Furman Homecoming Draws Thousands to Campus

Furman University welcomed over 3,000 alumni to campus Oct. 19-21 for a 2018 homecoming weekend of fun, festivities and reconnections. Students spent Thursday building homecoming floats on the Furman Mall, which were debuted at Friday night’s carnival, bonfire and pep rally.

Celebrations continued Saturday with a homecoming tailgate and reunion village just before the Paladins took on the Samford Bulldogs. Following the game, hundreds of alumni traveled to downtown Greenville for class reunion parties at the Hyatt Regency and the official homecoming after-party at Ink N Ivy.

“Our team worked very hard to pull together another successful Furman homecoming and reunion weekend,” said Executive Director of Alumni Engagement Mike Wilson ’88. “We had a fantastic turnout with our reunion classes’ celebrations and even more alumni who came back who were non-reunion.”

Special events included a behind-the-scenes tour of Furman’s Special Collections and Archives, which uncovered everything from medieval manuscripts to contemporary book art to historical Furman documents; the 7th annual Chris Keene ’87 Scholarship Golf Tournament, honoring late alumnus Chris Keene and supporting Furman students; and alumni author book signings.

Alumni also reconnected through events like organizational drop-ins, where alumni visited with professors and fellow alums; Furman Rugby’s 20th anniversary celebration; and the Golden Paladin Drop-In, which was attended by over 350 alumni who graduated 50 or more years ago.

“It was such a joy to see so many alumni, friends and families come back to Furman,” Wilson said. “It is always great to welcome them home again and create an environment where they can connect with Furman, their fellow classmates and professors.