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Homecoming 2021

Posted in: Alumni News and Events

Three alumni jumping up under balloon arch

Join us on Saturday, October 9, for Homecoming 2021. We invite you back to campus for a day filled with fun, food and football! Start your day with a visit to the Alumni Welcome Tent on the Alumni Green. Check in, pick up your free alumni gift and learn about the day’s activities. Join in the street fair festivities on the University Promenade. See the amazing changes to campus on a walking tour. For those 21 and older, don’t miss the Alumni Tailgate, with kickoff gatherings for our Black Alumni Advisory Board, Hispanic/Latinx Alumni Network and annual EOF/HCP alumni gathering. Then, at 6:00 p.m., it’s game time! Cheer the Red Hawks to victory over TCNJ!

Register for in-person events

Can’t make it to campus? Join us for our virtual events! From pumpkin painting and a yoga session to a scavenger hunt and sporting events, you can have fun with your whole family right from home! Check out the schedule of online Homecoming activities.

Register for Virtual Events

Safety is Our #1 Priority!

With the health and safety of our community top of mind, all visitors to campus are asked to follow Montclair State University COVID-19 guidelines.

  • All visitors coming to campus are required to complete our self-screening tool, Hawk Check, prior to arrival.
  • Wear a mask at all times when indoors, and wear one outdoors in crowded settings or when participating in outdoor activities that involve close contact with other people.
  • Event staff may ask you to show your proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test result at any point during the event: Vaccinated people must be ready to show proof of vaccination in the form of your COVID vaccination card, a photo of your vaccination card or an official app such as Docket, Excelsior or Clear; unvaccinated people must be ready to show a negative rapid or PCR COVID-19 test taken within the past 72 hours; children aged 12-17 must be masked and show proof of vaccination or a negative rapid or PCR COVID-19 test taken within the past 72 hours; children aged 2-12 must be masked.

Please know photographers will be taking photos of Homecoming activities day of. Please contact us if you have any questions at 973-655-4141.Thank you!

Plan Your Day

Check out the many activities happening throughout the day and plan your schedule!

Alumni Tent

11:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. | Alumni Green / Outside Cole Hall (formerly College Hall)

Start your day at the alumni tent! Check in for the day and pick up your program and free alumni gift (for alumni only). Gather with fellow alumni and current students, faculty and staff and enjoy complimentary refreshments. View items from the Sprague Library archives, and learn more about MontclairCONNECT!

Athletics: Field Hockey vs. Lebanon Valley

12:00 p.m. | Sprague Field

President’s Homecoming Welcome

1:00 – 1:30 p.m. | School of Communication and Media, Presentation Hall

  • Space is limited. Registration required. Event will be livestreamed.
  • Kick off Homecoming 2021 with welcome remarks from Montclair State University President Jonathan Koppell.

Street Fair

1:30–4:30 p.m. | University Promenade

  • Free Admission / Food and Drink Concessions
  • All are invited to gather along the University promenade. Enjoy balloon art, music, food, sweets and carnival games. Information tables sponsored by various campus partners and student organizations will line the walkway, providing a street fair atmosphere. Enjoy featured performances, at the mainstage at the historic amphitheater. There will be fun for the whole family.

Strategic Communication Center Dedication

2:00 p.m. | School of Communication and Media, Strategic Communication Center

Join us for the dedication of the Strategic Communication Center, a unique teaching and learning space that houses industry standard analytics, listening and management tools for students. In this Center, students will build innovative skills that will prepare them for careers in the new world of social, digital and streaming media. The Center will be a true cornerstone of the future physical and conceptual vision of the School of Communication and Media. In this space students will learn to become storytellers, effectively use these on a variety of social platforms and evaluate their impact.

Campus Tours

3:00 p.m. / Starting Point – Alumni Welcome Tent

Join Admissions ambassadors for a walking tour of campus. Check out the exciting changes!

George Segal Gallery Exhibition: Tech/Know/Future/ From Slang to Structure

3:00 p.m. Introductory Tour / Exhibit Open 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. | George Segal Gallery

Tech/Know/Future/ From Slang to Structure is a critical response to technological systems within art addressing the issues of identity, history and abstraction, placing the viewer at the intersection of the past, present and future. Eleven diverse cross-disciplinary artists will use their creative practices to establish new relationships among technology, knowledge and time through augmented reality, artificial intelligence, sound, video, textiles and works on paper.

