Earlier this evening, at the annual Be A Part From The Start, John Amaechi was named the 2013 Homecoming Grand Marshal.

Amaechi graduated from Penn State in 1995 after a successful career with the Nittany Lions basketball team, where he averaged 15.6 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. In his senior year, Amaechi led the Nittany Lions to a third place finish in the NIT. Amaechi was also a two time First Team Academic All-American.

Amaechi then went on to play professional basketball, playing with several teams in the NBA, along with stints in France, Greece, Italy, and the United Kingdom.

However, none of these things measure up to Amaechi’s biggest accomplishment: becoming the first NBA player to come out of the closet as being openly homosexual in 2007 his autobiography, Man in the Middle. Since then Amaechi has been a champion for gay rights and was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2011.

This year, Homecoming Week will begin on October 5th, and end on the 12th when the Nittany Lions take on Michigan. Homecoming Week will feature several awesome events, including a partnership with The Color Run for its annual Night 5k, along with Nittanyville’s weeklong campout.