Indiana University of Pennsylvania's annual Homecoming celebration October 7 and 8 is expected to draw thousands “home” to Indiana for alumni reunions and events for the entire community, including the annual parade and football game.
Alumni Breakfast
Events October 7 begin with the Computer Science and Mathematics alumni breakfast in Stright Hall at 8:00 a.m.
Homecoming Parade
The Homecoming parade, with a theme of “Mother Nature, Ecosystems of the World,” will start at 10:00 a.m.
The parade will feature more than 90 campus and community units, including the following floats:
- Volcanic: Alpha Xi Delta, Delta Zeta, Sigma Chi, Phi Sigma Kappa;
- Under the Sea: Sigma Sigma Sigma, Zeta Tau Alpha, Sigma Kappa, Sigma Pi;
- Into the Jungle: Alpha Sigma Tau, Delta Phi Epsilon, Theta Chi, Phi Delta Theta, Kappa Sigma; and
- Beach: Delta Gamma, Alpha Sigma Alpha, Alpha Gamma Delta, Kappa Delta Rho.
The parade will start at Eleventh and Philadelphia streets and travel east to Sixth and Philadelphia streets, south on Sixth Street to Church Street, west on Church Street to Oakland Avenue and southwest on Oakland Avenue to Eleventh Street, where the parade will disband. All motor-driven floats will continue southwest on Oakland Avenue to the Robertshaw building for disassembly.
Immediately following the parade, volunteers from IUP's sororities and fraternities will clean the parade route and Mack Park, where the floats were constructed.
In addition to the IUP Marching Band, the parade will feature marching bands from Blairsville, Homer-Center, Indiana, Penns Manor, Purchase Line, and United high schools.
Five float prizes will be given: first prize of $1,000, sponsored by the Alumni Relations; second prize of $900, sponsored by the IUP Lively Arts; third place of $800, sponsored by Aramark; fourth prize of $700, co-sponsored by the Student Government Association and the Center for Multicultural Student Leadership and Engagement; and fifth prize of $600, sponsored by University Advancement.
Parade judges this year will be IUP alumni Sherry Renosky; James Smith from Indiana Borough Council; and Student Art Association President Tyler Johnson and Vice President Abigail Krick.
IUP President Michael Driscoll and his wife, Becky, will lead the parade, along with John Ninosky, president of the IUP Alumni Board of Directors. Ninosky, a 1993 criminology graduate, is an attorney and shareholder with the law offices of Johnson Duffie in Harrisburg. The Alumni Board of Directors works with the IUP Office of Alumni Affairs to create and enrich relationships with current and future alumni in the advancement of IUP.
Crimson Court
Now in its eighth year at IUP, the Crimson Court will take part in all university Homecoming activities, including the parade. The Crimson Court consists of students chosen by a university-wide vote to represent each of the colleges at IUP.
To qualify for the court, students must have at least a 3.0 cumulative grade-point average and be in good judicial standing. IUP's 2017 Crimson Court includes:
- Elizabeth Grieggs, representing the College of Education and Communications. Grieggs is a speech language pathology and audiology major in the Cook Honors College from Indiana.
- Michael Hoare, representing the Eberly College of Business and Information Technology. Hoare is a finance major from Mechanicsburg.
- Kate Twilley, representing the College of Fine Arts. Twilley is a theatre major from Marriottsville, Maryland.
- Andrea Parks, representing the College of Health and Human Services. Parks is a hospitality management major and music minor (trumpet) from Medina, Ohio.
- Autumn Dietrich, representing the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Dietrich is a sociology major in the Cook Honors College from Shermans Dale.
- Virginia Njenga, reprenting the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. Njenga is a biology pre-medicine major and women and gender studies minor from Ephrata.
Alumni and Friends Crimson Huddle
Open to all, the traditional Crimson Huddle Alumni and Friends Pregame Party will be from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. October 7 in the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex. It will feature 29 reunion groups, including sororities, fraternities, academic departments and sports teams. Cost is $15 for adults, with children 10 and under admitted free.
As part of the Crimson Huddle, the IUP Ambassadors will offer a Kidz Korner at the Kovalchick Complex. The festival features a variety of children's activities, with cartoon characters, games, crafts, and prizes.
The Coal Bowl Football Game
The Homecoming football game between IUP and California, also known as the “Coal Bowl”, will begin at 2:00 p.m. The game has been chosen as an NCAA Division II showcase contest and will be shown live on ESPN3. Both teams are ranked nationally, and the Crimson Hawks enter the game undefeated (5-0), while the Vulcans are 4-1. IUP leads the all-time series, 57-26-2.
During halftime, the Crimson Court and prize sponsors for the parade floats will be recognized. The halftime show will feature the IUP Marching Band, under the direction of David Martynuik. The band will present the postgame show at the stadium immediately following the game.
The Official IUP Homecoming Party: Carnival
Among other activities Homecoming weekend, the IUP Center for Multicultural Student Leadership and Engagement is sponsoring the official IUP Homecoming Party, from 9:00 p.m. October 7 to 2:00 a.m. October 8 at the Kovalchick Complex. The event is open to current IUP students only, and admission is $5.
Homecoming Concert
The annual Homecoming concert featuring IUP bands will be at 3:00 p.m. Sunday in the Performing Arts Center's Fisher Auditorium. Tickets for the concert are available in advance at the IUP Hadley Union Building ticket office. Remaining tickets may be purchased at the door starting at 2:15 p.m..
A complete list of Homecoming events, including reunions, is available at www.iup.edu/homecoming.