Homecoming preparations are underway as Kent State gets ready to welcome alumni back to their old stomping grounds.

Homecoming 2024 will take place Sept. 28 as the Golden Flashes face Eastern Michigan for the annual football game. Many other annual events are planned so alumni and students can celebrate their campus.

Joe Robinson, Assistant Director for Campus Connections and Traditions, said having a chance to come back each year is a great way for alumni to stay involved with Kent State.

“Alumni span the globe, span the country,” Robinson said. “They’re not necessarily here day in and day out, but because they have such great affinity for a place that’s so special to them, this is their one day a year, one week a year to reconnect with this special place.”

He said other than the football game and tailgate, the homecoming parade is the largest event.

Comprised of over 30 student organizations, over 30 campus community partners and a grandstand area for performers, the parade takes a route over a mile long, traveling from the corner of Midway Drive and Main Street, west on Main Street and into downtown Kent, Robinson said. There will also be a live stream on the Kent State University Alumni YouTube channel.

“It’s just a tremendous event that brings people from the community together,” he said.

Other traditions include Kiss on the K, which Jason Hawk, Associate Director of Events for the Division of Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement, said is KSU’s most unique tradition.

A ceremony will take place at 2 p.m. during the Flash Nation Tailgate at the Dix Stadium tent celebrating couples, or “flash flames” as Robinson put it, who met while on campus together. 

Hawk said there will be numerous photo stations and an activity for couples to record their love story.

“It’s so fun to watch our alumni come back to campus with their children and show them where they went to college, often encouraging them to follow in their footsteps,” Hawk said.

To kick off homecoming week, the Flash Activities Board is hosting its annual Flash Bash. Robinson said this event has a school spirit dynamic to it and will be held Sept. 23 at Risman Plaza.

Here, the homecoming court will be introduced, which will consist of 12 upperclassmen undergraduate students, Robinson said.

After going through an application process as well as interviews, he explained that the selected members of the court will participate in a variety of events during homecoming week to promote school spirit. Then, during halftime of the football game, homecoming royalty will be announced.

Hawk said homecoming is the highlight of his year.

“So many alumni return to their alma mater to catch up with old friends, see what’s new on campus and enjoy all of the activities planned for them,” he said. “It’s always great to get to welcome them back and hear them share their memories of the time they spent on campus years ago.”

As a 2007 alum himself, Hawk said he used to participate in the traditions before he became the one organizing them.

“During my senior year, I was selected to be on the homecoming court,” he said. “In a serendipitous moment, just last week I was asked to be on the selection committee and helped choose what students would serve on this year’s court. In all, homecoming will always hold a special place in my heart.”

Lauren Cohen is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected]