NOTICE: Classes canceled today due to weather conditions. Check Blackboard for communication from your instructors.
±«Óătvâs annual Homecoming event will be Friday, October 10th, and Saturday, October 11th; the theme this year is âForward in Faith.â This yearâs festivities will incorporate a new tradition with the Bearcat Hall of Fame inductees and will feature the largest ±«Óătv Homecoming parade in years, including over 10 marching bands from across the Ozarks (more than triple the number from 2024).
Events on Friday, October 10th, begin with the 50-Year Club Luncheon at 11:30 am (tickets required) for Alumni who graduated in 1975 and earlier, followed by the Class of â75 reunion. Menâs soccer will play at 1:30 pm with the womenâs soccer match following at 3:30 pm. At 4 pm, Student Bed Races will take place on Ingman Avenue.
Friday evening, the classes of â55, â65, â75, â85, â95, â05, and â15 are invited to join us in the Student Union at 4:30 pm for a âReunion Classes Socialâ, which will include taking official class photos. Following this event, all alumni are invited to The Marketplace (formerly Mellerâs Dining Commons) for our Alumni Banquet at 5:30 pm (tickets required), where this yearâs Alumni Association Award recipients will be honored. The 3rd Annual Southwest Baptist Celebration will be at Meyer Recital Hall at 7 pm, celebrating each reunion class with a retrospective video. For the first time ever, this event will also honor the newest Bearcats Hall of Fame inductees. All are welcome to attend this free event!
Events on Saturday, October 11th, will start with an Alumni Breakfast at 8:30 am right before the Homecoming Parade. This yearâs parade is slated to be much larger than past years, as ±«Óătv hosts more than 10 high school marching bands in this year's Homecoming Parade. Stephen Mathews, Director of Instrumental Studies at ±«Óătv, encourages the community to âplease come out to support these bands and their directors as they perform not only for our community but also compete before a panel of highly-experienced music educators as judges.â
The parade will begin at 10 am and will follow the same route as prior years. Floats will start on Locust Street near First Baptist Church, move south on Main Avenue, go west on Maupin Street, then south on Pike Avenue, before ending at Plaster Stadium.
(Community businesses, churches, and organizations that wish to be in the Parade can still apply at preferably by October 3rd.)
Following the parade, the Bearcat Bash picnic buffet will run from 11 am to 1 pm on the Forum (open to the public, tickets required) and will feature activities for kids of all ages. The ±«Óătv Bearcats football team will face off against McKendree University at Plaster Stadium at 1:00pm (tickets required). The crowning of the Homecoming King and Queen will also take place at halftime.
To see a full list of ±«Óătv Homecoming events and to register online, go to before October 1st. We hope to see you there!
Published September 16th, 2025.