Each year, Homecoming promises a week of fun for alumni and students alike and this year it also will include families visiting for Family Day. 

The Campus Activities Board as well as other organizations on campus put on events during Homecoming Weekend 

In past years, Homecoming and Family Day were held on separate weekends. According to CAB member Brittany Moore, the decision was made to merge the two weekends to give more substance to Family Day. 

“We’re expecting a lot more people this year,” Moore said. “For homecoming, families come anyway so that will give [them] a chance to go to a football game and other traditional homecoming events. Family Day, originally, was just a couple [events], but this way they have more options and activities.”

According to the schedule sent out by the Department of Student Life, several Family Day and Homecoming events are on the agenda for Saturday starting with a 5K Fun Run. The run will start with a heat for walkers at 9:30 a.m., and runners will start at 10 a.m. Instead of an entrance fee, participants are asked to “bring a canned good to benefit the Ashland County Food Bank.” 

Along with the 5K, the Rec Center will be open from 9 a.m.-10 p.m. for families to use with pool hours from noon- 9 p.m. and the climbing wall open from 3-8 p.m. 

Homecoming events begin at 10:15 a.m. between Jack & Deb Miller Chapel and Founders Hall with the Game Day Send Off where AU’s marching band and cheerleaders will send off the football team. Members of the football team will symbolically “carry pieces of original Founders Hall foundation” according to the Department of Student Life’s schedule. The Global Education Office will serve coffee and doughnuts in the lobby of the chapel. 

Following the send-off, Dr. Carlos Campo will be speaking in the chapel, giving an update on AU and taking questions from the audience. 

Events by Jack Miller Stadium begin at 10 a.m. with the Third Annual WRDL Tailgate Party put on by the campus radio station and will continue with Pizza, Pizza, Pizza put on by CAB in the Amstuz Hall Parking Lot. 

According to Moore, Pizza, Pizza, Pizza has been a traditional event put on by CAB for many years. Some pizzas are donated and some are purchased by CAB from local pizza shops including KD’s and Donatos, and the event will also feature a bounce house for children. 

“It’s one of the biggest events CAB does and we get super excited about it,” Moore said. “We love it because it really brings a sense of community. Students, family, and locals can all go and it’s something we’re really passionate about.”

At 12 p.m. on the Jack Miller Stadium Lawn, the community service group, AU G.I.V.S, will host No Pawz Left Behind, a local nonprofit that works with the Ashland County Dog Shelter. They will be bringing dogs that are up for adoption and education participants on ways to support local dogs that are up for adoption. 

All three events will conclude at 1 p.m. for the Football game against the Northwood University Timberwolves in Jack Miller Stadium. Current students get in free with an AU ID, general seating tickets are $10 and senior citizens’ and school-aged children’s tickets are $3. The crowning of the homecoming king and queen will take place during halftime. 

Open to all, the Purple Eagle Silent Auction, benefiting the Legacy Scholarship Program, the Ashland Fund and Alumni Association programming, will be held in the Alumni Room of Upper Convo from 3:30-6 p.m. and will feature free food, a photo booth, a raffle, and over 250 items that will be given to the highest bidder. 

Family Weekend and Homecoming will come to a close with a free movie night held in the Student Center Auditorium at 8 p.m. The featured movie will be The Secret Life of Pets. 

“We are very excited to welcome alumni back to campus and to celebrate with students faculty, staff, families, and friends of the university,” Assistant Dean of Student Affairs, Nicole Dyer said.