Northern Michigan University's 2021 Homecoming will feature a full slate of activities for alumni, faculty, staff, students and community members Oct. 1-3. NMU is offering a schedule of ways for Wildcats—both near and far—to get involved and share their green and gold pride. This year's celebration is sponsored by Innovate Marquette SmartZone's Make it Marquette campaign.
Friday, Oct. 1
A campus open house will be held from 1-5 p.m. During this time, people are encouraged to swing into any campus department to say hello.
A Back to Class session titled “Indoor Agriculture 101” will be offered from 3-4 p.m. in room 221 of the Jacobetti Complex, led by faculty members Kim Smith Kolasa and Evan Lucas.
Homecoming Happy Hour will be held from 4-6 p.m. in the Wildcat Den at the Northern Center. A Homecoming menu will be available for purchase, along with local craft beverages. The Wildcat Den, campus's newest restaurant, features pub-style food, including locally sourced burgers, salads, wings, wood stone pizza and baked macaroni and cheese. Attendees are encouraged to come for the food and stay for the pool, foosball, shuffle-puck and more.
NMU's volleyball team will take on Saginaw Valley State University at 4:30 p.m. at Vandament Arena. Tickets are available for purchase at tickets.nmu.edu.
A Homecoming Reception will be held from 7-11 p.m. at the Northern Center in Ballroom III and IV. It will include an evening of “fun,” music and a cash bar. Free hors d'oeuvres will be provided, along with the opportunity to purchase tickets for other homecoming weekend events.
Northern's Homecoming Awards Program, featuring this year's Alumni Association award recipients and the Classes of 2020 and 2021 NMU Sports Hall of Fame inductees, can be viewed virtually via a link on the Homecoming web page, starting at 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 2
A virtual and in-person Wildcat Fun Run will be held. The in-person run will begin and end at the Academic Mall on campus, located near the Wildcat statue, on Saturday, Oct. 2. Registration and check-in will begin at 8 a.m. with the race start at 8:30 a.m. Registration is required and includes a t-shirt. The cost is $25 for NMU alumni, friends, parents and community members and $15 for NMU students. Register for the event at https://nmu.universitytickets.com/w/event.aspx?id=2326. The virtual run will be held Saturday, Sept. 25-Saturday, Oct. 9.
The Lydia M. Olson Library, located in Harden Hall, will host a Bagels and Books Storytime and Crafts event for all ages from 9:30-10:30 a.m. and a Read Wild, Live Wild event recommended for ages 6-12 from 10:30-11:30 a.m. featuring NMU alumnus and children's motivational book author Mylan Murphy. Wildcat Willy is expected to join in the fun. Bagels and Books Storytime will be led by students in the McNair Scholars program. The craft activities will be led by the Students' Art Gallery.
A special showing of Put Your Hand on the Line, the story of the 1975 NCAA Championship Wildcat Football Team will take place at 11 a.m. in Jamrich 1100, presented by the Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center.
Another Back to Class session will be held on learning about concussions from 1-2 p.m., taught by NMU faculty member Maggie Moore at the NMU Concussion Clinic located at 841 W. Washington Street, Marquette.
The Wildcat volleyball squad is back in action versus Wayne State University at 2 p.m. at Vandament Arena. Tickets are available for purchase at tickets.nmu.edu.
The Homecoming parade will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Third Street in Marquette.
A tailgate party will be held from 3:15-4 p.m. behind the Superior Dome. Attendees can socialize with friends and fellow Wildcats in anticipation of the big game during the event.
The homecoming football game against Wayne State begins at 4 p.m. at the NMU Superior Dome. Tickets are available for purchase at tickets.nmu.edu.
Sunday, Oct. 3
Alumni and friends are invited to breakfast or lunch from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Northern Lights Dining Hall. The door rate will be $8.50 per person or attendees can use a meal plan.
Throughout the weekend, walking and bus tours of campus will be offered. The Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center and the DeVos Art Museum will have hours to view their current exhibits, “A Beautiful Location: the Architecture of NMU” at Beaumier and “Personal to Political: Celebrating the African American Artists of the Paulson Fontaine” at DeVos. Specific hours are available on the homecoming schedule at nmu.edu/homecoming, where student event offerings for the week are also provided in detail.