Penn State Homecoming Events

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – This week marks Penn State’s annual Homecoming week on campus. Homecoming activities have been happening since Sunday both on campus and downtown. The week kicked off with a golf tournament on Sunday and a concert on Allen Street this past Monday.

Jared Stauffer is a mechanical engineering student at Penn State and described his favorite part of Homecoming.

“I remember that I went to the parade last year which was pretty cool, so probably the parade,” Stauffer said.

While two of the biggest events of Homecoming are the parade and football game, there are also some lesser-known events on campus. One example of this was a drag show on Wednesday night hosted by The Basement in partnership with Opulence, Penn State’s drag ambassador group.

One of the most historic homecoming traditions, however, dates all the way back to 1996. Before a homecoming game against then-rival Syracuse, some Syracuse students doused the lion shrine in orange, oil-based paint, making it incredibly difficult to remove. Since then, the ROTC, Lion Ambassadors and Alumni Association have held an event there on Friday nights filled with live entertainment, while standing guard over the shrine.

Izzy Iozzo is a health development and family studies major and talked about her favorite aspect of the Homecoming festivities.

“My favorite part about homecoming is seeing THON get involved in it and raising more money for the kids,” Iozzo said.

The week of celebrations all comes together on Saturday with the Homecoming football game, a tradition since 1920. This year, Penn State will take on the University of Massachusetts while wearing its Generations of Greatness uniforms.

Ethan Ellis is a third-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email ece5133@psu.edu.