With Murray State celebrating its centennial year, this year’s Homecoming is set to be even bigger than previous years to commemorate this milestone. 

Homecoming will be held Oct. 27 through Oct. 30. It is a collaboration between the Office of Alumni Relations, the Office of Development, Campus Activities Board (CAB), Racer Athletics and others on campus. 

The theme of this year’s Homecoming is  “Forever Blue and Gold.” 

Carrie McGinnis, director of Alumni Relations, said this year’s Tent City is planned to be the biggest in years, with high attendance expected because of the University’s centennial year. 

Tent City has been a Racer Tradition for more than 30 years, according to murraystate.edu. Tents will line the interior of Roy Stewart Stadium prior to the football game, representing Murray State student and alumni groups, Greek organizations, academic units and residential colleges.

This year, the Alumni Association is partnering with the Murray Environmental Student Society, a student organization that focuses on environmental consciousness and sustainability, to provide recycling centers near each of the entry gates.

McGinnis said the office has planned an incentive program to reward organizations. 

“We plan to reward participating student organizations who make the effort to recycle by giving those with the best effort priority placement for Tent City 2023,” McGinnis said. “We hope this incentive will allow this Tent City and future large-scale events to highlight sustainability efforts while making it easy to take good care of our surroundings.

The Commercial Music Ensemble, a student-led rock band formed as part of a course within the College of Humanities and Fine Arts, will perform live music near the scoreboard during Tent City. 

A Centennial Gala will take place on Oct. 29 in the CFSB Center. This event is a centennial celebration with a 1920s-themed dinner and dance, including 1920s cars and performances by Director of Jazz studies Todd Hill’s 20-piece swing band.  

A cocktail hour begins at 6:30 p.m with dinner starting at 7 p.m., according to murraystate.edu. 

Executive Director of Development Tina Bernot said the gala will be an important event to commemorate the centennial. 

“The idea was born that we needed to have a significant celebration of our 100 years to reflect on our past, assess our present and to lay the groundwork for the future and the century ahead,” Bernot said. 

 Bernot said past Board of Regents members and past and current Alumni Association presidents will be in attendance. 

Registration for the Centennial Gala will close on Oct. 21. 

Taste of the Arts is an annual fundraising event during Homecoming that funds scholarships in the College of Humanities and Fine Arts. 

Sponsored by FNB Bank, this event will showcase and support the talents of Murray State art and design, music and theatre arts students, according to murraystate.edu. 

Kala Allen-Dunn, director of development for the College of Humanities and Fine Arts, said this year’s event has exciting items up for auction. 

Students also will be performing throughout the event to showcase their talents. 

Allen-Dunn said the items up for auction are not typically available to the general public, including a Mandalorian figure donated by Murray State alumnus W. Earl Brown. 

The Murray State Photo Club will be in attendance with a photo booth to take pictures of guests in their masquerade attire. 

Taste of the Arts will be held in Lovett Auditorium on Oct. 27 at 5:30 p.m. Registration for the event closes on Oct. 17.  

A 50-year Golden Reunion event will be held for Murray State alumni who graduated in 1972. 

Other special events are planned during the duration of Homecoming, including a campus tour, Golden Anniversary reception at the Easley Alumni Center and reserved seating at the Homecoming parade, according to murraystate.edu.

McGinnis said this event is an opportunity for alumni to connect with each other. 

“This is a wonderful opportunity for lifelong friends or long-lost friends to reconnect and reminisce about their shared Murray State experience and catch up on all that has happened since they graduated five decades ago,” McGinnis said. 

McGinnis said Homecoming is important for a lot of alumni because it holds special memories. 

“You started your adult life here, some of your best and longest lifelong friends,” McGinnis said. “I think that for our alumni, they want to revisit those friends, revisit those places, revisit memories, and they want to feel like they did when they were first getting into adulthood.” 

McGinnis encourages everyone to attend this year’s Homecoming to celebrate the Centennial. 

To find out more information about Homecoming or register for any of the events, visit murraystate.edu/homecoming.