This week, the University of Georgia celebrates its 100th anniversary of homecoming. Described in a 1922 edition of the university’s student newspaper, The Red & Black, as “the gladdest of the year,” homecoming has a long history at the college.
Credit: Brant Sanderlin / bsanderlin@ajc.com
Credit: Brant Sanderlin / bsanderlin@ajc.com
In honor of this milestone, here are five things to know about the history of UGA’s homecoming:
1. The first homecoming celebration took place Nov. 18, 1922, according to the UGA website. The Athletic Association and Alumni Society collaborated to host a rally for students and alumni with speeches from the football team and coaches. Festivities continued afterwards with the Thalian Dramatic Club’s performance of the play “Mrs. Temple’s Telegram” and a Pan-Hellenic Ball, according to a 1922 edition of The Red & Black.
2. The university held its first homecoming parade in 1922 according to UGA’s website — a tradition that still continues today, with this year’s parade that took place in downtown Athens Friday night. The parade is a free event that features floats from a multitude of organizations and businesses, music from the Redcoat Marching Band as well as walk-throughs from the university president, currently Jere W. Morehead, and the football team.
Credit: Kerby Primm
Credit: Kerby Primm
3. In 1936, a decoration contest took place to showcase school spirit for homecoming — it was the first spirit competition the university had. Fraternities, sororities and dormitories competed to win a “silver loving cup,” according to a 1936 edition of The Red & Black. Athens businesses even cooperated with the competitors, making special decor. The contest spurred future spirit competitions at the university for years to come, according to UGA’s website.
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
4. Student Charlotte Lester was crowned as the university’s first ever homecoming queen in November 1946, according to The Red & Black. It wasn’t until nearly fifty years later in 1995 that the homecoming committee voted to include a homecoming king. Edwin Kendrick, a Black student, took that year’s title — a year after boycotts of the festivities took place due to the court’s lack of diversity, according to an issue of The Red & Black reported in 1995.
5. The homecoming game has come full circle 100 years later. In 1922, the Georgia Bulldogs played against the Vanderbilt Commodores in the first ever UGA homecoming game — and lost, according to UGA athletics history specialist Jason Hasty. A hundred years later, the teams come face to face again today, and this time UGA has a winning streak.
Credit: April Kooy
Credit: April Kooy
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