It’s time to Rev the Red with Ball State Homecoming this year, the university’s 99th annual event. The first homecoming occurred on November 18th, 1926, featuring a bonfire, pep session, dancing and food.
Homecoming festivities were cancelled in 1943 due to World War II and they did not return until 1947. Despite the break in action, the university still practices some storied traditions, including the Chase Charlie 5k, Airjam, Parade and Tailgate and Bed Racing on Riverside.
From the laughter echoing through residence halls to the sight of red and white flooding McKinley Avenue, every tradition plays a role in bringing Cardinals together.
Chase Charlie 5k
Regardless of the sport, at the beginning of every season, teams establish goals. Whether that be monetary, number of wins, improving communication, or physicality, it establishes a direction to strive for a positive outcome.
That’s the same approach Ball State University’s Sports Administration program takes when setting goals for the Chasing Charlie Races, an annual homecoming weekend tradition at the university.
Eric Klosterman, an associate lecturer of sports administration and coordinator of the undergraduate sport administration program, is very familiar with these concepts of goal setting through his participation in sports growing up.
He has been involved with the Chasing Charlie Races since 2005 as an undergraduate at Ball State University. In 2008, Eric received his B.S. in Sports Administration and his MBA in 2010 from Ball State University. As an undergraduate student, he worked behind the scenes with a student organization to put on the races during family weekend.
The event, now in its 25th year, allows students, families, alumni and faculty to show their support and camaraderie while getting a great workout.
Every year, Ball State offers three different races the morning of the homecoming football game to accommodate all ages and demographics. The website allows you to pre-register for one of the three events: the in-person 5k, Virtual 5k, or Kiddy 100.
The Kiddy 100 allows children under the age of 13 to participate in a 100-yard dash across the football field during halftime of the homecoming game.
The virtual 5k was put in place to provide the opportunity for people who want to support the students and program but are unable to physically attend on the day of the event. Once they register for the event, they are asked to complete the 3.1-mile distance within a week.
During COVID-19, “because of the virtual option, we were able to still sustain ourselves and the learning outcome we wanted for not only our program, but for the class as well,” Eric said.
The in-person 5K is a 3.1-mile run from Muncie City Hall to Emens Auditorium. Before the horn blows, University Singers perform “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and announcements are made. The runners follow the “rabbit,” who is leading the fastest pace through the route.
After participants start to cross the finish line, they have the opportunity to indulge in food and drinks and take photos. Once everyone has finished, awards are announced, naming the top three for each age bracket, overall female, male and non-binary. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of this event being held, the sports administration program will raffle off 25 prizes.
From a Family Weekend event put on by the Sport Administration Association to a homecoming staple that has been ingrained into the event management curriculum, these races have been added to the list of well-known Ball State University homecoming traditions.
Not only does this event provide the community with the opportunity for health and wellness, but it also gives students the chance to plan, organize and execute an event within the sports industry.
Eric knows this event inside and out, from working behind the scenes as a student, to participating in the race and finally teaching the course that now organizes it.
In the class, students establish various leadership roles and functional teams such as event leaders, sponsorship, marketing and PR, guest service, operations and finance.
“Regardless of the functional team you are part of, all of the decisions you make must come together as a class to gear toward our class goals,” Eric said. “One decision being made in one functional area could impact every other decision.”
According to Eric, the most valuable skill in this class is communication. Everyone needs to be on the same page to accurately articulate a message. Students are expected to communicate with other programs outside the classroom: police, city hall, the alumni association, the School of Kinesiology, volunteers, the sports admin program, sponsors, the homecoming committee and more.
About six years ago, the event was moved from family weekend to homecoming after some analysis. That switch allowed students to collaborate more effectively, leading to a larger turnout for the races.
“From that, there are a lot more transferable and tangible skills that are taught, including time management and accountability,” Eric said. “When it comes to event management and all these different functional departments, all of us are relying on each other to get [our] job done within the limited time frame we have.”
Airjam
Since 1987, Air Jam has been Ball State’s most popular Homecoming event, according to the university’s website.
This lip-syncing competition has around 20 different teams from independent and on-campus organizations perform at it every year, becoming a staple in campus culture and a highlight of homecoming week.
This year, the event takes place Oct. 16 at 7:30 p.m. in Emens Auditorium.
Homecoming parade
In 1939, the Muncie community and university organizations began to show off their Cardinal Pride in the now annual Ball State Homecoming Parade, according to the Ball State website.
Floats, boats, bands, cars and even horses participate in the event that heads through the village and down McKinley Avenue. Alumni are invited to a parade viewing party on the corner of University and McKinley Avenue.
