Homecoming dates back to the 1940s and continued to provide students with an opportunity to rally together in support of their school for one week.
The Alumni Association Student Ambassadors started the first Student Homecoming Committee in 2002. The committee helped organize and promote the annual Homecoming Parade, which was canceled during last year’s Homecoming Week due to rainy weather.
“One of my best memories of Homecoming was marching in the Homecoming parade with the marching band,” John Small, a 2006 graduate in poultry science, said.
While Small said that students were only moderately involved while he was a student at NCSU, others recall the week leading up to one of the Pack’s largest football games as prompting student activity in large numbers.
Connie Justice, a 2007 graduate in agricultural business management, remembers Homecoming as demonstrating student pride in the football team, in campus organizations and in the school.
“I saw that sea of red in the stadium showing their support for the football team and realized just how much support there was for the football team. It’s not just the game, though. The pride of the Wolfpack was shown throughout the week.”
Justice, the 2006 Homecoming chair, recognized students as the most committed individuals that ensured the success of the Alumni Association sponsored program.
“The student body is always the most involved group of people,” Justice said. “Without them, we wouldn’t have much to go on.”
To this day, Wolfpack students continue to make one particular event as popular as ever.
“Everybody comes out for Wear Red, Get Fed,” Justice said. “Because what kind of college student is going to turn down free food.”
The 2007 graduate also recalls that planning for the week was no easy task.
“I remember planning way back in March for Homecoming,” Justice said. “During the week of Homecoming, I finally got to see the fruits of our efforts coming true.”
Current Student Q&As on Homecoming:
Questions:
1. Ideally, what would you like to see during Homecoming week?
2. How well do you think Homecoming promotes school spirit at N.C. State?
3. How active are you in Homecoming events?
4. How has Homecoming changed during the years you’ve been at State?
5. As a result of Homecoming, how confident are you that the football team will win this Saturday?
Leah Schaubach, junior, biological sciences and arts applications
1. “I’d like to see more school spirit and student participation.”
2. “I think Homecoming does a very good job of getting everybody to wear red.”
3. “I’ve noticed Homecoming more this year than any other year I’ve been at State. It has been a lot more visible this year than it was my freshman year.”
4. “I’m not very active in the events. I just do the Wear Red, Get Fed. I won’t be going to the game because I have to work.”
5. “I’m not very confident that the football team is going to win on Saturday, but I hope that they do.”
Ryan Sloop, first year at Agricultural Institute in agribusiness management
1. “We’re doing pretty good so far, but I’d like to see a little more school spirit and student involvement. I think Greek Life is doing a pretty good job, but I think that the student body as a whole could do a lot better. Homecoming is the one week out of the year that we need to get fired up.”
2. “I think Homecoming does a pretty good job. It gives our alumni a chance to come back and see us. We need to show them that we still care like they did back in the day. They used to show school spirit like it was going out of style.”
3. “We participate every day in all of the events. If we’re not in class then we are painting windows on Hillsborough Street, coming out to the Brickyard to do Wear Red,Get Fed or tailgating on Saturday.”
4. “It’s a little better this year. They’ve promoted it better. It is a little earlier, so I wish we had been given more time to plan, but we’ll take it and do it.”
5. “I think we’ve got a good chance of winning the game. We had a little slump last week, but we’ll blame that on the rain. Boston College, they’re good, but I think we can come out and do a good job.”
Andrew Jennings, senior in zoology
1. “More food in the Brickyard would be nice. It’s also hard to know what is going on when you live off campus.”
2. “I haven’t really seen much increase in the school spirit between the years I’ve been here. I feel like the week of the Carolina game always has more school spirit no matter who we play for Homecoming.”
3. “I’m in the band, so I do the pep rally, the parade and I play at the game.”
4. “Both of the past two years it seemed like Homecoming was later than it is this year. Also, this will be my first year doing the parade. Last year it was rained out and two years ago we had a basketball game at the same time so I did that instead.”
5. “I’m fairly confident we will win. This should be our easiest game in the past month since William & Mary. “
Lianne Gonsalves, senior in biological sciences and international studies
1. “I generally like what we have now, which is creating an entire school get-together where everyone is decked out in red. The activities that Student Government and the UAB have put on are really great. I also like that we have a concert, a cookie bake-off and tailgating.”
2. “I think it does a great job promoting school spirit. If you look around, the entire Brickyard is in red. Also, by offering service activities during Homecoming. N.C. State does a great job of combining a lot of different interests to bring the whole school together. The service activities are a very important part of the week that help the school and the community.”
3. “This year I’m not too active. I’ve been getting the free food all week, but I’m not going to be able to do too many events because of my academics. I was very involved in years past, though.”
4. “Generally, I think Homecoming is much more organized this year than it has been in the past.”
5. “I back the Pack always. I’m rooting for them, but I’ll leave it at that.”