Crowds lined the streets of College Street Friday night as students, fans and alumni watched the first homecoming parade and pep rally since 2019.
Last year’s Homecoming Parade was canceled due to COVID-19 precautions, and several people at the parade were happy to see traditions return to Auburn’s campus.
“Auburn is a school that loves tradition,” said Brad Smith, director of Student Involvement. “COVID has made it hard to execute some of our traditions. And so to be able to do this today — you can just see the smiles on the kids' faces.”
With the sun setting over Samford Hall, 39 different groups walked or drove down College Street from Thach Avenue to Magnolia Avenue during the parade.
The Auburn University Marching Band led the way, streaming off the Thach Concourse at 6 p.m. playing “Glory, Glory to Old Auburn.” Next were the five candidates for Miss Homecoming, each sitting on top of a convertible and waving to the crowd. Different campus and community groups like Pride on the Plains, the Lee County Humane Society, fraternities and AU Singers were next, and Aubie aboard a fire truck came last.
The parade was a reason for alumni to return to their alma mater, which brought on strong emotions for some.
“I'll have to admit, I didn't tear up or anything, but it was sentimental, and getting to bring [my daughter] here was fun,” said Jenna Chambliss, 30, who graduated from Auburn in 2013.
It was also the first time seeing an Auburn homecoming parade — as a student, at least — for sophomores at the University.
“A lot of the freshmen last year didn't get to see this kind of thing,” said Porter Lankford, sophomore in apparel merchandising. “I think everybody, old and new, is really excited to … experience it.”
Madalynn Gilchrist, sophomore in exercise science, was involved in her high school’s homecoming parade. But this year, as she walked with other members of the University Program Council as part of the parade, she realized how different it was from high school.
“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is nothing like high school,’” Gilchrist said. “There are so many people … It was so much fun seeing everyone come out.”
The parade ended at 6:20, at which point the crowd either headed someplace else or to Samford Lawn for the homecoming pep rally.
The marching band played the fight song and a few other songs at the start of the pep rally. Then the Miss Homecoming candidates gave short speeches describing their campaign platforms and their favorite Auburn traditions.
About 20 minutes into the pep rally, Athletic Director Allen Greene took the stage and gave a brief speech about tomorrow’s game against Georgia State. Then, Greene took out his phone and recorded a video to send to Coach Bryan Harsin of the crowd yelling “War Eagle.”
With more people coming into town, homecoming weekend has the potential to bring in some more traffic to downtown businesses.
Eric Stamp, owner of Stamp in downtown Auburn, set up a tent selling merchandise on the sidewalk. Traffic was light but steady downtown Friday, but a lot of people were shopping, Stamp said.
“I always promote almost anything that we can do downtown to draw people,” Stamp said. “A big homecoming parade — I think everybody likes that.”
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
Evan Mealins, senior in philosophy and economics, is the editor-in-chief of The Auburn Plainsman.
