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Times, Details Announced for Homecoming 2008 Festivities
Photos By: Katie Hageman and Lisa Ventre
Game time for UC’s Homecoming football game against Rutgers on Oct. 11 has now been set for noon, meaning a full schedule is now available for all of the many festivities planned around the University of Cincinnati campus that day.
The Homecoming Parade – featuring Grand Marshal Kirsten Haglund, the current Miss America and a UC student – will begin at 9:30 a.m., with the UC Alumni Association’s Hospitality Tent on McMicken Lawn opening one hour prior to the parade at 8:30 a.m.
The Bearcat Blitz pregame activities hosted by the UC Alumni Association will open at 9 a.m., followed by the opening of the Bearcats Family Zone on Sheakley Lawn in Varsity Village at 9:30 a.m.
The CATwalk, where fans have a chance to see the UC football team up close as they walk through the Bearcat Blitz area on their way to Nippert Stadium, will take place at approximately 9:45 a.m.
| A crowd shot from the 2007 Homecoming game. |
"The theme for this year’s Homecoming is an ‘All-American Homecoming,’ says Steve Rosfeld of the UC Alumni Association. "We’ve got events planned not just for that day, but throughout the entire week which should make this a great time to celebrate all things related to UC."
Besides having a Bearcat Miss America on hand, two other special guests are expected for the day’s festivities – former Bearcat track stars David Payne and Mary Wineberg, who each won medals at the Beijing Olympics this summer for the U.S. Track and Field team. Payne won a silver in the men’s 110 meter hurdles event, while Wineberg brought home a gold medal as part of the women’s 4x400 meter relay team.
UC sports fans will have a chance to make it a double-header day following the Homecoming football game, when UC’s Fifth Third Arena hosts a 2008 UC Basketball Fan Jam beginning at 4 p.m. That event will be the first public opportunity for fans to see the UC men’s basketball team, coached by Mick Cronin, and women’s basketball team, coached by Kelley Hall.
The UC community will have a chance to display Homecoming spirit beginning Oct. 6, when "Paint Uptown" week takes place on MainStreet on campus. Windows will be decorated in a competition sponsored by UC’s Student Alumni Council.
| An image from the 2007 Homecoming parade. |
The day before the game will also be an active one around UC. Beginning at 3:30 p.m. will be the second annual "Homecoming 5k to Grant Wishes Today" fundraiser, sponsored by UC’s Fraternity and Sorority community. This 5k walk will benefit two special recipients – 6-year-old Kee and 7-year-old Olivia – who have been identified through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
After the 5k event, McMicken Commons will be taken over by a Homecoming Party at 6 p.m. Starting in a pep rally format with UC football coaches and the band and cheerleaders, this event will also include great music, food and prizes.
For more details on Homecoming events including links to specific Web sites, visit the official UC Homecoming Web site at www.uc.edu/homecoming or contact the UC Alumni Association at 513-556-4344 or 877-4-UCALUM.
