UM Homecoming special for alumni

Jake Grilley
GameDay Kaimin

Ask a Griz fan what homecoming is about and you will likely get a wide variety of answers. Many fans associate homecoming with Saturday morning’s always-entertaining parade. Others enjoy the pep rally, or “yell night” as it is known, and its age-old traditions of singing on the steps and the lighting of the “M” on Mount Sentinel. Homecoming, however, often brings up a question that lingers in the minds of many Montana fans: How can it be “homecoming” if the football team isn’t coming off a road game or in this season’s case hasn’t played outside Washington-Grizzly Stadium?
A misconception that many people have regarding homecoming is that the University is welcoming the football team back home. The homecoming tradition actually is rooted in welcoming alumni back to the University.
Clark Hammer is one of those alumni and he remembers a funny story from homecoming 1954.
Hammer recalled a time when Maurice Avenue ran through campus and was littered with potholes. The city and University couldn’t decide who was responsible for repairing the street. A group of students decided to put up a sign that read: “Welcome to Carl’s Bad Caverns” a reference to Carl McFarland, the president of the University at the time.
“The potholes got fixed but we never knew who did it,” Hammer said.
He believes these are the kinds of memories that bring alumni back to the University during homecoming week.
Ken Thompson, on-campus events coordinator for the Alumni Association, said the University of Montana celebrated its first homecoming in 1919.
Hammer believes the nostalgic memories alumni associate with their time at UM are what have brought graduates back for 88 years.
“Alumni come back here because of relationships with fellow classmates, faculty at the time, or with the athletic department,” Hammer said. “Homecoming brings people back to renew those friendships and support the University.”
Hammer came back to the University during homecoming about 15 years ago. When he was a student in the mid-1950s, Hammer played in the marching band.
It was a chance to play in the alumni marching band during homecoming that brought Hammer back to Missoula.
“The alumni band is one of the best things they brought to homecoming,” Hammer said. Hammer noted the alumni band does a great job of uniting different generations of alumni.
A woman who graduated from the University in the 1940s plays alongside alumni who graduated in 2005, Hammer said.
After participating in the alumni band, Hammer became involved with the University of Montana Alumni Association.
He represents the Alumni Association as a member of the House of Delegates, a group of alumni that assists in University outreach programs, including recruiting new students and fundraising efforts.
Hammer believes homecoming is a great opportunity for graduates to become involved with the University once again.
“They have made a commitment to help the University celebrate,” Hammer said. “This is a way for alumni to get involved in campus.”
Hammer would like to see alumni associated with the University year-round but noted that it is easy to get them to rally behind a Grizzly football game.
“It doesn’t hurt that the football team does well,” Hammer said. “Grizmania sure is something.”
The Griz football team seems to always deliver a win when the alumni pack Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Homecoming Saturday.
Since 1979, Montana has suffered only four homecoming losses. The Grizzlies are on a 16-game winning streak of homecoming games; their last loss came in 1990, to Eastern Washington by one point.
Renee Valley, media editor for UM’s Sports Information Department, found that the scheduling of homecoming is a joint effort between the Alumni Association, the athletics department and the Big Sky Conference.
Hammer hopes students will think of homecoming as more than just “another football game.” He wants students to become more involved while attending the University. They shouldn’t wait until they are alumni to embrace homecoming.
“Some folks don’t have an involvement other than going to the game,” Hammer said. “Students need to be more conscious of their surroundings. Normally when you are going to school you have tunnel vision. “Get involved with the institution now so maybe some of that will carry five, 10, 15 years down the road.”