'Extreme Makeover: Rowan Edition': University to celebrate its past--and its future--during Homecoming
October 13, 2009Rowan University will honor its past and celebrate its future when students, faculty, staff and community members join together for the University's annual Homecoming celebration on Saturday, Oct. 24.
On a day when the University will pay tribute to former longtime professor and coach Richard Wackar with the naming of the athletic stadium in his honor, the Homecoming 2009 theme, "Extreme Makeover: Rowan Edition," will celebrate the many positive changes happening at Rowan.
"The theme is appropriate based on what's going on around campus, particularly with the development of Rowan Boulevard," says Constantine Alexakos, assistant director of student activities.
Homecoming Week begins on Wednesday, Oct. 21, with a banner competition for students, continues with the popular lip sync competition on Thursday, Oct. 22 (9 p.m., Chamberlain Student Center), and gains momentum with a pep rally on Friday, Oct. 23 (7 p.m., Esby Gym).
But the celebration culminates with a full day of activities on Saturday, Oct. 24, highlighted by the annual Homecoming Parade (10 a.m.), the Profs' football game against Buffalo State College (1:30 p.m.), the ceremony honoring Wackar (halftime of the game), and the University's 25th annual Step Show (7 p.m., Pfleeger Concert Hall).
The Homecoming Parade winds through town and proceeds to the judges' stand on Bowe Boulevard, where members of the Rowan and Glassboro communities will gather to watch student performances. Floats created by student groups--which are expected to include themes ranging from "Rowan's New World" to "Rowan Enchanted"--will highlight the "Extreme Makeover" theme.
Members of Rowan's Greek organizations and other student groups will work together as they pull "all-nighters" creating the floats on Friday evening, fueled in part by 400 cups of coffee, 600 cups of hot cocoa, and 600 soft pretzels personally delivered by members of Rowan's Alumni Association. The Cocoa Run is an Alumni Association tradition.
Campus Players, which has won the overall Homecoming competition the last three years, is hoping to keep that reign going, says group president Brian Froonjian.
"We hope to have a lot of fun with our float this year. We also hope that Rowan's students and their families, faculty, and alumni enjoy our float as much as we enjoy working on it," says Froonjian. "We look forward to Homecoming each year. It definitely brings us closer together as an organization."
While Rowan's football team, in its 50th year, will face Buffalo in Saturday's Homecoming game, the University will honor Wackar with the renaming of the athletic stadium Coach Richard Wackar Stadium at John Page Field. Wackar coached four different sports in his 32 years at the University, including the football team from 1963-80.
Wackar's fans--and former players and students--also are invited to the Alumni Association picnic on Saturday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. in the alumni tent near the stadium. Tickets are $10 and can be reserved online. The picnic is open to alumni, staff, students and parents. To reserve tickets, call 856-256-5400. For a schedule of Alumni Association Homecoming events, visit www.rowan.edu/alumni.
For a schedule of Homecoming activities, visit http://www.rowan.edu/events/homecoming/events/.
