Baylor Family To Gather For 96th Anniversary Homecoming

October 25, 2005

Baylor University will celebrate its 96th anniversary Homecoming Oct. 26-30 with a variety of traditional events and activities.
Legendary Baylor football coach Grant Teaff will introduce incoming freshmen and transfer students to Baylor traditions during Freshmen Mass Meeting at 10 p.m. Wednesday in the Ferrell Center. Neal Knighton also will tell the story of the Immortal Ten, a group of Baylor basketball players who lost their lives in a tragic bus-train collision in 1927. Afterward, freshmen will carry the "eternal flame" to the bonfire site where construction will begin.
Pigskin Revue will take center stage at 7 p.m. Thursday, 6:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Friday and 7 p.m. Saturday in Waco Hall. The annual show will feature the top eight acts from All University Sing 2005. The Baylor Homecoming Queen and her court will be announced during Thursday's show. Tickets for the Thursday night performance are available for $14 to $18 through the Baylor ticket office at 710-3210.
The Bill and Eva Williams Bear Habitat will celebrate its official dedication at 2 p.m. Friday. Baylor's beloved mascots now enjoy a 13-foot waterfall, three pools and climbing trees in their newly remodeled home next to the Bill Daniel Student Center.
Baylor alumni are invited to participate in the second annual Alumni Golf Tournament at Bear Ridge Golf Club, the official course of Baylor's golf teams, from noon to 6 p.m. Friday. An entry fee of $100 per person includes cart and green fees, dinner and prizes. For more information, contact the Baylor Chamber of Commerce at 710-3322.
Baylor Religious Hour Choir will present Singspiration, an annual representation of the university's rich worship heritage, at 7 p.m. Friday at Seventh and James Baptist Church. Led by founding BRH director Dick Baker and Christian artists and writers Chris and Diane Machen, Singspiration also will feature a performance by an alumni choir, alumni band and congregational singing.
Entertaining audiences with their choreographed review-style performances, Baylor Showtime! will present "Cabaret," a concert showcasing the 12-member ensemble's unique combination of song and dance, at 8 p.m. Friday in Jones Theater of the Hooper-Schaefer Fine Arts Center. Soprano Deborah Williamson, chair of the school of music's vocal division, will be this year's guest artist. Tickets may be purchased for $10 through the Alumni Association at 710-1121.
Baylor fans will gear up for Saturday's match-up against the Texas Tech Red Raiders with Homecoming Extravaganza from 6 p.m. until midnight Friday at the relocated bonfire site outside of the Ferrell Center. Entertainment will include a Ferris wheel, hot air balloon rides, inflatables, music by the band Ice House and a slideshow. The Baylor Golden Wave Band and Spirit Squads then will kick off the Homecoming bonfire and pep rally with traditional cheers and songs at 8:30 p.m.
Colorful floats, giant balloons, spirited students and community members as well as the Golden Wave Band and Spirit Squads will lead the nation's oldest and largest collegiate parade at 7:30 a.m. Saturday beginning in downtown Waco at 8th Street and Austin Avenue, and proceeding down Fifth Street through campus at 8 a.m. The Homecoming Queen, her court and other nominees also will be featured throughout the parade. The parade will be televised live beginning at 8 a.m. on KWBU-TV Ch. 34 (cable channel 4).
Following the parade, the Baylor Bears will face off against the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the Homecoming football game at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Floyd Casey Stadium. Tickets may be purchased for $30 from the Athletic Department ticket office at 1-800-BAYLOR-U, extension 7, or online at www.baylorbears.com .
Homecoming weekend will conclude with the Homecoming Worship Service at 9 a.m. Sunday in Truett Seminary's Powell Chapel. Ken Hall, president of Buckner Baptist Benevolences, will deliver the message, and Dick Baker will lead worship.
For more information about Homecoming events, visit Baylor's official Homecoming website or contact Baylor Chamber of Commerce at (254) 710-3322.