Student Talent Showcase

4:00 – 5:30 p.m. | Amphitheater

Join us for the annual celebration of our student organizations as they show off their talents.

Red Hawk Sports Network’s “Game Day” Live Broadcast

4:00 –6:00 p.m. | Sprague Field Endzone

Stop by the Athletics Annex to see Montclair State student broadcasters from the Red Hawk Sports Network as they host a two-hour, live Game Day broadcast. Watch them break down the upcoming big game, interview Montclair State’s coaches and athletes, and talk all things Red Hawk Sports. And after you see them in person, you can watch this show and the student-led broadcast of the homecoming football game on the RHSN’s YouTube channel, your home for MSU sports and an exciting partnership between the School of Communication and Montclair State athletics.

Five alumni posing and smiling at homecoming

Alumni Tailgate

4:00 – 6:00 p.m. | Lot 7

  • Open to: 21 and older
  • Cost: $20.00 – Walk In: $35.00 (Registration includes: 5 food/drink tickets, a Montclair State signature mask and a $5.00 donation to The Fund for Montclair State). Additional food/drink tickets available for purchase on site.
  • For alumni – Football game tickets available for special discounted price of $5.00 each.
  • Enjoy craft beer, wine, food, live band and tailgate games and celebrate school spirit as we get ready for kick off!
  • Join us for our kickoff gathering for our new alumni networking groups – Hispanic/Latinx Alumni Network, Black Alumni Advisory Council.

Don’t miss our annual gathering for the EOF and HCP Alumni Network.

Athletics: Alumni Swimming and Diving Gathering

4:30 p.m. / BBQ | Outside Panzer Athletic Center Pool

  • Open to: Swimming and Diving alumni and guests
  • Members of the current and prior teams come together for their annual reunion celebration.

Homecoming Football Game: Montclair State vs. TCNJ

6:00 p.m. | Sprague Field

  • Cost: $10.00 General Admission / $5.00 Alumni Discount
  • Cheer the Red Hawks on to victory as they take on TCNJ. The half-time festivities will include recognition of the Knute Rockne Championship Team celebrating the 50th anniversary of their big win!

Athletics: Men’s Soccer vs. Stockton

7:00 p.m. | MSU Soccer Park

Cali School of Music: Kaleidoscope

8:00 p.m. | Alexander Kasser Theater

  • Cost: $20.00 per ticket
  • Kaleidoscope is a 90-minute nonstop extravaganza of diverse repertoire celebrating the Cali School’s talented faculty and students. The concerts feature the MSU Wind Symphony, Symphonic Band, Chorale, University Singers, Jazz Band, Symphony Orchestra, and chamber and solo artists.
  • Get tickets!

University Bookstore

20% off one apparel or gift item. Pick up your coupon at the Alumni Welcome Tent.

Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center

In honor of Alumni Weekend, the Yogi Berra Museum & Learning Center will offer free admission for all MSU alumni and current students, and half-off for all adults (only $5). Be sure to come check out one of the true gems on campus. Hope to see you there!

Complimentary parking is available in the Red Hawk Parking Deck. All visitors to campus are required to complete Hawk Check. Under current University guidelines, masks must be worn at all times indoors, and outdoors in crowded settings.

Yogi Berra Museum & Learning Center

Reserve Your Spot Today!

Register for In-person Events

Registration is now open! Check your inbox and visit the Homecoming website for invites and up-to-date information as events are announced! Missed last year’s online activities? Check out the recap and tune in to some sessions.

Let’s keep our school spirit soaring! Come back to campus and join fellow Red Hawks for one or all of the many opportunities to connect. Can’t make it to campus? Join us for our virtual events! From pumpkin painting and a yoga session to a scavenger hunt and sporting events, you can have fun with your whole family right from home! Check out the schedule of online Homecoming activities.

Register for Virtual Events

For more information about Homecoming activities, contact the Office Alumni Engagement at 973-655-4141 or alumni@montclair.edu.

Homecoming events are sponsored in part by GEICO.