It is homecoming season once again in the SEC and everyone is getting ready for the festivities. If you have never experienced homecoming at an SEC school we are here to help and explain how all of the events work throughout the week.
At the University of Alabama this year Homecoming festivities start on October 16th and last all the way to Saturday, October 22nd, and the Homecoming football game. This year Alabama will be playing Mississippi State for their homecoming game, Louisiana State is playing Ole Miss for their football game, and University of Georgia will be playing Vanderbilt on October 15th.
So what makes a college homecoming at an SEC school different from your average high school homecoming? Here are a couple main points of difference:
- Homecoming Queen
At most high schools, the senior class or sometimes the whole school, vote to choose their homecoming queen to represent them. The homecoming queen gets a crown and a sash, maybe a bouquet of flowers, and a nice photo-op. In college, the role of homecoming queen is similar to a Student Government Association election. The queen sets up a campaign, endorsing a sponsorship for a charity, and has to hold campaign events in order to gain the followers needed. Usually, the candidate for homecoming queen at a collegiate level has a campaign team, consisting of directors of communication, finance, etc. If you need a great resume builder, consider joining your Collegiate homecoming queen campaign team.
- Pomping
Pomping is a word most people have never heard of, unless that is of course that you go to a SEC school. For years and years, tradition has carried on throughout generations for Greek organizations to join together to create a piece of art representing their school’s homecoming week. At the University of Alabama, sororities will join with fraternities for a week (sometimes 2) working multiple hours a day to create their pomp. First, it begins as a design board created by a graphic design and printing company. Then, the process of tediousness begins. By taking little pieces of tissue paper, Greek members take their time rolling each individual piece of tissue paper into a crisp ball. Eventually, thousands of tissue paper balls will be glued on to the design board to reveal their pomping creation. The final design is put on display in front of the Greek house for friends, family, and alumni to view.
- Spirit Week
At most high schools, “Spirit Week” consists of different themes to dress each day to represent your school spirit. One day might be Beach Day, maybe a throwback to the ‘50’s, but it looks a little different on a college level. Instead of dressing up, College Spirit Week consists of multiple different sporting events and fun activities to participate in. There’s usually different sporting tournaments, like basketball and dodgeball. Oftentimes, there will be a dance competition in which choreography is rehearsed for weeks. One thing that high school and colleges usually have in common is celebrating the end of their homecoming week on a large parade making its way through the city streets.
One thing that stands as pretty common in both homecomings is the return of Alumni back to their old stomping grounds; this is the reason behind homecoming after all. There’s many various ways in which Alumni can get involved in their school’s homecoming. For instance, the college pomping competitions are typically judged and scored solely on Alumni. It’s a simple and easy way to get involved with the current generation of your school.
Almost all schools, high school and collegiate, create some type of unique homecoming merchandise. Whether you’re a current student or alumni, try to take advantage of the limited edition merch and buy it while you can. Homecoming shirts make a great gift to pass down to future students if you think there’s a possibility that your kids might end up coming to your school.
No matter what school you go to, be sure to always make the most of your homecoming week. It’s a super special occasion, combining generations of all ages with one thing in common: a love for your school. Be sure to talk to the alumni, as they will be able to give you some of the best and worst stories they have from back in their day. Who knows? Maybe you’ll meet someone who was in the same Greek organization as you!
Homecoming week will be filled with the little moments that you will cherish forever. Be sure to participate in as many sporting events, dances, spirit week celebrations, parade floats, and so on. These moments are created to last a lifetime. If you’re a current student, these will be the moments that you still talk about when you’re an Alumni returning for a Homecoming celebration.
