Mississippi State University’s homecoming events are this week, starting Oct.30 and ending Nov. 3. With traditions like the Longest Table, the Homecoming T-Shirt Swap & Soire and the homecoming court presentation during the Saturday football game, MSU offers many opportunities for its current students to fellowship and celebrate.
For most, high school homecoming is remembered as a week-long endeavor filled with dress-up days and fun activities. However, Mississippi State University also has plenty of its own fun-filled homecoming traditions. From current students to alumni, all can participate in MSU’s traditions that spark nostalgia and pride for those this campus has touched.
Student Association Vice President Lucy Mellen, a senior majoring in environmental geoscience and political science, said that the SA plans an event for every day of homecoming week in hopes of continuing these traditions. Mellen mentioned the Longest Table event at the YMCA Plaza and the Homecoming T-Shirt Swap & Soire on the Drill Field.
“SA Director of Programming Amaya Downs-Hameed and her committee work tirelessly to organize events such as the Homecoming T-shirt Swap, where students can bring in any old t-shirt in exchange for the new homecoming shirt, and the Longest Table event, where students from all walks of life can come eat a free lunch and fellowship with other students and faculty,” Mellen said.
The Longest Table will take place on Wednesday. Student leaders like Mellen will attend, but all students are welcome to join and enjoy a free meal and good company.
Likewise, the Homecoming T-Shirt Swap & Soiree is scheduled for Thursday. The T-shirts that students swap for the homecoming shirt will be donated to the Palmer House.
One of the most known homecoming traditions is the homecoming court presentation, which occurs annually during the homecoming football game. This year’s homecoming game is on Nov. 2 in Davis Wade Stadium, where the Bulldogs will take on the University of Massachusetts Minutemen.
Mellen said the homecoming court’s debut on the field is her favorite homecoming tradition.
“My personal favorite homecoming tradition is the presentation of the homecoming court at halftime. All of those students have worked so hard,” Mellen said. “To be able to see the school support them and their accomplishments through the presentation at the game always makes me so happy.”
Ann Olivia Radicioni, MSU political science alumna and the 2023 Miss MSU, spoke about her experience as a part of the homecoming court and what made it special.
“My experience as Miss MSU is something I will cherish for the rest of my life. All throughout homecoming, I thought about the years gone by at State, the people who molded me,” Radicioni said. “I was surrounded by people who had uplifted me throughout the years, including almost all my extended family and all my best friends. It was a once-in-a-lifetime reminder that community exists for all of us in Starkville.”
While the most visible homecoming court event may take place during the football game, the students on the homecoming court do more than just walk across the field. They are also connected to service in that they earned their positions through service initiatives and campaigns. These initiatives will be showcased during the Crowns for a Cause event at the MSU Junction on Friday.
Radicioni acknowledged the community at MSU as something that brings graduates back to participate in homecoming. In addition to the opportunities for current students to gather, there are also many opportunities for those who have already graduated.
Alumni can sign in at the Barnes & Noble Welcome Center on Friday or Saturday. MSU Young Alumni members can also RSVP to their meeting at Fire Station Park on Thursday via the MSU homecoming website. Different graduation classes can also RSVP on the website to meet up on game day. MSU will also offer museum tours throughout the day on Friday, and there is even a punch card that alumni can complete to claim a free gift at the MAFES cheese store.
Alumni Delegates will also host a Tradition Keeper Activity Dash on Friday. There is a True Maroon Trek on that same afternoon with registration at The Mill, and then that night, the annual National Pan-Hellenic Council Homecoming Step Show will entertain at Humphrey Coliseum with a concert by Babyface Ray following the Step Show. Standard tickets cost $20.
While Radicioni cannot participate in these traditions this year because of her new life in Washington, D.C., she said she plans to return in the future.
“I certainly plan to come back to a homecoming celebration in the upcoming years. I am excited to watch all of the future Miss MSUs walk across the field, and I am especially prayerful that their stories of community and belonging will be similar to my four outstanding years at MSU,” Radicioni said.
To close out the homecoming festivities, a nondenominational service will be held at the Chapel of Memories on Sunday — a final event to finish a week full of traditions. The members of the homecoming court will attend.
