VCU Homecoming 2012

By Katherine Schutt
Division of University Relations

Last spring, the streets surrounding Virginia Commonwealth University filled with exuberant students celebrating the men’s basketball team’s unpredictable victories during its historic run to the Final Four.

Those weeks in March and April unearthed a school spirit rarely, if ever, seen before on campus and around Richmond — and the 2012 Homecoming committee is hoping to capitalize on that experience.  The committee has themed this year’s weeklong Homecoming event, taking place from Jan. 30 to Feb. 4, “Moment for Life: A Black and Gold Story.”

“It’s amazing to see the spirit at VCU,” said senior Avery Jones, committee director. “If you look at any of the sporadic events that have happened, you see how much spirit we have. Like the Final Four — we closed down Broad Street. We wanted to incorporate that spirit into Homecoming.”

But the committee wants to celebrate more than the Final Four, which was just one exciting moment in time.

“We also want to celebrate our moments as college students,” explained junior Tory Myles, the committee’s marketing director. To that end, the committee has invited students to submit short videos in which they talk about their greatest experience at VCU to the VCU Homecoming Facebook page. “It’s basically giving them their moment — to celebrate it and showcase it to the rest of the school.”

The week is jam-packed with events for current students and alumni, starting and ending with T-shirt swaps sponsored by the VCU Alumni Association on Monday, Jan. 30, and Saturday, Feb. 4.

“The idea is that you exchange a T-shirt from another college or university for a VCU one,” said Morgan McDowell, director of student and young alumni engagement for the VCU Office of Alumni Relations. “We have a limited number of new student-designed T-shirts to give away each year, and we donate the old ones to local homeless shelters. It’s a fun way to build school spirit.”

Students can wear their new T-shirts to the Homecoming Kickoff, which takes place Tuesday, Jan. 31, from noon to 4 p.m. in the University Student Commons and includes food, games and activities. Other highlights of the week include Homecoming Court Lip Sync on Tuesday evening, the Residence Hall Step-Off competition on Thursday evening and the Homecoming concert on Friday evening, featuring Outasight, Kendrick Lamar and headliner Big Sean.

New this year is the R.O.A.R (RAMs on a Rage) Block Party in the Commons Plaza on Saturday afternoon, where students can rev up for the men’s basketball game later that day with games, food, a raffle and freebies. The men’s basketball team takes on Northeastern University at 7 p.m. on Saturday at the VCU Stuart C. Siegel Center.

Visit the Homecoming 2012 website for a complete listing of the week’s events. Alumni should also check out the VCU and MCV Alumni Associations Homecoming webpage for additional alumni events.