I Remember Homecoming
They Loved the Parade
I rode on the ZTA float in the Homecoming parade in 1939. The float was decorated beautifully but ran out of gas on Gay Street. The long delay in getting gas enabled the photographer to get a good shot, which appeared in the Knoxville paper the following day.
—Rose Martin Wing Coffee (’41), Atlanta
I was Homecoming queen in the fall of 1956, and I rode in the parade on a float constructed by the Independent Students Association spearheaded by John D’Armond (’57). I was presented at halftime by Gene McEver, a former Vol All American. My attendants, my AOPi sorority sisters, and I, along with my date who came from UT medical school at Memphis, went to the Homecoming Nahheeyayli dance at Alumni Memorial Gym. It was an exciting weekend and left me with wonderful memories.
—Charlotte Watts Keister (’57)
I was Homecoming Queen in 1960. I was crowned by Gov. Ellington and rode in the parade in a convertible. It would be nice to have a past Queen recognition.
—Mary Lee Gift Morton (’61)
I was not Homecoming Queen, but I rode in the parade—on top of a shiny, sweet, silver Corvette T-top—as a member of her court, representing my Tri-Delta sisters, in the cold November of 1983. I’ll never forget being on the field during halftime, experiencing what our players felt every Saturday—that particular adrenaline-pumping enthusiasm of thousands upon thousands of Big Orange fans, screaming their shared loyalty. Did I care that the temperature was below freezing? No way! We won the game, big-time! I’ll never forget that wonderful night! Thank you, my Rocky Top!
—Kim Scholes, Atlanta
Fraternity with the Homecoming Spirit
To truly know what UT Homecoming is about, go to the Sigma Phi Epsilon house during the week before game day. You will see UT pride, teamwork, and tradition at its finest as “Sig Eps” work hard day and night constructing a large float and lawn display covered with millions of colored tissues hand-rolled by an army of fraternity brothers and sorority helpers. You will also see the fraternity’s artists painting the Homecoming banner, mechanics fine-tuning the derby car, and Sig Ep and sorority cheerleaders working on the Smokey’s Howl routine. And when game day rolls around, fraternity brothers, alumni, families, and UT fans view the week’s hard work all over campus: the massive lawn display in front of the fraternity house, the float rolling down Volunteer Boulevard in the parade, Smokey’s howl cheerleaders performing at Tom Black Track, and the creative banner hanging from Neyland Stadium. And then during halftime of the game, in front of more than 104,000 fans, the university rewards Sig Eps for their countless hours of work.
Sigma Phi Epsilon has dominated the Greek Homecoming competition the past twelve years placing first in 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, and 2004.
As a Sig Ep from 1998 to 2002, I experienced three first-place victories, and I’m proud to see the tradition continue today as a UT and Sig Ep alumnus serving as a journalist in the U.S. Army. I missed my first UT football season last fall because of a year-long deployment overseas. It was a rough season and I heard Sig Ep placed second in Homecoming, but I have no doubt that both the Vols and the fraternity will bounce back this season and resume their winning ways.