The first Homecoming was held in conjunction with the November 11, 1916, UT-Vanderbilt football game. Three hundred alumni attended, representing class years as early as 1872. The first Homecoming parade consisted of the university cadet corps in dress uniform, led by the band. The first Homecoming game proved to be exciting, as the Volunteers staged a come-from-behind upset victory, winning 10-6. President Ayres declared Monday a holiday so the celebration could continue.
World War I prevented Homecoming from becoming an annual event until 1925. UT has had a Homecoming every year since 1925 except for 1943 when students donated funds that would have been spent on Homecoming to the Red Cross or used them to purchase war bonds.
Before each Homecoming game, a Tennessee walking horse circles the field and two F/A-18 Super Hornets fly over the stadium during the national anthem.
The Office of Alumni Affairs planned the very first Homecoming all those years ago and continues to lead the planning of events that invite our alumni to return to campus for Homecoming Weekend, including the popular Party in the Park event on game day.
In addition, the the Annual Southeastern Stomp Fest has been a Homecoming tradition since 1999, with the Office of Sorority & Fraternity Life, Black Cultural Programming Committee, and the National Society of Black Engineers serving as recent hosts of the event.
Each year, a week-long schedule of traditional, competitive events are held for organizations and campus departments including a pep rally (established 1916) house decorating (established 1930), parade floats (established 1955), and Smokey’s Howl (established in the 1990s). Over the past decades, new events have been added like the Tower of Cans building contest, which benefits local food pantries.
The year 2016 marked the 100th anniversary of Homecoming at UT. Very few universities hold this distinctive landmark. In honor of the occasion, the university hosted many special events. This included bringing back traditional events, such as Barnwarmin’ and introducing new events like a carnival, Vol Navy Boat Races, and a historical walking tour of campus.
In 1970, the Over the Hill Alumni Band performed on campus during Homecoming, and beginning in 1999 the band joined the Pride of the Southland Band to perform during halftime of the football game. The largest alumni band to perform in the history of Homecoming was in 2013 with 470 alumni band members joining the 330 Pride members at halftime.
Homecoming banners were first integrated into Homecoming in 1975, where Sigma Phi Epsilon and Delta Gamma received the highest award for their banners.