Source: Jackson State University / Getty
The HBCU homecoming experience is one of the most eagerly awaited and celebrated parts of attending an HBCU. When people think of homecoming, images of parties, parades, and football games come to mind, of course. There’s tons of food, music, and dancing. But the richest part of homecoming is all about who comes back home: the alumni.
“Homecoming is a celebration that spans a lifetime — from your student years, well through adult life. My favorite memory is being with close friends at Howard celebrating each other in a place that shaped us into the people we have become.” United States Vice President Kamala D. Harris, Howard University, Class of 1986 told to the New York Times
Homecoming is like a weeklong family reunion where those who’ve gone on to the world at large return to tell what awaits beyond college’s hallowed halls. Alumni share stories with each other and underclassmen about the challenges they face in a country that once told them it was illegal for them to know how to read and write.
It’s an opportunity to bond in celebration of triumph over adversity. To remind each other that, despite the challenges that exist, there is also a brotherhood and sisterhood that is ready to support and welcome them into a long legacy of overcomers, too. A spiritual endowment that brought forth everyone from the likes of Thurgood Marshall and Martin Luther King Jr. to Taraji P. Henson and Erykah Badu.
And that precisely is why the homecoming tradition is so important for the HBCU community.
Now, some HBCUs are more widely known for their homecoming parties than others. (Howard University, we’re looking at you!) But preparations normally start one week early, and each of the institutions has its own way of turning up.
Fashion shows, house parties, car shows, concerts, and cookouts all the way leading up to the grand finale: the homecoming football game!
So in no particular order, here are five of the most fun HBCU Homecoming football games to attend in 2022.
- North Carolina A&T University Date: Saturday, October 29 at 1 p.m. a.k.a. “The Greatest Homecoming on Earth” NCA&T Aggies vs. Campbell University Fighting Camels
- Texas Southern University Date: Saturday, October 29 at 2 p.m. TSU Tigers vs. Lincoln University Blue Tigers
- Grambling State University Date: Saturday, November 5 GSU Tigers vs. Arkansas Pine-Bluff Golden Lions
- Morgan State University Date: Saturday, October 8 at 2 p.m. MSU Bears Vs. Norfolk State Spartans
- Jackson State University Date: Saturday, October 22 at 2 p.m. and watch a performance by “The Sonic Boom of the South” JSU Tigers vs. Campbell University Fighting Camels
