It’s almost that time of the year again: Bama Rush season. Bama Rush has quickly become a social media phenomenon since its rise in popularity in 2021. With the hashtags #BamaRush and #RushTok having over 300,000 videos on TikTok, fall rush season is something that a lot of TikTok viewers look forward to every August. Bama Rush posts usually consist of PNMs documenting their outfits for each day, as well as recapping their experiences and sharing their hopes for the sororities they want to get bids for. At the end of the season, viewers get to see their favorite PNMs become sorority members as they run “home” to the chapters that chose them on bid day.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been ready to see the University of Alabama’s newest potential new members (PNMs) and their OOTD TikToks pretty much ever since the moment the 2023 fall rush season ended. But what I *wasn’t* expecting to see is a familiar face from last year: star of Bama Rush 2023, Morgan Cadenhead, aka Bama Morgan.
In 2023, Morgan quickly became a fan-favorite PNM on TikTok. Viewers fell in love with her humor, relatability, and daily recaps of the rush process (accompanied by a gallon of orange juice). Morgan’s approach to Bama Rush showcased the side of rush that isn’t all that perfect or overly glamorized, and the people loved her for it.
That’s why it was a shock to everyone on RushTok when Morgan didn’t receive a bid. Although fans don’t know exactly why she was dropped from recruitment, Morgan shared her positive outlook on the situation with Her Campus in an August 2023 interview. “It’s okay to not get into a house, it’s not the end all, lose all,” she said. “There are other things for you to do on campus. There are clubs, and friend groups — the only difference between a girl who’s not in a sorority and a girl who’s in a sorority, is the girls who are in [one] have to clean up after the parties.”
After rush season ended, Morgan continued sharing her journey at the University of Alabama on TikTok, even sharing videos with some other RushTok fan-faves like Bella Grace and Kylan Darnell. After last year’s letdown, Morgan seemed to be thriving in her non-Greek life at Alabama. However, in May 2024, Morgan announced she will be giving rush another try in the fall.
“I’m so excited to announce to you guys that I will be going through the rush process again this upcoming August,” Morgan said in her May 6 video.
For those who didn’t realize you could rush more than once, according to the Alabama Panhellenic Association, if you’ve never been initiated into another National Panhellenic Sorority, you’re free to rush again. In addition, you don’t have to be a freshman to participate in recruitment. All upperclassmen who choose to rush will be under a separate quota for recruitment. This means Morgan is eligible to rush — yay for her!
Morgan is pulling out all the stops for rush this year by starting a “Road to Rush” series on TikTok. In this series, Morgan will be documenting her preparation process leading up to rush, with videos centered around her own rush prep while also giving tips to the PNMs who are rushing for the first time, with content explaining things like why you may need a rush bag or the best place is to shop for rush outfits.
“I’m doing the ‘Road to Rush’ largely because of my own experience when it came to the rush process,” Morgan said in a May 7 TikTok. “I want it to be a tool for other people like me.”
With Morgan now officially back in the game, Bama Rush 2024 just got way more exciting — here’s hoping second time is the charm for this superstar!