Homecoming is one of the UA’s many traditions and despite a tighter budget, it should continue to be celebrated with full wildcat spirit.

Homecoming is the time of year for wildcats past and present to gather together and celebrate the memories we’ve shared at the university.

We come together to carry out the long celebrated UA Homecoming traditions, the very same traditions current students will one day return as alumni to take part in, again. Though budget cuts to the university have made the university’s pockets a little lighter, wildcats have worked together to continue on the traditions we love.

It’s no doubt that every Homecoming takes precise planning and budgeting to bring the annual celebration to life. Wildcats enjoy taking part of traditions including the lighting of “A” Mountain, the Club Olympics, bonfire, the crowning of the Homecoming king and queen and the Homecoming parade. But each of these events needs money and resources to happen in true UA tradition.

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The UA Alumni Association, charged with putting on and paying for Homecoming, has seen budget cuts this year as a result of these aforementioned budget cuts. This threatened to cut one of UA’s most treasured traditions, the mud tug-of-war.

The mud tug-of-war has been a Homecoming tradition for 30 years, giving students the gift of slipping and sliding in the mud under the desert sun. It’s often named one of the favorite traditions of the week and stands tall as a participant favorite.

Bobcats Senior Honorary, in an effort to save the tradition, turned to their fellow classmates and alumni for help. The honorary turned to crowd funding and raised $8,400 from 129 donors, saving the tradition.

Homecoming brings wildcat spirit to life at the university as we show off our campus to our alumni. The spirit of the events on campus are what make UA feel like home to 45,000 students, faculty and countless alumni around the world.

The torch has been passed to us, the current students of the UA, to breath life in to the traditions that scores of alumni have carried out before us. UA deeply values the traditions of our university and as students, we work to keep those traditions alive.

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The traditions of homecoming are part of the UA’s character, and what we tell prospective students when they ask, ‘Why UA?’.

We’ll proudly tell them about watching “A” mountain glow red on the eve of Homecoming, getting close enough to feel the warmth of the bonfire and watching the king and queen getting crowned on Old Main.

It’s what brings the campus to life and brings out the school spirit rooted in every wildcat, current and past.

While to some the celebrations may seem excessive—especially in light of the recent budget cuts—they celebrate the culture of our campus and the spirit of every student who has set foot on our campus for the past 100 years.

A cut to the budget is not a threat, but an opportunity for wildcats to work together to carry out the same traditions we know and love in true wildcat spirit.

The class of 1966 will be celebrating their 50 year reunion this weekend, and coming home to UA should remind of the spirit they’ve held over the last 50 years.

UA is home to wildcats past, current and future, and we’re tied together by traditions 100 years in the making—reminding us all that we’re wildcats for life.

Follow Leah Gilchrist on Twitter.