By Madeline Condor | Staff Writer
Baylor Homecoming is the nation’s oldest homecoming, founded in 1909 when the current president and a group of faculty “embarked on a campaign to bring graduates home to renew old friendships and ‘catch the Baylor spirit again,’” according to the Baylor website.
Keeping in line with Baylor’s philosophy of tradition, this year’s homecoming will kick off with the same variety of events that have continued for over 100 years.
Bobby Glass, a 1982 Baylor graduate, said Baylor Homecoming is as special now as it was during his time at the university.
“It was very festive, very iconic, and we had the big bonfire right there by the library, and it was a big deal,” Glass said. “Pigskin and Sing have always been a huge deal. … And Baylor does a great job of keeping everything kind of old-school, in my opinion. So it seems to me that if anything, they’ve upped the game a little bit now from what it was back then, just because the college is bigger. We’re Big 12 instead of Southwest Conference, so there’s more kids there.”
Glass said his family has many ties to Baylor. Both his parents went to Baylor, he and his brother roomed together during their time here, his daughter is currently a senior at Baylor and various nieces and nephews have attended or are currently attending the university.
“I have to tell you, [Baylor is] super special,” Glass said. “My mom and dad had their first date right there on the swing behind Collins, and they met at the Student Union Building. I bleed green and gold, and it’s kind of in my DNA because mom and dad met there, so you know, it’s just real special having that. … It’s really building a family tradition.”
Austin junior Allison Vanderslice said she has been coming to Baylor Homecoming since she was 11 months old. Although Pigskin Revue is her favorite tradition as a student, she said she loved to attend the parade growing up.
“My cousins, my brother and I got to stand out there with the other kids and collect the candy, and I loved looking at the floats,” Vanderslice said. “I thought it was the coolest thing ever that I got to be waved at by college kids. It’s definitely really special because I’ve been seeing it for so long, … and it’s finally my turn to get to experience it, especially after hearing the stories that my parents and my family had of being at Baylor and the traditions that they got to participate in. … It’s definitely something that I don’t take for granted, just because I know that when I was younger, I wanted to do it so bad.”
Vanderslice said would love to continue the family tradition but won’t pressure her future children to attend Baylor.
“[I would] really want them to attend Baylor, but I also would do what my parents did and not pressure anything,” Vanderslice said. “My brother went to Ole Miss, … but I love Baylor so much, so I came here.”
