By Julia Vergara | Staff Writer
Baylor will welcome alumni, students, faculty and staff to take part in one of its oldest and most popular traditions: Homecoming.
Thursday through Saturday, Baylor will be hosting several events starting with the Mass Meeting and ending with a football game against the West Virginia Mountaineers.
The Mass Meeting took place at 10 p.m. Thursday at the Ferrell Center in honor of the Immortal Ten — Baylor students who died in a bus-train accident in 1927.
“We start with that event because it’s definitely a huge tradition at Baylor,” Chamber Homecoming chairman Ben Bailey said. “They’re very representative of the Baylor spirit.”
Bailey said that the Mass Meeting is the first time a lot of first-year students get to learn about such a serious Baylor tradition. Not only do they learn what the Immortal Ten means to the university, but they are also invited to take part in the tradition of the Baylor spirit.
Today, there will be three Alumni Reunions: A 50-year reunion for the class of 1967, a reunion for the heritage classes (classes of 1942, 1947, 1952, 1957 and 1962) and a class reunion buffet for the classes of 1972, 1977, 1982, 1987, 1992, 1997, 2002, 2007, and 2012.
All three reunions are meant to bring alumni together to “reminisce and reconnect before the full schedule of Homecoming weekend activities begin,” according to Baylor’s website.
Starting at 6 p.m., Friday Night Flashback will be available to anyone who wants to stroll through Baylor’s history in the Bill Daniel Student Center.
At 7 p.m., the Extravaganza and Bonfire begin on Fountain Mall.
The Extravaganza portion of the evening will include food, music, games and a pep rally with football head coach Matt Rhule.
The Eternal Flame has been a part of homecoming since 1947 with the purpose of honoring the Immortal Ten and passing the flame to the incoming class as a “symbolic welcome into the Baylor Family,” according to Baylor’s website.
Bailey said that Mass Meeting is the first time Baylor invites freshmen to take part in the university’s traditions and right after they are given the opportunity to by constructing the bonfire like so many students have before.
The last day of homecoming starts off Saturday with the homecoming parade.
According to Baylor’s website, the parade will start downtown at 8 a.m. and will arrive at Baylor’s campus around 8:30 p.m.
Homecoming parade chairman Audrey Hermes said there are 180 parade entries this year. Some entries will have one or two people while other entries will have over 70 people.
“The parade is our homecoming event that most actively reaches out to the Waco community,” Hermes said. “So we very intentionally start the parade downtown and move through downtown Waco and then onto Baylor’s campus because Waco is so important to Baylor’s campus and Baylor students.”
The last event of Baylor’s 2017 Homecoming will be the football game at 7 p.m. — Baylor Bears against the West Virginia Mountaineers in McLane Stadium.
Baylor fans are encouraged to “stripe” the stadium in green and gold for the game, and there is a map available online for fans to see which color corresponds to each section.
In addition to these Homecoming events, Pigskin Revue will also be showcasing the winners of the All-University Sing competition Thursday through Saturday in Waco Hall.
