For Homecoming 100 and the first time in UA history, the Homecoming bonfire and pep rally held outside of Old Main will be live streamed on the Internet.
Jill Hall, the vice president for Student and Alumni Outreach, said that at 6:20 p.m. on Friday, the Pride of Arizona marching band, the entire Homecoming royalty court and the Bobcats will meet at Centennial Hall and will be followed to Bear Down Friday.
At 6:30 p.m., the band and those following will march into Main Gate Square where the Bear Down Friday program will begin. This will be followed by the introduction of Bobcat President Ben Malisewski at 7 p.m., and he will introduce the Homecoming court.
The band will perform at 7:15 p.m. and will proceed to lead everyone as it marches to Old Main. Upon arrival, the UA football team will enter the bonfire area.
Seniors from the football team will give a pep talk at 7:30 p.m., and the announcement of Homecoming King and Queen will follow. Once the King and Queen have been announced, the bonfire will be lit.
The bonfire was unable to be held last year due to Old Main’s renovations. The area of the lawn that is traditionally used for the bonfire, and where it is being held this year, had been blocked off for construction.
Rachel Telljohn, a pre-journalism freshman, said she is glad the UA will have a bonfire to celebrate Homecoming.
“I think it is great a school like [the] University of Arizona puts on such a traditional Homecoming event,” Telljohn said. “I was surprised a school in the desert would plan a bonfire, but I was pleasantly surprised.”
Telljohn said she plans to attend the bonfire on Friday evening.
“Although I will be in attendance, the live stream is great if people do not want to leave their dorms or cannot go out that night for some reason,” Telljohn said.
Olivia Carvajal, an alumna from the Class of 2014, recalled her memories of the bonfire.
“I remember attending the Homecoming bonfire night as an undergrad with my roommates on campus,” Carvajal said. “It was always an exciting feeling to watch it being constructed and lit on campus.” Carvajal added that she looks forward to having the opportunity to share the Homecoming bonfire event with her family through live streaming.
The bonfire is going to be live streamed by Arizona Public Media at ondemand.azpm.org/live/.
According to the University of Arizona Alumni Association website, this will also be when all the returning classes will be honored. The reunion classes for this year are the Class of 1964, 1974, 1984, 1994 and 2004.
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