Workers from Iowa-based Seedorff Masonry Inc. guide one of Breaking Barriers' six pieces -- roughly 30,000 pounds each -- into place this week in the Albaugh Family Plaza north of Jack Trice Stadium. The sculpture dedication will be part of the first Jack Trice centennial commemoration event amid a busy homecoming weekend. Photos by Christopher Gannon.
Along with many timeless Cyclone traditions, Iowa State's 2022 homecoming celebration will include a few firsts. The homecoming parade downtown, revived in 2016 as a kickoff event, has been replaced with a student showcase Sunday, Oct. 30, near the Alumni Center. A reimagined ExCYtement in the Streets has moved from Friday to Thursday evening in the Greek neighborhood south of campus.
And, to build on celebratory homecoming eve events at the Alumni Center, the committee coordinating the centennial remembrance of animal husbandry student and athlete Jack Trice invites the university community to its opening ceremony Friday afternoon, Nov. 4, inside the Jacobson Athletic Building.
"CY Me to the Moon" runs Oct. 30-Nov. 5. The full schedule of homecoming events is online.
Sunday kickoff celebration
Sophomore construction engineering student Adam Wolf, who co-chaired the planning team for the first Sunday kickoff celebration, said the team had two goals: Showcase cool things Iowa State students are involved in, and bring the Ames community and the celebration back to campus.
Awards move to Stephens
The annual honors and awards ceremony, at which the ISU Alumni Association, Memorial Union and colleges recognize the service of alumni and university friends, will be held Friday, Nov. 4 (1:30 p.m., Stephens Auditorium). It is open to the public.
More than 40 student organizations will participate in the kickoff celebration (11 a.m.-2 p.m.) in lots A-2 and A-3 east of the Alumni Center. Nine groups will take turns performing in two stage areas, everything from the Cyclone hockey pep band to line dancers, martial artists to a cappella singers. A handful will sell gift items or food -- cookies, cupcakes, ice cream -- and the rest will provide demonstrations and displays in the area. Free grilled hot dogs will be served while supplies last.
Weather allowing, music professor and university carillonneur Tin-shi Tam will display the scale campanile/carillon model at the celebration; at noon, she'll give a 30-minute concert of moon-themed music.
Building on the popularity of GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) aerobics during August's Welcome Weekend, Wolf said the kickoff celebration will include a petting zoo of miniature animals.
ISU sorority and fraternity chapters will be busy with their annual "painting of Victory Lane" in adjacent Iowa State Center lots, also from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Student performances
CyFactor, the homecoming student talent competition, opened Oct. 25 with several hours of auditions. The top six performances will face off Thursday afternoon, Nov. 3 (5-6 p.m.) on the stage at ExCYtement in the Streets, and the winner will perform Friday evening at the pep rally.
Yell Like Hell, the student spirit competition featuring original skits and gallons of body paint, opens Oct. 31 (3 p.m.) on central campus and continues with a second elimination round Nov. 2 (6 p.m.), also on central campus. The Yell Like Hell finalists will perform at Friday's pep rally.
Thursday ExCYtement
Wolf said ExCYtement in the Streets is moving to Thursday evening (4:30-6:30 p.m., south of Buchanan and Geoffroy halls between Ash and Gray avenues) to boost student participation and strengthen it as a stand-alone event. In the past, it was folded into homecoming's many Friday evening options. ExCYtement will include food trucks and a live stage featuring student clubs and the Cyclone volleyball team, which plays at Hilton Coliseum the next night. In addition to several large lawn displays by teams of two to three Greek chapters, 'ExCYtement' will include judging for numerous smaller pomping displays (picture tissue paper squares in chicken wire).
Trice observance
Artist Ivan Toth Depeña looks over his commissioned public art, Breaking Barriers, during installation.
At a public program Friday, Nov. 4 (4 p.m.) in the Jacobson Athletic Building, university leaders and relatives of Trice will dedicate Breaking Barriers, a large interactive public art installation by artist Ivan Toth Depeña. City leaders will read a proclamation for the Jack Trice 100-year commemoration and officially rename a section of South Fourth Street as Jack Trice Way. The program has been moved indoors due to the weather forecast.
The commemoration marks the centennial of Trice's tragic death in 1923 from football injuries and features a year of events to honor him. The intent in sharing his story is to inspire conversations about race, personal character and doing one's very best.
Afterward, everyone is invited to the Alumni Center for a 5 p.m. homecoming happy hour, followed by the annual celebration and pep rally (6-9 p.m.), featuring food for purchase (free with 2022 homecoming button), cash bar, merchandise sale, kids activities, Yell Like Hell finals, alumnus and former Cyclone football player Seneca Wallace and the Cardinal Court announcement.
A button still gets you lunch
Homecoming buttons remain $5 each, available in the ISU Book Store while supplies last. The button covers a free lunch on central campus Monday-Thursday (11 a.m.-1 p.m., faculty-staff only line noon-1 p.m.), donuts and coffee on central campus Friday (8-11 a.m.) and pizza at the Friday evening pep rally. Buttons also can be purchased at the central campus food tent.
