Happy Homecoming, folks!

Penn State Homecoming Week has been jam-packed with activities for the community to enjoy, culminating with the football game on Saturday against Northwestern.

In the midst of all the fanfare, it can be easy to forget the deep-rooted history that the weekend has at the university. Let’s take a deep dive into Homecoming’s over 100 year old legacy here at Penn State.

The university has been celebrating Homecoming every year since 1920. The first official Homecoming football game was against Dartmouth on October 9, 1920, and the Nittany Lions won 14-7.

These fall festivities took place even before they had the homecoming moniker, though. All the way back in 1867, before it was even The Pennsylvania State University, the Agricultural College of Pennsylvania held the annual Harvest Home event.

The popularity of the event led to the creation of the alumni association in 1870, according to Penn State historian Jackie Esposito.

In 1904, the first fall gatherings of alumni back on campus were recorded. They celebrated Pennsylvania Day, an event that brought the governor, along with state officials, into town.

The now-beloved Homecoming Parade began as a lawn decorating competition in 1931 between fraternities.

The parade has featured numerous famous faces as its grand marshal, including Keegan-Michael Key, Lara Spencer, multiple olympians, and even astronaut Guion Bluford.

The end of the route begins the guarding of the Lion Shrine, a tradition that stemmed from vandalism. The story goes that Sue Paterno and her friends covered the lion in bright orange paint the night before the Syracuse game in 1966 to get the Penn State fans riled up against their opponents.

The Syracuse fans found out and vandalized the statue much worse the next year, beginning the tradition to keep the shrine protected from rivals.

The Homecoming Court began as the selection of “Penn State’s Perfect Coed” in 1940, and then returned in 1952. Pictures of the Homecoming Queen were sent to Penn Staters fighting in World War II to give them hope overseas, according to the university.

Notable past Homecomings have included the dedication of the rebuilt Old Main in 1930, a visit from Duke Ellington in 1968, and the boost in tailgating popularity when the change from New Beaver Field to Beaver Stadium occurred in 1960.

No matter how you celebrate this time-honored tradition this weekend, remember the years of history that uphold it.