By Elizabeth Gerbush

Homecoming 2005 may not be happening until the weekend of Oct. 20-22, but organizers have already started planning for what they hope will be the most successful one yet.

Associate athletics director for external affairs, Tom Koller, is serving his fourth year as homecoming steering committee chairman and plans to make the upcoming celebration more popular than ever.

“Our steering committee has a little saying this year, ‘Bigger, bolder, better,’” Koller said. “My philosophy three years ago was to reignite homecoming, because it had gotten a little stale. So we put together a fantastic committee of people that came to the table with some great ideas. We tried to put some energy back into homecoming.”

Koller’s philosophy appears to be working, as homecoming attendance numbers have steadily increased over the past three years. Koller credits this to the combination of homecoming with Parents Weekend three years ago, along with the introduction of some traditional events, such as:
• the pep rally/chicken barbeque in the quad
• the King and Queen competition
• the shopping cart decoration competition

“I really like the idea of using shopping carts as floats,” remarked senior Morgan

Duhe. “It makes participation in homecoming accessible to all students, because not every organization or every person has a car or is willing to put their car in the homecoming parade.”

According to Koller, the shopping cart float competition had 50 to 60 entries last year, and the homecoming pageant is more popular than ever.

“With the King and Queen competition, they all said, ‘Don’t even have it. No one does it anymore,’” Koller said. “Well, last year we moved it from Campus West Auditorium to [Warren] Enters [Theatre], which gave us 200 more seats—and we turned back 200 people. This year, it’s gotten so big we’re moving it to Rockwell Hall… The students are reacting to it!”

In March, students, faculty, staff and alumni got a head start on participating in the festivities by entering the third annual homecoming/Parents Weekend theme contest. All entrants are not only in the running for consolation prizes, but will also receive a grand prize, which includes $50 gift certificates from Wegmans and Circuit City if their theme is chosen. Upon the announcement of the winning theme, it will be incorporated into all aspects of the celebration, including marketing, merchandising, and the homecoming events.

“For me, it’s all about participation,” said Koller. “Whether you enter the theme contest or decorate a shopping cart or come to a football game or come to the tailgate tent, as long as you participate, then we’re creating something.

The people that do have a ton of fun, and that’s what homecoming is all about.”

Elizabeth Gerbush can be reached at gerbet47@buffalostate.edu

The Chemistry Club won “Best Student Organization” in Homecoming 2004’s shopping cart float competition.