Friends, Family and Football Highlight UC s Homecoming Celebration

The University of Cincinnati’s annual Homecoming celebration returns to the Uptown Campus on Saturday, Oct. 21. A full weekend of festivities will be anchored by UC’s football game against Southern Methodist University in historic Nippert Stadium, with kickoff scheduled for 4 p.m. Game tickets are still available at gobearcats.com/tickets. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU. 

All the pageantry of Homecoming will be on full display, with the Homecoming parade as a traditional focal point. The parade will begin its annual journey down Clifton Avenue at noon, featuring 70 entries and generations of Bearcats lining the parade route. (Get complete parade route and street-closing details.) Student-built floats will reflect the theme “Queen City Homecoming.” UC President Neville G. Pinto and his wife, Dr. Jennifer Pinto, A&S ’92, will serve as parade grand marshals. Pinto became UC’s 30th president this February, and his official inauguration is Friday, Oct. 20.

While the UC-SMU game is the centerpiece of the Homecoming schedule, a full slate of activities over the weekend will provide students, alumni and college groups with many opportunities to enjoy the occasion.

On Friday night, Oct. 20, the University of Cincinnati Alumni Association will host its annual Homecoming Kickoff Party from 6 to 8 p.m. This year’s event will take place at the U Square Piazza at the corner of Calhoun and S. Market streets. Bearcats Head Coach Luke Fickell, Director of Athletics Mike Bohn and other UC leaders will speak and greet the fans. The complimentary event will include free food and drinks (with a cash bar), music provided by DJ Bearcast Media, and special appearances by the Bearcat mascot and UC cheerleaders.

On Saturday, pregame festivities will take place all around campus and the surrounding neighborhood, with the hub being The Grid tailgate area on Campus Green and Sigma Sigma Commons. Opening at 10 a.m., The Grid hosts the pregame Bearcats Music Festival, featuring the band Pandora Effect. The football team’s traditional Catwalk will pass through The Grid at approximately 1:30 p.m.

“Unlike anything else can, Homecoming reflects and celebrates the spirit of our great university,” said UC Alumni Association executive director Jennifer Heisey, A&S ’97. “There’s something for everyone, whether you are many decades removed from graduation, still in school, or anywhere in between. Tens of thousands of alumni and fans will be here to reconnect with the people and places that mean so much to them as Bearcats. We invite everyone to come home to see how our beautiful campus continues to evolve, and to reflect on your UC memories that mean so much. Homecoming brings it all together.”

HOMECOMING MAIN EVENTS

A full list of more than two dozen events, including a busy schedule of student activities during the week leading up to Homecoming, plus numerous college alumni tailgates and events on Friday and Saturday, is available on the UC Homecoming website.

Friday, October 20

Homecoming Kickoff Party

6-8 p.m., U Square Piazza, Calhoun St. at S. Market St.

Featuring free food, drinks, entertainment, and appearances by UC leaders, including Football Coach Luke Fickell and Athletics Director Mike Bohn

Saturday, October 22

Homecoming Parade

Noon, Parade travels down Clifton Avenue from Calhoun St. to Martin Luther King Drive

Football Team’s CATWALK

Approximately 1:30 p.m., starting in Campus Green and traveling through The Grid and Sigma Sigma Commons

UC vs. SMU

4 p.m., Nippert Stadium

Buy tickets online 

Presentation of Homecoming Court

Halftime, Nippert Stadium

All Weekend

• The UC African American Alumni Affiliate (4A) will host numerous events during Homecoming Week. Details (alumni.uc.edu/4A/homecoming). 
• The Campus Recreation Center will offer free access to all alumni and their families during Homecoming Weekend. Details about the Rec Center (uc.edu/campusrec.html)
• Nationwide is the Premier Sponsor of Homecoming. Other sponsors include College Advantage, Skyline Chili and the UC Bookstores.

For more information about all things Homecoming, visit the UC Alumni Association’s Homecoming website.