Sept. 18, 2025
Contact: Janese Heavin, heavinj@missouri.edu
The Columns aren’t the only ones calling. From parade watch parties to an open house, University of Missouri schools and colleges are summoning alumni home with unique events to celebrate Homecoming.
For more than 110 years, Mizzou has beckoned Tigers back to Columbia to be part of the nation’s first — and still the biggest — homecoming. Hallmarks of the weeklong celebration include a Friday night spirit rally at Traditions Plaza, the Saturday, Sept. 27, parade through downtown Columbia and the home football game, this year against the University of Massachusetts.
The roar of Tiger pride will ripple across campus as alumni reconnect with old friends, former classmates and the places where their Mizzou stories began.
In addition to campuswide events, here are a few happenings at Mizzou schools and colleges.
The College of Engineering will kick things off early with a Homecoming Happy Hour hosted by the MU Engineering Alumni Organization from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26, at Waves Cider Co.
On Saturday, Sept. 27, Engineering will team up with the College of Arts and Science for a joint Homecoming Parade watch party on the lawn of the Fine Arts Building at the corner of Hitt St. and University Ave. Spectators will have a perfect vantage point for catching Marching Mizzou, the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Mule Team and the full lineup of colorful floats.
The College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources will host its own watch party outside of the Agriculture Building, inviting alumni to bring lawn chairs and enjoy coffee and light refreshments — an annual tradition sponsored by the CAFNR Alumni Association.
The Sinclair School of Nursing will open its doors at 10:30 a.m. Saturday for a Homecoming Open House. Visitors can explore the state-of-the-art nursing facility and check out an interactive wall feature in the Donna and Dick Otto Lobby. There will also be Buck’s Tiger Stripe ice cream, and the first 50 guests will receive a matching set of Mizzou Nursing koozies.
Can’t make it to Columbia? Have your own watch party at home. The Homecoming Parade will be streamed live starting at 8:55 a.m.
Also during the weekend, Raymond Kowalik, BS CiE ’85, MS ’99, former chair and CEO of Burns & McDonnell, will be inducted into the Mizzou Hall of Fame alongside Robert J. Trulaske Sr., BS BA ’40, LHD ’02, who is being honored posthumously.
