Baylor Celebrates 92nd Anniversary Homecoming Oct. 26-28

by Cheycara Latimer, student newswriter

More than 25,000 alumni and their families are expected to travel to Waco as Baylor University celebrates its 92nd anniversary Homecoming Oct. 26-28, with a variety of special events sponsored by the Baylor Chamber of Commerce and the Alumni Association.
Baylor has celebrated Homecoming since 1909. The parade, which is believed to be the nation's oldest and largest collegiate homecoming parade, will be accompanied by a bonfire, football game and musical variety shows, as well as class reunions and dinners.
The Freshman Mass Meeting, the first event of Homecoming weekend, will be held Wednesday, Oct. 24, and symbolizes the passing down of Baylor traditions to new students. It features the story of the "Immortal Ten," 10 Baylor basketball players killed in a 1927 train-bus collision while en route to Austin for a game against the University of Texas.
Baylor's traditional, Pigskin Revue, a musical variety show highlighting student organizations, features the winning acts from the 2001 All University Sing the previous spring. The Thursday, Oct. 25, performance at 6 p.m. also features the crowning of this year's Homecoming queen and her court. Other performances will be held at 7 and 10:15 p.m Friday, Oct. 26, and at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27, in Waco Hall. Tickets for Pigskin Revue are sold out. For more information about Pigskin, contact the ticket office in the Bill Daniel Student Center at 710-3210.
Bear Ridge Golf Course, the new home for the Baylor men's and women's golf teams, will have a Homecoming open house, Friday through Sunday, Oct. 26-28. Preview tours of the championship course, located west of Waco, will be available, and the driving range will be open. For more information about the golf course tours, call Bear Ridge general manger Steve Smith at (254) 379-3168.
Special dinners will be held for the class of 1951, celebrating its 50th anniversary, as well as the class of 1976, celebrating 25 years as Baylor alumni. A dinner also will be held for graduates from 1956, 1961, 1966, 1971, 1981, 1986, 1991 and 1996. For more information on reunion meetings or dinners, contact the Baylor Alumni Association at (254) 710-1121.
"Singspiration" will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 26, at First Baptist Church of Waco. The old-fashioned sing-along will feature the Baylor Religious Hour Choir, and Ron Bowles, a '74 Baylor graduate, will lead the singing.
Thousands of alumni, faculty, staff and students will prepare the football team for a victory over Texas Tech University at the annual pep rally and bonfire at 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 26. The pep rally will be held at the SUB Bowl followed by the bonfire at Fountain Mall, between Marrs McLean and Sid Richardson Science Buildings. Baylor President Robert B. Sloan, Jr., head football coach Kevin Steele and members of the Baylor's football team will speak.
The nation's oldest and largest collegiate homecoming parade will begin its procession from downtown Waco to campus at 8 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 27. More than 150 entries are expected to participate in the parade this year, led by the Golden Wave Band.
Beginning two hours before kickoff of every home game, Snickers Touchdown Alley is the place to be for food, music, activities, games for children and to share the Baylor spirit with other fans. There is no admission charge.
A Big XII conference game between Baylor and the Texas Tech Red Raiders will begin at 2 p.m. at Floyd Casey Stadium. Game time is subject to change due to television coverage. Contact the athletic department ticket office at (254) 710-1000 or 1-800-BAYLOR-U.
The Baylor women's volleyball team will host the University of Texas at 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27, and the University of Kansas at 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 28, in the Ferrell Center.
Extravaganza, Baylor on-campus dance, will be held at Saturday, Oct. 27, beginning at 5:45 p.m. at Burleson Quadrangle. Hypnotist Terry Stokes will perform two hour-long shows at 5:45 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, call the Baylor Chamber of Commerce at (254) 710-3322.
A special homecoming worship service will be held at 9 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 28, at Seventh and James Baptist Church. Dr. Milton Cunningham, director of missions endowment, will deliver the message.
For more information, call the Baylor Chamber of Commerce at (254) 710-3322 or go to http://www.bayloralumni.com/homecoming/.