Virginia State University Goes Viral With More Than Two Million Views For Its "Boots On The Ground" Celebration

The University's dance video continues to spread nationwide and has been featured on a national television program.

Each year, Virginia State University honors its graduates with a moment of celebration before they walk across the stage at Commencement. The goal is to give graduates a chance to celebrate without disrupting the flow of the ceremony when they walk across the stage.

This year, that moment became a viral sensation that made national headlines.

During the ceremony, VSU President Dr. Makola M. Abdullah invited graduates to look under their chairs, where custom Virginia State University fans had been taped in advance. Moments later, the music began and the crowd knew exactly what to do.

VSU graduates, faculty, and administrators broke into the popular "Boots On The Ground" song/line dance by 803Fresh that features the now-famous lyrics, "Where them fans at?". The celebratory moment was captured on video and posted to social media, quickly gaining traction with more than 2 million views on Facebook and over 326,000 on Instagram. It was reshared by the artist 803Fresh and even featured on the nationally syndicated television show Inside Edition.

"Although the viral attention wasn't planned," said the AVP of Communications, Dr. Gwen Williams Dandridge. "We proudly embrace every opportunity to celebrate our students and share our vibrant HBCU culture with the world."

If you haven't seen the viral video, you can watch it on the official VSU Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter/X pages.

Congratulations to the Class of 2025 for upholding the standard of GREATER at Virginia State University and becoming a global social media sensation.