Mizzou Homecoming Essay

1177 Words5 Pages
A Century and Counting… Roaring crowd, streets fill with people and the smell of fresh cooked meat are things most people think of common before sporting events. This case however, is not just any sporting event. The mother of all schools sporting events and tradition is that of homecoming. I feel it’s only right to shed some light on the school that started it all. The University of Missouri Columbia, or what most people know as Mizzou, has the unofficial title as the first college to perform the homecoming ritual. Mizzou’s prides in voicing how their homecoming tradition is 100 years old. The first recorded homecoming took place in a 1911 football game against border rivals The University of Kansas. Their rivalry dates back to 1891 and until 1911, the game was always played on a neutral field that wasn’t associated with either school. This changed due to NCAA legislation which moved the games to a brand new battlefield, the football fields of the campuses. Mizzou’s Director of Athletics, Chester L. Brewer, envisioned adding excitement to the rivalry game by inviting alumni to join in and “come home” to see the game. Thousands of people find their way home or discover their future home at Mizzou every year to participate in the annual homecoming rituals. Festivities of the original homecoming in 1911 included a parade, spirit rally and the game against KU. More than 9,000 fans packed into the past football field, Rollins Field (now known as Stankowski Field), and began the Homecoming tradition. This celebration is one of Mizzou’s largest events, and also one of the nations as well. MU’s Homecoming tradition was recently named “the best Homecoming in the nation—the only school to hold such an honor—and has been named a model Homecoming program, by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.” The original homecoming tradition at Mizzou has

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