The theme of this year’s Mississippi State University Homecoming is “Let the Good Times Roll.” To get Homecoming rolling, campus groups will be sponsoring several activities for students and alumni throughout the week leading up to the game.
The Campus Activities Board is one of the groups preparing activities for the week of Homecoming.
“We really want to give the students plenty of things to do, especially during Homecoming week,” said Colvard Union Assistant Director Kelly Nesbit.
This year CAB has been hosting Monday Night Football with free pizza every Monday night in The Union Dawg House. Since it is Homecoming week, next Monday night the Residence Hall Association will co-sponsor the event, making it larger than normal with more food and drinks, Nesbit said.
Another of CAB’s regular events coincided with Homecoming week as well. Every second Wednesday of the month, CAB sponsors a movie on the Drill Field. The October showing of “Pirates of the Caribbean” just happened to fall on the Wednesday before Homecoming, Nesbit said.
“Dawgs ’til Dawn” is a new activity that CAB is sponsoring this year.
“Basically it’s everybody’s favorite events that CAB sponsors wrapped up into one night,” Nesbit said. “We will have a hypnotist, casino night, a video dance party, a caricaturist and board games. We hope that by starting it this year, we can make Dawgs ’til Dawn a new Homecoming tradition at MSU.”
Another new event that CAB is sponsoring is a Web-based scavenger hunt that begins on Monday and ends Friday. Before 5 p.m. Monday, students can sign up on the CAB Web site to participate in teams of up to four people.
“Students will get clues about a building on campus from the CAB Web site every morning. When they figure out which building the clue is referring to, they have to go there to look for a laminated CAB logo. Teams who find the logos first each day get a point. The team with the most points on Friday wins a prize,” Nesbit said.
The MSU Alumni Association and the Alumni Delegates also plan many of the Homecoming festivities.
On the Drill Field Tuesday, they will co-host a free barbecue picnic with the Student Association, and CAB will be giving away free ice cream.
“To celebrate Homecoming, we will have hamburgers and some giveaways. There will also be live music, but not too loud or disruptive because of classes,” Associate Director for Alumni Activities said Libba Andrews.
The alumni delegates also sponsor the Homecoming parade on Friday and the children’s pre-game activities on Saturday.
The Homecoming Parade, made up of nearly 30 floats, will begin Friday evening at 5:30 on the corner of University Drive and Nash Street and cut a path through campus making its way to the amphitheater, said Alumni Delegate Laurie Carlisle.
“We really wanted to get the community involved to show how Starkville and the campus work together. That’s why it actually starts on University and Nash,” Carlisle said. “It really shows the unity between the town and the school. We want everyone to come out in support of MSU.”
“There will be a lot of different things in the parade this year. We will have unicycles, vintage Coke trucks, horses, floats from campus groups, the Homecoming Court and a few surprises,” Carlisle said.
On the days of home football games, Alumni Delegates host activities for younger children, beginning three hours before the game. Homecoming is no exception.
“We will have face painting, balloons, pictures with Bully, a duck game, a moon walk and lots of free prizes,” Andrews said.
The Student Association will host events for MSU fans Homecoming week, as well.
In addition to co-sponsoring the free picnic on the Drill Field and organizing the Homecoming court elections and coronation, the SA will sponsor the Homecoming pep rally, “Run with the Big Dawgs,” and one of four debates for the Mississippi governor’s race.
Following the parade on Friday night, the SA will sponsor a Homecoming pep rally featuring the Homecoming court, cheerleaders and pom squad, the band and the football team. Robert Randolph and the Family Band will perform after the pep rally, courtesy of MSU’s MusicMaker Productions.
The 24th annual 4-mile “Run with the Big Dawgs” race will be held at the North Farm on Saturday morning. Registration will begin at 7:15 a.m., and forms can be picked up from the SA office. The race fees are $5 for students, faculty, and staff, and $10 for the general public.
Because many alumni come back to MSU to celebrate Homecoming, several colleges and departments are planning activities for those alumni coming back to campus.
The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences planned their regular fall alumni meeting to be Homecoming weekend, and they expect around 350 alumni to attend their breakfast Saturday morning, said Gayle McClure, Executive Secretary of the college.
“It gives our alumni an opportunity to already be on campus for the Homecoming activities, as well as our meeting,” McClure said.
The Bagley College of Engineering has planned a brunch for alumni before the football game, and they expect between 200 and 250 alumni to attend, said Advancement Coordinator for the Dean of Engineering Julie Lemons.
“The brunch is for the alumni to get a chance to visit faculty and to come back to campus to see the accomplishments of current students and the renovations that are being made on campus,” Lemons said.