Homecoming week is here — welcome home, Baylor Family!

In 1909, Baylor hosted the first collegiate homecoming celebration in the nation. This week (Oct. 27-Nov. 1), we again renew that tradition, as the Baylor Family returns to campus to “catch that Baylor spirit again,” as President Samuel Palmer Brooks famously wrote more than a century ago.

At Homecoming, Baylor rolls out the red carpet to welcome you — alumni and friends — home. It’s the biggest Baylor Family reunion of the year — all about seeing old friends, recalling fond memories, sharing those stories with the next generation, and celebrating together as one.

As you return to campus this weekend, start your visit at the Hurd Welcome Center — your Homecoming headquarters. Baylor staff will be on hand Friday and Saturday to answer questions and help you connect with school/college/campus events, and the Hurd will also host a wide variety of activities, photo ops, student performances, and more for Bears of all ages. Outside, a special Fall Family Festival (between Hurd and Moody) will offer games, candy, prizes and more for kids. (Learn more here.)

The festivities begin on campus Monday night with Homecoming Worship for students (presented by Vertical) in the SUB Bowl, followed by Dinner with the Livingstones on Wednesday. Thursday night features Ten at Ten: A Mass Meeting Experience, plus the first of four Pigskin Revue performances, followed Friday by the 50-year class reunion, Singspiration, the Royal & Pure Homecoming Stroll-Off, Bonfire, and Pep Rally. Saturday opens with the beloved Homecoming Parade, followed by Baylor football hosting UCF (11 a.m.) at McLane Stadium.

[Find all the week’s details at baylor.edu/homecoming.]

Elsewhere on campus, the newly renovated Allen and Dawson residence halls will host an open house Friday from 5-6 p.m. Countless schools and departments are also hosting open houses and alumni gatherings; check the Homecoming calendar for complete event listings and details. (And if it’s been awhile since your last visit to campus, we’ve got a new list of things to see and do around Waco.)

Sic ’em, Baylor Homecomers — welcome home!