Homecoming is approaching and it brings excitement across the student body, yet most students do not know the full history of homecoming. 

All across America colleges and universities will bring the community together to celebrate the upcoming school year. While the tradition seems to have lasted forever, there was a time when the rioting crowds would not fill the stands as they would today. This time would have ended on November 24, 1909 when Baylor University held a parade around town with numbers more than 130. Following the parade, Baylor started their homecoming game which had nearly 5,000 attendees with the seniors wearing their caps and gowns. For years Baylor has boasted about having the first homecoming, but the University of Missouri also holds the claim of inventing homecoming. Back in 1911, Mizzou held a football game against Kansas City, but the athletic directors were nervous that the annual crowds of alumni would not make it to the game. To solve the problem, the directors decided to invite the alumni home for the game attracting over 9,000 fans. Mizzou claims that for the days before the game the community would come together for parades, pep-rallies, and bonfires, which started the trend of homecomings. Whether or not Mizzou actually held the first official homecoming, the numbers brought the popularity of the season to colleges and universities across the nation. 

Following the rioting crowds, the University of Minnesota held the first official homecoming party where their students would dress in their best clothes and get the opportunity to have fun before the upcoming year. Later in 1932, the first homecoming queen was crowned based on her popularity, beauty, and academics, which started the trend of homecoming queens and kings. While homecoming was started by a university, high schools take the win with the school spirit they bring every year for the pep-rallies, parades, football games, and, of course, the homecoming dance.