By Johnna Shaw / Jambar Contributor
Preparations for Youngstown State University’s 2026 Homecoming are underway. Before floats make their way downtown and students fill Stambaugh Stadium, the campus community spends months getting ready for one of YSU’s biggest celebrations this year happening Oct. 17.
This year’s theme, “YSU Rocks,” also encourages students to take part in one of YSU’s long-standing traditions by painting the rock.
For some on campus, fall Homecoming planning can start as early as the spring semester. Allison Bye, associate director of College Student Programming, said planning begins once the football schedule is known, and the university works with athletics to choose the Homecoming game.
Bye said the university starts planning Homecoming after working with athletics to determine the football schedule.
“They’ll kind of identify a few games, typically in October for us to consider, but ultimately they have the final say on what homecoming is,” Bye said.
Once the date is announced, Student Activities begins planning events, sending out information and getting students involved. Bye said student feedback also plays a major role, with the university using event surveys, attendance and students’ interest to help decide what they want to see during Homecoming.
One of the biggest parts of Homecoming planning is the parade.
“The parade definitely takes the most,” Bye said. “There’s a lot of moving parts with the parade.”
The university must work with the city on permits and road closures while also coordinating police, fire departments, emergency access, sound equipment, food and restrooms.
The weather is another challenge, especially in October. Bye said Northeast Ohio weather can change quickly, with temperatures ranging from 20 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit.. The renovation of Kilcawley Student Center also makes finding indoor backup locations more difficult.
Student Government Association President Justin Tucker said his group’s planning for Homecoming starts during the summer. SGA orders supplies for its float and starts deciding what events it wants to be involved in before students return to campus.
Greek Life also plays a major role in the Homecoming celebration. Maggie Byers, president of Delta Zeta, said her chapter is working with two fraternities to build a float for year’s parade.
Members work on the float two or three times a week, she said often from 6 p.m. to 9 or 10 p.m. They divide up jobs, gather materials, build decorations and make sure everything follows the
parade rules.
“We still come together and put the time into a float together that we’re really proud of at the end of the day,” Byers said.
For Byers, the work is about more than just having a float in the parade.
“It’s really easy to watch a float go by in the parade and think, ‘Oh, maybe that took a lot of time,’ or ‘That’s really impressive,’” Byers said. “But in between all the construction paper and the wood and the cardboard, there’s relationships and community that’s being built there alongside the float.”
Tucker said the goal of Homecoming is to bring together current students, alumni, faculty and the Youngstown community.
“We want Homecoming to be a truly unifying experience for past, present, and maybe even future students to feel like YSU is their home and their community,” Tucker said.
While the football game and parade are major parts of the weekend, the preparation behind them shows how many people are involved in making Homecoming happen.
“For active students it’s a chance to celebrate your organization and your college as a whole,” Byers said. “It’s celebrating being YSU students and the traditions that we have here.”