The Mississippi State University campus will be bustling with students and alumni alike as this year’s homecoming activities get underway today and Saturday.The theme of this year’s homecoming is “Step into the Maroon,” a slogan coined by MSU President Robert ‘Doc’ Foglesong.
Lauren Green, Student Association director of student activities, said the slogan was chosen not only because it was part of Foglesong’s campaign, but because she felt it accurately represented the student body.
“I think it is a great slogan to represent the student body as a whole,” Green said. “It really gets everyone in the mood for homecoming.”
Homecoming celebrations kick off today at 11 a.m. with “Dawgs on the Drill” sponsored by MSU Alumni Activities and the Student Association. Vice president of alumni activities Jimmy Abraham said “Dawgs on the Drill” will take the place of last year’s “Function on the Junction.”
“We had a good crowd last year,” Abraham said. “We thought the Drill Field would be a better place to open up the homecoming activities.”
Inflatable games, free MSU ice cream and sodas will be part of the festivities. “Dawgs on the Drill” will be highlighted by a punt, pass and kick competition sponsored by Campus Activities Board.
CAB assistant director Samantha Musil said she expects a good turnout for the competition.
“It’s an event that does well every year,” she said. “We [CAB] just like to be involved with homecoming and brainstorming different ideas that students will like.”
The SA will bring a return to tradition with “Ringing of the Bells” at 11:50 a.m., in which all students are encouraged to come and bring their cowbells.
“We wanted to get everyone to get in the mood for Saturday’s game,” Green said. “We hope everyone will come out with their cowbells and show their support for the [football] team.”
The annual homecoming pep rally will take place tonight at 6 p.m. where the homecoming court will be officially introduced.
At 7 p.m., country music star Jason Aldean and special guest Crossin’ Dixon will hit Humphrey Coliseum in a concert sponsored by the Music Makers.
Green said the concert is a unique addition to homecoming weekend this year.
“The concert will add to the homecoming spirit,” Green said. “In previous years, everyone went to band parties at the sorority and fraternity houses. Now everyone who goes to the concert has a chance to get together and get in the spirit for the game the next day.”
Saturday’s activities open with “Run with the Big Dawgs,” a four-mile run that will begin at North Farm on campus.
Entry fees for students and faculty will be $5 while the general public can enter in the race for $10.
Registration will open at 7:30 a.m., and the race will get underway at 8 a.m.
Homecoming celebrations will move to the Junction after the race where the Student Association will hold a student tailgating competition. Green said the four-person teams will be judged on a variety of categories, the most important being overall spirit.
“We’re judging on the overall atmosphere of the tailgating area,” she said. “We want the students who show the most MSU spirit in their tailgating area. The people who have the best menu, decorations and overall game day atmosphere will stand out.”
Members of the winning team in the tailgating competition will receive four club-level tickets for a later MSU home football game.
Abraham said one of the most important parts of making sure homecoming activities were representative of the entire student body was to involve most student organizations in the planning.
“We just called a number of people together this year and brainstormed about what we thought would work especially well for this year,” he said.
Green said homecoming plans have been in the works since before the beginning of the school year.
“We’ve been working on planning everything for months,” she said. “We’ve put a lot of hard work into it and just hope that everyone will have fun.”
Green said she took into consideration the events that occur at other universities’ homecoming celebrations when deciding what events to plan this year.
Homecoming is also one of the events that draws the most alumni support, Abraham said.
“We make homecoming for everyone, students and alumni both,” he said. “The weekday and Friday activities are generally aimed at students, and then game day activities alumni can get more involved.”
Abraham said homecoming is a good opportunity for the university to be showcased to the general public.
“We have a lot of alumni and friends on campus, and we’re just trying to showcase the university in the best possible way.”
For more information, visit the MSU Web site at www.msstate.edu.