Faculty, staff and students at Rogers State University have spent months preparing for the university’s first homecoming celebration Friday and Saturday and the campus is ready to share its celebration with the community.
A week of on-campus activities including a grocery cart derby and several spirit contests has the campus fired up for homecoming, said Josh Compton, president of RSU’s Student Government Association.
“We hope Claremore residents are as excited about homecoming as we are,” Compton said. “Go Hillcats!”
The fun begins at 6 p.m. Friday with a Hillcat bonfire and a free concert by popular Country and Rock band South 40. The two-day inaugural event will culminate with a tailgate party and men’s and women’s basketball games at the Claremore Expo Center on Saturday.
“We hope many people from the Claremore area as well as our campus community will help us make history and attend all or part of the Homecoming celebrations,” said RSU President Dr. Joe Wiley. “Homecoming is just one way we can support our exciting new Hillcat athletics program.”
RSU is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and Sooner Athletic Conference. The Hillcats currently compete in baseball, softball, rodeo and men’s and women’s soccer. The Hillcats will begin competing in men’s and women’s basketball next month.
“We are very excited to be a part of the inaugural homecoming weekend at RSU,” said Wren Baker, RSU head men’s basketball coach and athletic director. “We hope that RSU alumni along with our students and local community will turn out to support our teams as we debut Hillcat basketball. This is truly a special time to be a part of all that is taking place with the growth of RSU and Hillcat athletics.”
On Saturday the excitement will begin at noon at the Claremore Expo Center with a tailgate party before the basketball games. Participants are encouraged to arrange their own tailgate celebration or purchase tailgate fare for $5 from Rib Crib, which will be on-site to serve food for the pre-game festivities.
Admission to RSU basketball games is free for children under eight and RSU faculty, staff and students. General admission for games is $6 per person and reserved seating is $10 per person. The women’s basketball game against Langston University begins at 2 p.m. and the men’s game against Bethany College begins at 4 p.m. at the Expo Center. Season tickets for Hillcat athletics also are available.
Commemorative Hillcat Homecoming T-shirts will be available so people can wear their Hillcat pride on game day. The $9.99 shirts are available at the RSU Bookstore and will be sold at the tailgate party.
More information about Hillcat Homecoming is available by calling Stephany Foutch, director of alumni and special events for RSU, at (918) 343-7803 or visiting www.rsu.edu/homecoming.