For Immediate Release

Date:  September 28, 2006

BLOOMSBURG— Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania will celebrate homecoming weekend from Friday through Sunday, Oct. 6 to 8. 

Homecoming weekend officially begins Saturday with the annual parade which combines the efforts of BU and the Bloomsburg High School. The parade forms at 9 a.m. in the Bloomsburg Hospital parking lot and moves at 10:30 a.m. It will last approximately one and a half hours and will conclude at the Town Park. 

The parade will feature Doug Hippenstiel as grand marshal. Hippenstiel, who served 26 years as alumni affairs director at BU, retired earlier this year. Other features of the parade include four marching bands, floats, student organizations and homecoming royalty from both BU and BHS.

Bloomsburg University alumni marking reunion years ending in sixes and ones are invited to march in the parade. Reunion alumni are asked to meet at the alumni float in the Bloomsburg Hospital parking lot at 9:30 a.m. Alumni band members will meet by 9 a.m. in Haas Center for the Arts, band room.

BU’s homecoming football game will be played against West Chester Saturday, Oct. 7, at 1:30 p.m. in Redman Stadium. Halftime will feature the Maroon and Gold and Alumni bands, as well as the crowning of royalty and announcements of the winning entries in the residence hall window decorating contest and banner, float and non-float competitions. Banners will be displayed on the stadium fence facing the home stands. 

Tickets for BU’s football game are $8 for adults, $3 for students, $2 for senior citizens and $1 for children ages 8 to 12; children under 8 get in free. Admission is free with a BU ID. 

Previous sports stars will be inducted into the athletic hall of fame during a banquet Friday, Oct. 6, in the Kehr Union. Honorees and their sports are: Jim Browning ’56, track and field and football; Lance Milner ’90, tennis; Todd Cummings ’83, wrestling; Marty Laudato ’93, softball; Janelle Breneman ’94, softball; and Kim Youndt Evans ’90, swimming.

Homecoming weekend will conclude with the Homecoming Pops Concert on Sunday, Oct. 8, at 2:30 p.m. in Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. The concert is open to the public free of charge.

For information on homecoming events sponsored by the BU Alumni Association, including the pre-game picnics and post-game social at the Fenstemaker Alumni House, visit the BU alumni Web site at www.bloomualumni.com or call 1-800-526-0254.

Bloomsburg University is one of 14 universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. The university serves approximately 8,000 students, offering comprehensive programs of study in the colleges of Professional Studies, Business, Liberal Arts and Science and Technology.

###