by Kenny Buck
With homecoming just under a week away, the MSUM homecoming crew has high expectations for this year’s festivities.
MSUM student athlete Jamison Gehrig is one of two homecoming coordinators hired for event planning and asks students to prepare for a week of events like they’ve never seen before.
“It’s going to be the best homecoming in MSUM history,” Gehrig said.
Being a member of the cross-country team, Gehrig knows how important the student body is to supporting athletics.
“It’s real motivation to see a lot of people get involved and to see people pumped up for the games,” Gehrig said, “It’s always nice to see as much support as possible.”
There is much to support with over 40 events lined up, ranging from the ribbon cutting ceremony at the Livingston Lord Library to a Glow in the Dark Fun Run, which has never been done in past homecomings.
MSUM is kicking off homecoming week with the Dragon Blood Drive starting at 10 a.m. Monday and will end the day with a pep rally at 8 p.m. in Nemzek followed by Dragons Royale Casino Night.
Tuesday will be the start of a week’s slate of games as the Dragon volleyball team takes on Minot State University in Nemzek. Dragon volleyball will take to the courts again Friday night at 7 p.m. preceding Coronation, the burning of the M, and fireworks starting at 9 p.m.
MSUM President Anne Blackhurst has her inauguration ceremony to prepare for on Friday, but for a warm up on Wednesday, the avid runner will be doing Laps for the Long Run at Nemzek Stadium. President Blackhurst plans to run 50 laps and pledge $1000 for each lap towards scholarships.
The Johnny Holm Band will be performing Thursday night of homecoming week at 8 p.m. in the CMU ballroom. Students can spend their Friday morning recovering from Thursday night’s concert until 2 p.m. when President Blackhurst, fresh off her 50 lap performance, attends her official presidential inauguration at the Hansen Theatre in the Roland Dille Center for the Arts.
Saturday will mark the busiest day for Gehrig and the homecoming crew with nine events leading up to three games for Dragon Athletics.
Dragon Soccer starts at noon and will be followed by Dragon Football when they’ll take on the Wayne State Wildcats.
MSUM football player Wade Youngblom says they need more students to come support the Dragon football team.
“It definitely gives us an advantage,” Youngblom said, “It’s usually where we have the most attendance.”
As for why students should come to support the team, Youngblom believes the way they play is enough for fellow Dragons to fill the bleachers at Nemzek Stadium.
“Our team is different,” Youngblom said, “We’re fun to watch and we put on a good show.”
Students can pregame at Dragon Zone tailgating outside Nemzek from 11:30 a.m. all the way up to game time starting at 2 p.m.
Dragon volleyball and soccer will round out the weekend’s games as Youngblom says students should be prepared to attend anything and everything during homecoming week.
“It’s a fun atmosphere and everyone seems to enjoy it.”