Forever Ole Miss: Ole Miss freshman Ava Claire Culbertson shares her first gameday experiences as a student

Editor’s note: At The Rebel Walk, we want to give you more than just coverage of the sports team you love. We also want to bring you a taste of what it means to be an Ole Miss Rebel. Ava Claire Culbertson is a newly-minted freshman at the University of Mississippi, who also happens to be the great niece of our senior football writer, Steve Barnes.

Saturday marked Ava Claire’s first time to be in the Grove and Vaught-Hemingway Stadium as an official Ole Miss Rebel student, and her Uncle Steve, himself a former Ole Miss student, wanted to know how the day felt for her.

Uncle Steve: Today is not your first visit to the Grove, but it is your first as an Ole Miss student. How do you describe the experience?

Ava Claire: I have been waiting for this day for what feels like forever and I could not be more excited! It’s like Christmas Day, only better!!!

Uncle Steve: What was the excitement factor when you first yelled the Hotty Toddy cheer in the stadium?

Ava Claire: Yelling the Hotty Toddy chant while being a student here has a completely different feel to it, one like none I’ve ever experienced. I was a tad bit nervous about messing up…even though I have yelled the cheer a million times before today. Hearing so many fans in unison gave me chills!

Uncle Steve: You recently pledged Kappa Delta. Uncle Steve dated an AOPi at Ole Miss, Ruth Claire, so the middle name matches. In what sports are your new sorority sisters most interested?

Ava Claire: Kappa Delta has been the best decision, as I have had the privilege of meeting and getting to know girls who truly are world changers. Our sisterhood loves all things Ole Miss and sports is no exception. KD is represented on the cheer squad, Rebelettes, and Diamond Girls. We’re always ready to show our Rebel pride and support all of our student-athletes.

Ava Claire Culbertson (left) on Bid Day. (Photo courtesy the Culbertson Family)

Uncle Steve: How did you choose your ensemble for the Grove? And how many times did you have to change it?

Ava Claire: Although it is helpful having a set color scheme for each game, dressing up for my first game as a student was a bit of a challenge. I knew I had the perfect white dress for today; however, selecting my shoes, jewelry, and other accessories proved to be a tough task. I think I spent as much time putting together my outfit for today’s first home game as my mom spent deciding on her ensemble for the Kentucky Derby this year…it is that important!

Ava Claire Culbertson (right) in the Grove for the first time as an official Ole Miss Rebel student! (Photo credit: Culbertson Family)

Uncle Steve: How are you going to celebrate after the Ole Miss win Saturday?

Ava Claire: I will definitely be celebrating our win over Mercer with my Kappa Delta sisters! Even though there isn’t a set game plan yet, one thing I have learned in my short time here is there’s always a party in Oxford, and I can’t wait to continue experiencing every aspect this college town offers! Hotty Toddy!!!

Forever a Rebel

We thank Ava Claire for sharing her experiences from today.

Mark Twain once wrote the only things certain in life were death and taxes. He missed one. There are certainly death and taxes, but on Sept. 2, 2023, even though her grandfather graduated from Southern Miss and her dad is a semi-State fan, Ava Claire Culbertson is forever an Ole Miss Rebel.

Steve Barnes

Steve Barnes joins The Rebel Walk staff as a senior writer and brings a trifecta of journalistic experience. As a writer, he has covered college sports for Rivals.com, Football.com and SaturdayDownSouth.com as well as served as a beat writer for various traditional newspapers.

He has been a broadcaster for arena football and several national tournament events for the National Junior College Athletic Association as well as hosting various shows on radio.

A former sports information director at Albany (Ga.) State University and an assistant at Troy and West Florida, he has helped host many NCAA conference, regional and national events, including serving five years on the media committee of the NCAA Division II World Series.

Barnes, a native of Pensacola, Fla., attended Ole Miss in 1983-84, where his first journalism teacher was David Kellum. The duo has come a long way since that time.

He will bring a proven journalistic track record, along with a knack for finding the out-of-the-ordinary story angles to The Rebel Walk.

Barnes continues to reside in Pensacola a mere ten minutes from the beach because he does have taste and a brain.