By Camille Cox | Staff Writer
The homecoming court will include a king to be crowned along with the queen for the first time in Baylor history. Beginning in 1934, the tradition of crowning a queen and her court has been an integral part of the homecoming weekend festivities.
According to the Baylor Homecoming website, “members of the Homecoming Court reflect the Christian mission of the university and live out its call to leadership and service in the world.”
Grapevine junior Abby Tanner, homecoming court coordinator, said that the process includes a nomination from an organization or faculty member, interviews and headshots before the court is announced at Pigskin Revue on Thursday night.
Following the presentation of the winners at Pigskin, the court attends the parade and football game for recognition.
“They represent the best of Baylor and they represent Baylor’s values, so it’s kind of my job to make sure that they get the recognition they deserve because they do so much in our community and in their spiritual life,” Tanner said.
Tanner said that this year’s court is setting a precedent, being the first court to include men as well as women.
“We’re super excited for the addition of guys in this tradition,” Tanner said. “King and his court was added because we wanted everybody to be recognized, not just women, because everybody has done great work for Baylor and is involved.”
The homecoming court consists of four women representing the queen’s court as princesses, and four men representing the king’s court as princes, making a total of 10 students who will be celebrated as the 2021 Baylor homecoming court.
Ventura County, Calif. junior Isabelle Zgorzelski, homecoming chairman, explained the lengthy process for selection of the court, which began in August. The homecoming committee emailed advisors and organizations to submit nominees for homecoming court.
“We email the people who are in charge of organizations and ask them to nominate at least one person, so for this year we had them nominate one male and one female,” Zgorzelski said. “This is someone who not only exemplifies Baylor’s values, but who is kind of a student pillar in our community representing Baylor well.”
Baylor Homecoming said on their website that a homecoming queen has been selected every year except for 1943 and 1944 due to World War II. The traditional values of the court have remained the same as the members chosen are a representative of the university during homecoming weekend.
“The court and all of the nominees are invited to ride in the homecoming parade and the queen, king and members of the homecoming court are presented at the homecoming football game,” according to the Baylor website.
“This is a way that we are able to highlight those who have done great services for Baylor, whether they are in higher office positions or they have done a lot of service for the Waco community,” Zgorzelski said. “This allows them to be not only recognized by Baylor but allows for us in homecoming, as it is a time for alumni to come back and the broader Baylor family to come together, to celebrate them as well.”
The queen and king’s courts will be announced at the first Pigskin Revue presentation on Thursday, Oct. 14.
“I think it’s going to be so fun and exciting to have guys up there representing all of the men around campus,” Tanner said. “I have had such a great time with all of the nominees.”
