UT's 2013 Homecoming to Feature Golden Spartans and Diplomats

In Tampa, where temperatures stay warm and leaves stay green almost year-round, signs of fall can be hard to spot. Besides the appearance of pumpkin-flavored everything, another sure sign that it is fall is The University of Tampa’s annual homecoming.

The University will welcome back alumni and students will a full lineup of events Oct. 24–26. Homecoming is open to all UT alumni and students.

Festivities will get underway on Thursday, Oct. 24, with a tailgate party at The Buillioneers House, 3417 W. Leroy St., before the Tampa Bay Buccaneers take on the Carolina Panthers. This event, sponsored by the Tampa Bay Alumni Chapter, is $50 per person and includes one game ticket and food and drinks at the tailgate. Limited tickets are available. For more information, contact Jessica Burns at jburns@ut.edu.

Celebrations will continue on Friday, Oct. 25, with a President’s Reception at 5 p.m. on the Morsani Hall patio, offering complimentary cocktails and appetizers, and the traditional homecoming parade through campus from 5 to 6 p.m. The Rathskellar will reopen as a bar for one night only at 8 p.m., offering beer, wine and snacks for $5 a person. Dubbed “A Night in the Rat,” this event will celebrate the reunion of the classes of 1983 and 1988.

The Golden Spartans Society includes alumni who graduated 50 or more years ago, and this year the class of 1963 will be inducted into the society during a lunch on Saturday, Oct. 26, at 11:30 a.m. in the Vaughn Center Crescent Club. The University will host a reception for the class of 1963 in the Vaughn Center Board Room prior to the lunch at 10:30 a.m.

Also on Saturday beginning at 11 a.m. is the All Alumni BBQ Lunch and Biergarten on the lawn of the Sykes College of Business, featuring a variety of craft beers on tap to sample and activities throughout the afternoon. Special guests at the BBQ will be all current and former Diplomats, who are celebrating 30 years of service to the University, as well as alumni with class years ending in 3 or 8. Complimentary craft beer and wine are included in the price, $15 per person.

For more information or a complete schedule of homecoming events, go to alumni.ut.edu/?HC, or contact Jay Hardwick at jhardwick@ut.edu or (813) 253-6209.