Homecoming Is Where the Heart Is

The pep rally (shown here in 2024) is one of several enduring celebrations of Badger spirit. Andy Manis

The UW held its first Homecoming in 1911, making it one of the first institutions to adopt the popular tradition, alongside Baylor University and the University of Illinois.

Prior to that, the UW had informally invited alumni back for commencement, but organizers soon saw the wisdom of tying visits back to campus to a football game. More than 3,000 people attended the inaugural event, which featured speakers, doughnuts, cider, and cigars. A Homecoming Ball made its debut in 1919, and annual dances continued until 2011. Judges awarded prizes for the best house and float decorations, and a Homecoming king and queen reigned over festivities every year from 1937 until 2011.

Bonfires were considered essential to the fall ritual for decades, culminating in revelers snaking down State Street. They often crossed the line from exuberance into mayhem, rocking cars, throwing objects, and stopping traffic. After a bonfire sparked a State Street riot in 1946, city and university officials canceled that particular expression of school spirit.

During World War II, Homecoming celebrations honored the military. Concerts through the years have drawn national acts such as Tommy Dorsey, Ella Fitzgerald, Harry Belafonte, Simon and Garfunkel, and Dionne Warwick. Steve Miller x’67 headlined a scholarship benefit concert in 2017, and the student-led Homecoming committee continues to book popular artists today.

The Homecoming parade and pep rally, long essential events, are still highlights of what has become a week’s worth of activities.

In recent years, the Wisconsin Alumni Association began sponsoring a multicultural tailgate as well as the Multicultural Homecoming Yard Show, and the Block Party has become another popular addition. It features activities such as a silent disco, face-painting and crafts for children, fireworks, and yard games in Alumni Park. The week also includes Fill the Hill, a fundraiser that involves planting plastic flamingos on Bascom Hill to symbolize gifts made to the university, riffing off a beloved 1979 prank by the student-government Pail and Shovel Party.

Bucky Badger, who made his debut at the 1949 Homecoming game, will feature prominently this year. Fans will have a chance to learn what it’s like to play the beloved mascot at a showing of the PBS documentary Being Bucky. This year’s Homecoming events will take place the week of October 5, culminating in the football game against the Iowa Hawkeyes on October 11.

Published in the Fall 2025 issue