Yearly, the parade takes place the morning of Ball State Football’s Homecoming game, which lands on Oct. 18 at 9 a.m. this year. Students, community and alumni are encouraged to stop by before the game and take in the Cardinal Pride.
Homecoming tailgate
Since the 1860s, tailgating has been a part of pre-game activities. Ball State University has taken part in that tradition for several decades.
Ball State holds several tailgates for home football games, one being on the baseball field across from Schueman Stadium. People who attend can find rows of cars lined with tents, grills, coolers and lawn games to partake in.
Amanda Griffin, an Alumna from Ball State, holds a lot of traditions close to her heart. She remembers the times she would partake in watching the Homecoming parades and tailgates fondly and now brings his family to the events as well.
“As a family, we love the traditions at Ball State,” Griffin said. “As parents, it’s so much fun to bring our three daughters to the parade and events at Scheumann Stadium every year and our daughters love it as much as we do.”
Griffin recalls what tailgating looked like for her while she was a student here.
“I loved being able to just sit and talk with my friends before any game,” She said. “The energy was high, and everyone was just having a great time. I remember playing all sorts of games and just being in the moment with my friends.”
Today, tailgates still have high energy from students participating.
Current Ball State student Courtney Cooney has visited the tailgates and enjoys the way the tradition brings people together.
“I love the bare bones culture of tailgating as well as the collegiate tradition of it being a space for college students to rally and act like college students,” she said. “There’s a lot of joy and pride that comes from being in a common space before a big event.”
CharlieTown Tailgate is hosted by the University as well and opens two hours prior to the kick-off of the game. Here, alumni, students and their friends can walk to the front lawn of the Alumni Center and take part in the games, music and food laid out for people to enjoy.
The Alumni Club also hosts a tailgate outside their building across from the stadium.
For more information on tailgating, where to find information about football games and more, visit Ball State Athletics’ website.
Bed Races
1980 marked the first annual Bed Race at Ball State, an event consisting of teams of five people racing in a 100-yard dash on Riverside Avenue to push a participant in a wheeled bed to the finish line first.
Teams are paired and race in heats, with the fastest time in each division advancing to a final competition where they’ll race for an overall title.
More information on the event can be found online here.
Homecoming royalty
Since 1938, Ball State has been crowning Homecoming Royalty, a tradition that continues in the name of honoring not only student leadership but spirit as well. This year, on Oct. 16, the Homecoming Queen and King will once again be selected through both online voting and panel judging, leading to their coronation during the Air Jam event.
The tradition of crowning a Homecoming Queen first began at Ball State in 1938, and later, crowning the first Homecoming King in 1977, according to Ball State University. Following this, the program has even expanded to crown a Prince and Princess of underclassmen, leading to a higher student involvement in this celebration that champions school spirit.
Many past members of Ball State royalty have since shared their experiences and how significant an honor it was, such as Tiann Steinhilber, the 2024 Homecoming Queen.
“Being named Homecoming Queen was a testament to the support of my peers and the incredible community at Ball State,” Tiann said. “It was a moment of pride and connection.”
Likewise, 2018 Homecoming King Mitch Prather said, “The experience was surreal. It felt like a culmination of my time at Ball State, surrounded by friends and faculty who had supported me throughout my journey”.
The journey that Mitch is referencing is the Homecoming Selection. The process begins when students submit nominations and then vote online to determine the candidates. Finally, a panel of judges evaluates and considers the finalists based on Ball State University’s core values, such as leadership, involvement, and the overall embodiment of Cardinal spirit. The coronation ceremony then later takes place during a highlight of the Homecoming week, the Air Jam event.
This is all overseen by the Alumni Association as well as the Office of Student Life, to ensure that it aligns with Ball State’s values and traditions. These organizations’ involvement is in order to maintain the program’s integrity to foster a community among both students and alumni.
From the thrill of the Chase Charlie 5K to the high-energy spectacle of Air Jam, the pageantry of the parade, and the nostalgia of tailgating, Ball State’s Homecoming remains a living reflection of its enduring spirit. Nearly 100 years after its first celebration, the week still embodies what it means to be a Cardinal.
As the university prepares to mark its centennial Homecoming next year, one thing is certain: the spirit of “Rev the Red” shows no signs of slowing down.
Contact Meghan Sawitzke, Kylee White and Katie Fritz via email at meghan.sawitzke@bsu.edu, kylee.white@bsu.edu and katie.fritz@bsu.edu.
