Every year a Homecoming king and queen are crowned, but this year, the court will include some royal companions.
In the past, the homecoming committee crowned faculty and staff royalty in addition to student royalty. However, they didn’t receive the kind of feedback they wanted.
So, this year they decided to end faculty and staff royalty and offer a new competition where children and grandchildren of Ball State alumni compete for the title of homecoming prince and princess.
“One family was from Florida who said that they were coming up for Homecoming, so that was fun to see,” said Catherine Burgess, Homecoming Steering Committee president. “Obviously, some local people, and even like professors, their kids applied. It was really cool to see the different demographics.”
The committee received around 35 applicants this year, and with help from the alumni center, chose one boy and one girl to be prince and princess.
"It has been a blast getting to work with the families that applied for our first year of the Prince and Princess Program," community engagement chair Hanna Kadinger said. "I can't wait to meet our prince and princess when they arrive at the parade on Saturday."
The prince is 6-year-old Asher Bane. His hometown is Muncie and he is the son of Ashlee Bane, who graduated from Ball State in 2004 and 2006.
The princess is 5-year-old Audrey Fisher. She is from Lane Estero, Florida, and is the daughter of Adam Fisher, who graduated in 2004.
“The prince and princess get to walk out on the football field at halftime and get introduced along with the rest of the royalty court and the committee,” Burgess said. “They get to ride in their own convertible in the parade, so it’s a fun day for them.”
The steering committee got the idea from other universities that do similar programs. To win, contestants had to go through an application process where they had to answer questions about why they love Ball State, and submit a photo of them in their Cardinals apparel.
“It has really gotten the [alumni] more excited about Homecoming, or even thinking about coming back and thinking about their kids as well,” Burgess said. “Kind of tying the two together, because they could be legacies and you know, it’s our job after Ball State to kind of give back and help promote the good word of Ball State.”
Contact Max Lewis with comments at lmaxwell2@bsu.edu or on Twitter at @MaxLewisReports.
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