns football team.

     With the arrival of each fall, Arkansas Razorback fans begin the anticipation of a new athletic season. For Crumley, the experience of being both a fan and a professional on gamedays is special. By using the traits acquired during his college career and a life of “calling the hogs,” Crumley experiences gamedays like no fan ever before has.