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A MC Singers concert, Follies skits, a Choctaws football game, tailgating on the Quad and a lively parade will attract thousands of supporters to Mississippi College’s 2016 Homecoming.
“Calling All Choctaws Home” is the theme of the smorgasbord of activities drawing alums from across America. Events on the Clinton campus run from October 13-15.
The blitz of events begins with a 50-Year Club Reunion at Anderson Hall in the B.C. Rogers Student Center. Tickets cost $15, and RSVP is required for the 6:30 p.m. program on October 13. Members of the Class of 1966 and earlier grads will rekindle tons of memories.
Homecoming travels to the fairways that Friday. The Homecoming Golf Tournament heads to a new venue, Patrick Farms Golf Club. A four-man scramble begins with a shotgun start at noon. Lunch will be available at the course in Rankin County at 11 a.m. The contest is open to alumni, students and guests, and the top three teams will be awarded prizes. Cost is $50 and RSVP is required.
Another athletic contest on the to-do list is the MC men’s soccer team facing Union University of Jackson, Tennessee at Longabaugh Field. It begins at 3 p.m. Friday.
Throughout the day, there will be plenty of events like a 10 a.m. Golden Anniversary Brunch in Anderson Hall at a cost of $15. Campus tours, class receptions and much more are booked, too. At 6 p.m. Friday, the National Alumni Association Awards Dinner will begin in Anderson Hall. RSVP is required and tickets cost $20.
At the same time, there’s an MC softball alumni game with current players taking the field at the softball complex. It’s an opportunity for grads to visit with Lady Choctaws Coach Brooke O’Hair.
Follies performance is set for 7 p.m. at Swor Auditorium. New pledges from MC clubs and tribes should be pretty funny and display their stage talents. Tickets should be purchased well in advance online at www.mc.edu/follies at $15 each.
The pace only steps up on Saturday with the Hap Hudson Homecoming 5K Race in downtown Clinton at 8 a.m. Registration at Cockroft Hall opens at 6:30 a.m. The contest ends at the Robinson-Hale Stadium track. At 9 a.m. in Alumni Gym, the No. 2 ranked MC table tennis team hosts opponents like Mississippi State, Alabama, Tulane and West Florida in the Dixie Division Tournament. Led by Coach Cheng Li, MC is starting its 10th season playing the Olympic sport.
At 10 a.m. Art Department distinguished graduate Wyatt Waters of Clinton will sign copies of his 2017 calendar at the Leland Speed Library. There will be plenty to eat at the reception at the Gore Galleries. There will be a silent auction and book sale hosted in the library until 1 p.m.
Fans of the Blue & Gold should line College Street for the Homecoming Parade at 1 p.m. Saturday. Thirty minutes later, the widely celebrated MC Singers will perform in concert at Provine Chapel under the direction of conductor Mark Nabholz.
Football fans will get a chance to see the MC Choctaws battle Gulf South Conference rival Valdosta State. Kickoff that Saturday at Robinson-Hale Stadium will be at 3 p.m. John Bland is serving his third season as head coach of the squad that’s officially a member of NCAA Division II and the Birmingham-based GSC. MC opened the 2016 season with a 28-16 win against Point University on September 3.
In July, MC successfully completed a three-year transition to take the big step for its entire slate of 17 NCAA sports teams.
MC athletes, past and present, are arriving pre-game for a 1:30 P.M. reception at the Moody Adams Field House.
Steve Puryear, a 1976 graduate, is encouraging as many alums as possible to return to their alma mater, and see MC people from communities across the USA. “Join me in greeting old and new acquaintances, friends and family,” says the president of the MC Alumni Association Alumni Board. He already knows one of the grads – that’s his wife of 41 years, Barbara, a fellow MC Choctaw.
For more details, contact Lori Bobo of the MC Alumni Affairs Office at 601-925-3252 or visit the website www.alumni.mc.edu/homecoming
Photo: Mississippi College Homecoming 2016 set for October 13-15
