Image Gallery: Unofficial St. Patrick's Day 2017 » more Photo by: Heather Coit An Unofficial St. Patrick's Day reveler channels his inner leprechaun with empty mug in hand during the noon hour on UI Campus in Champaign on Friday, March 3, 2017.

URBANA — The headline would have sent a jolt through the campus — if it weren't fake news.

"Obama confirmed for commencement" read the banner for a College of Engineering student newsletter that was posted Thursday afternoon, seemingly the culmination of a campaign to bring the former president to speak to UI graduates this spring.

But your Irish eyes deceived you.

The Knights of St. Patrick, an engineering student honorary group that plays pranks each spring leading up to Unofficial and the real St. Patrick's Day, was behind the fake edition.

Some clues: Obama was to speak at the College of Engineering ceremony, not the campuswide commencement. The Knights' logo is at the top of the page, along with the familiar campus "I" symbol.

And a few other headlines were a bit of a giveaway — including a partnership between SpaceX and the UI Department of Aerospace Engineering to build a "hyperloop" that would get travelers from Champaign to Chicago in 20 minutes.

The Obama announcement went all-out, with lots of background and realistic quotes from Dean Andreas Cangellaris and the former president himself — enough to prompt several inquiries of "is this real?" to the campus Public Affairs office Friday morning.

"I am honored to be invited to speak at such a respected, internationally recognized university," Obama said in the release. UI engineering students will make "major contributions in a myriad of fields after they leave this prestigious program. I hope that I'll be able to give them some guidance and motivate them to conquer engineers top challenges as they start their careers."

Each year the Knights of St. Patrick publish their own version of "North of Green," the college's student newsletter. Unsuspecting students who don't recognize the "Knights' edition" can often be found waiting in long lines at the dean's office for textbook refunds, higher GPAs and permission to skip class.

The knights also play pranks during the spring semester, between the time they're selected at the first Engineering Council meeting until they're knighted at the group's annual ball.

Past pranks have included dying the Boneyard Creek green, painting sidewalks or buildings, burning "KSP" into the astroturf at the football stadium and turning the sculpture outside of Grainger Engineering Library into a giant pencil holder.

They also pull all-nighters to decorate the dean's office on the first day of Engineering Open House each year, turning it into a beach, a farmyard with live animals, a saloon, Monopoly game, enchanted castle or a Las Vegas casino.

Each year the college chooses eight to 15 Knights, students who represent leadership, excellence in character and exceptional contributions to the college.