Homecoming 1965
Winter 2012 · Comment ·
When Arlington State College (now UT Arlington) students lined Main Street in 1965 to watch the Homecoming parade, their experience was a bit different from today’s Mavericks. The celebration started in 1932 when the University was known as North Texas Agricultural College. For years Homecoming took place in the fall and featured a traditional parade with large floats, a bonfire, and a football game. After the University dropped football in 1985, organizers redesigned Homecoming to make basketball the featured sport, moved the activities to the spring, and deep-sixed the parade. But this year the flatbeds and fall weather returned. UT Arlington’s 2012 Homecoming was held in November and featured a parade through the College Park District. Other festivities included a street party before and after the men’s basketball game against the University of Oklahoma, which drew a record 6,421 fans to College Park Center. Whether the togas make a reappearance for future parades is anyone’s guess. Photo courtesy of Special Collections, UT Arlington Library.
