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2003 Schedule
Homecoming Fun Facts

Click on image for publication quality photo GREEN AND GOLD SPIRIT -- Michael Budden, right, dean of the College of Business and Technology at Southeastern Louisiana University, looks on as his staff works on their Homecoming display in the Garrett Building lobby. Putting the finishing touches on the display are, from left, administrative secretary Sheila Tregre, coordinator Lynn Stirling, and Assistant Dean Bobbye Davis. The university is sponsoring a decorating contest in conjunction with Homecoming week, which kicks off on Monday, Oct. 13, and culminates with the Southeastern vs. Webber International football game on Saturday, Oct. 18. SLU SALUTES HOMECOMING 2003 WITH “REMEMBER” THE LIONS”  HAMMOND -- Homecoming at Southeastern Louisiana University is a whole new ball game. For the first time in 18 years, the university’s annual week-long celebration of green-and-gold spirit will be centered around football.        “The spirit on our campus and among our alumni and community friends has been strong in the past and continues to grow even stronger with the return of football," said Kathy Pittman, director of Alumni Relations. "The tradition of football and Homecoming went together at Southeastern for 50 years, so it is really exciting to be returning to that tradition. We look forward to the many alumni and friends who will be returning to campus to share the weekend with us."       The Dream Team, Southeastern’s student Homecoming committee, has chosen “Remember the Lions” as the 2003 theme. Special features of the week include the dedication on Homecoming Day, Oct. 18, of “Walls of Honor” in each of the university’s academic college recognizing the donors of endowed scholarships, professorships and chairs, and the Alumni Awards banquet on Homecoming Eve.        Homecoming fun begins with a kick-off pep rally at noon on Oct. 13 in the War Memorial Student Union, featuring the introduction of the 2003 Homecoming court, coaches and athletes, and performances by the cheerleaders and Lionettes dance team. Student activities during the week include a “Fear Factor” style games night on Tuesday, Oct. 14, the Gumbo Ya Ya fest on Wednesday, Oct. 15, and the annual “Tons of Fun” food drive on Thursday, Oct. 16.       Also throughout the week, the College of Business and Technology will celebrate its annual “Business and Technology Week,” bringing business and industry leaders into classrooms as guest speakers. University faculty will also compete to create the best “Lion Lesson,” a classroom activity that both promotes their academic disciplines and generates students’ excitement about Homecoming. On Tuesday, faculty and student teams will flex their intellectual muscles in Phi Kappa Phi’s Homecoming Quiz Bowl.        Homecoming activity will be turned up a notch on Thursday, when judges will decide which downtown Hammond businesses have created the best green and gold decorations, the FE-Lions women’s luncheon takes place at noon at the Alumni Center, and a special exhibit of artworks by alumni opens with a 5-7:30 p.m. reception at Sims Memorial Library.       Then, on Friday, October 17 – Homecoming Eve – the action really heats up. Campus tours will be offered from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., starting at the Admissions office in Building A on North Campus. For $100 per player, participants can also sign up as individuals or by teams for the Homecoming Golf Scramble at Carter Plantation. Lunch, prizes and refreshments will be provided. For more information or to register, contact Associate Athletic Director Duane Shafer, at (985) 549-5091 or rshafer@selu.edu.       Also on Friday, the Gridiron Club will meet at noon at the Holiday Inn and the Lyceum Lights faculty lecture series, scheduled for noon at Twelve Oaks, will feature the reminiscences of three retired faculty members: Ellienne Tate, Professor Emeritus and Dean Emeritus of Nursing; James H. Wilcox, Professor Emeritus of Music and Dean Emeritus of the College of Humanities; and Patrick D. Settoon, former Provost and Dean of College of Science and Technology.       Friday evening will feature the Alumni Awards Evening, beginning at 7 p.m. at Twelve Oaks. The major honoree is 1962 graduate Paul Candies, president of Otto Candies Industries, who has been named 2003 Alumnus of the Year. Ken Kenelly (Class of ‘75), a State Farm Insurance agent from Baton Rouge, will receive the Distinguished Service Award, while Duane Donald (Class of ‘90), a Southeastern marketing instructor, will be presented with the L.E. Chandler Award.        Tickets for cocktail buffet event are $15 per person or $120 for a table for eight. Tickets can be ordered online at www.selu.edu/alumni or by calling the Alumni Center, 985-549-2150 or 1-800-SLU-ALUM.       Immediately following the Awards Evening, at 9:15 p.m., the Homecoming bonfire and pep rally will light up the action and the Student Government Association will sponsor a “street dance.” The evening’s activities will all take place on the Alumni Center grounds and will end with a fireworks display, compliments of the Campus Activities Board.       The action begins early on Homecoming Day, Saturday, Oct. 18. Fun things scheduled for the day include free fitness workouts and performances by fitness instructors from 7 a.m. to noon at the Pennington Student Activity Center; campus tours leaving from North Campus Building A from 9 a.m. to noon; live music in the Performance Circle adjacent to the Pottle Music Building; and a variety of games and activities for children from noon to 3 p.m. on Galloway Drive.       Southeastern’s four academic colleges will host open houses on Homecoming morning and will dedicate “Walls of Honor,” special plaques that recognize the donors who have endowed scholarships, professorships and chairs. The open house/dedication schedule is: College of Education and Human Development (Cate Teacher Education Center) -- open house 9:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m., dedication 9:30 a.m.; College of Business and Technology (Garrett Hall) -- open house 10 a.m.-noon, dedication 10:15 a.m.; College of Nursing and Health Sciences (Mims Hall) – open house 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., dedication 11 a.m.; and College of Arts and Sciences (Fayard Hall) – open house 11 a.m.-1 p.m., dedication 11:30 a.m.       A number of groups have planned Homecoming Day reunions, including the Students of the States and music alumni; the Southeastern High School Class of 1953; former Homecoming Queens; members of the undefeated football teams of 1936, 1946, and 1954; fraternities and sororities; members of Gamma Beta Phi; and former residents of Cardinal Newman Hall.       As the excitement builds toward the 4 p.m. Southeastern-Webber International Homecoming game in Strawberry Stadium, the Homecoming parade will roll at 1:30 p.m., and the football team will walk through Friendship Circle to the Student Union at 1:45 p.m. A spirited “second line” will lead fans into Strawberry Stadium at 3:20 p.m. and pre-game festivities will begin at 3:40 p.m.       Those festivities will include performances by the Spirit of the Southland band and band alumni, the Lionettes and cheerleaders, and former members of the Students of the States, who will sing the Southeastern alma mater and the national anthem. Lions gridiron players from 1936,  1946 and 1954 will also be recognized as will the members of the 2003 Homecoming queen and beau courts. The queen and king will be announced and crowned at halftime.       Alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends can cap off Homecoming fun by attending “A Night to Remember,” the African American Alumni Chapter’s Homecoming ball, scheduled for 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., in the War Memorial Student Union ballroom. Tickets for the ball are $25, and the event will begin with a short program followed by dinner, dancing and socializing. Tickets can be purchased at the door or at the the Multicultural and International Student Affairs office, 985-549-3850.       For more information about Homecoming 2003, call the Alumni Center, 1-800-SLU-ALUM or visit the Homecoming 2003 link at www.selu.edu/alumni.