WINGATE — Bulldogs far and wide will flock to campus this weekend for football, a family-friendly festival and more as the University celebrates Homecoming.
The Bill Connell Memorial Golf Tournament, sponsored by the Bulldog Club and set for Friday morning at Stonebridge Golf Club, will mark the start of the annual celebration. Friday afternoon, Wingate’s departments of biology, and chemistry and physics will bring the fun to campus with Life After Lab, an alumni panel discussion in the Levine College of Health Sciences.
At 4 p.m. that day, Wingate’s new Alumni Board will host a Welcome Back Mixer inside the Crowder Welcome Center, at the end of which those who have tickets will have just enough time to head across the street to the LaVerne Banquet Hall for the Alumni & Sports Hall of Fame Awards Dinner.
Saturday’s events will begin at 10 a.m., when gates open for tailgating next to Irwin Belk Stadium. At noon, members of the Class of 1973 will gather for their 50th reunion luncheon, while Bulldog families head toward the field next to the tailgate area for the Homecoming Festival, complete with face painting, henna tattoos, inflatables and a mechanical bull.
“We’ll have something for everyone, including four food trucks: Darby’s Cuisine and Catering, Flippin Mini’s, Low Country Eats and Sweets, and TB’s Italian Ice and Mini Donuts,” says Jeremiah Kelly, assistant director of campus involvement.
While having their caricature drawn or waiting for a balloon animal, festival goers can enjoy student performances, music and a DJ.
Wingate’s football game against Limestone College starts at 3 p.m. The University’s two Top Dogs, elected by the student body, will be crowned during halftime. New members of the Sports Hall of Fame will also be introduced.
Alumni and Wingate fans hoping to catch sports action will have several opportunities beyond the football field this weekend. The volleyball team will take on Tusculum Friday evening and Lincoln Memorial on Saturday afternoon. Both matches will be in Cuddy Arena. The men’s and women’s soccer teams will play Lincoln Memorial on Saturday. And the women’s basketball team will have an alumni game.
After the football game, the Black Alumni Association will host a celebration in LaVerne Banquet Hall to include appetizers, drinks, music and dancing.
New to Homecoming this year will be a multicultural Sunday choir performance and fellowship event scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday in the Batte Center. The service will feature music from a student gospel choir and songs by Wingate alumni. It is sponsored by the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging, the Homecoming Committee, the Wingate University Black Alumni Association and the music department.
Check out the full schedule of Homecoming events at wingate.edu.
