The week will include many of the traditional homecoming events, with a virtual twist.
Like many things this year, Homecoming Week at Texas Tech University looks a bit different. Today (Oct. 19), the Student Activities Board (SAB) hosted a virtual homecoming kickoff, naming the king and queen royalty candidates and detailing changes to the events that will lead up to the football game at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday (Oct. 24) at Jones AT&T Stadium against West Virginia University.
"While different than years past, we hope homecoming will be memorable for the Texas Tech community," said Aislinn Carrillo, kickoff chair for the SAB Spirit & Traditions committee, during the welcome event. "Our theme for the week, 'Raider Red's Favorite Apps' is meant to be a celebration of all the different apps in the App Store or the Google Play Store, and we hope this will showcase the apps that have helped us stay connected during COVID-19."
Groups from student organizations and the Residence Halls Association have decorated spirit boards and banners based on apps found in each of the app stores. The boards line the Broadway entrance to campus and 18th Street, while spirit banners hang inside the Student Union Building courtyard.
Changes have been made to the rest of the week's traditional homecoming events to comply with all Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), City of Lubbock and Texas Tech events guidelines. Events, like Student Organization Sing (S.O. Sing), which includes the announcement of the top 20 candidates for king and queen; the 2020 Homecoming Court announcement, which will present the top 10 candidates; and the Techsan Memorial, will be completely virtual.
There will be no homecoming parade or bonfire this year, and the homecoming king and queen will be crowned at the virtual pep rally on Friday. The winners of the spirit board and spirit banner competitions also will be announced at the virtual pep rally.
Links to all the virtual events will be posted throughout the week, including:
- S.O. (Student Organization) Sing: 7 p.m. Tuesday (Oct. 20)
- 2020 Homecoming Court Announcement: 11:30 a.m. Thursday (Oct. 22). Online voting will be held from noon to midnight.
- Techsan Memorial: 6 p.m. Thursday (Oct. 22)
- Pep Rally: 7 p.m. Friday (Oct. 23)
For a full schedule of events, visit the Texas Tech homecoming website.
