Liberty University held its highest attended Homecoming weekend with festivities from Oct. 31 through Nov. 1 and more than 12,000 guests registered. The Liberty alumni community, as well as current students, celebrated the legacy of the university culminating in a 59-30 victory against the Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens Saturday night.
The weekend events began with Friday’s Convocation when champion pitmaster Christopher Prieto spoke to Liberty students and alumni.
Later that evening, Thomas Road Baptist Church partnered with Student Activities to put on Kids Karnival at TRBC, which included trick-or-treating and a Ferris wheel. Campus Recreation also had several activities open for families including, the Equestrian Center, Liberty Mountain Gun Club and Liberty Mountain Snowflex Centre were also open for family and alumni events.
Several other events were also hosted Friday night including the Athletics Hall of Fame Banquet, S’mores on the Beach at the Hydaway Outdoor Center, Blacklight Bowling in Montview and Spooky Movie Night: Hotel Transylvania in the Vines Center.
Larger Homecoming events happened on Saturday, including the Alumni Breakfast, the annual Homecoming parade, the Alumni Tailgate, Flames Fan Fest and the Liberty Flames versus the Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens football game.
Liberty co-founder Elmer Towns, Chancellor Jonathan Falwell, President Dondi Costin and Executive Vice President of Development Brian Mentzer spoke at the Alumni Breakfast where Gregory Petroff was presented with the Alumnus of the Year award.
Petroff graduated from Liberty in 1991. He came to Liberty to become a preacher but left with a pre-law degree. He is now an attorney and entrepreneur in New Jersey.
“Liberty is a very unique place,” Petroff said. “The students … are second to none. I interview a lot of students for my firm … every time a Liberty student is in front of me, there’s something different. I make it my mission not only to place these students within my own company, but also to find placement … outside of that, with other companies that are now getting more and more aligned in the Liberty ecosystem.”
Petroff encouraged alumni at the breakfast to employ Liberty students, find them and encourage them and to pray for Liberty.
Falwell spoke about the distinctively Christian history of Liberty. He said that even though the physical layout of Liberty has changed over the years, the mission and vision of a distinctively Christian college have not.
Costin said he hopes alumni returning to campus will be reminded of what God did in their lives while they were students.
“While things change, there’s so much that stays the same. God is exalted here, and students are being trained to be Champions for Christ,” Costin said. “It’s a different world in the 2020s than it was in the 1970s, but the core principles of Liberty University and our mission has never changed.”
The Homecoming Parade included a lineup of Liberty’s executive leadership, the Spirit of the Mountain marching band and color guard, student events and residential life representation.
The Alumni Tailgate included food, a performance from the drumline and marching band, and interactive activities.
The Flames Fan Fest showcased the Liberty sports teams and band. Fans were able to meet cheerleaders, players from the men’s and women’s basketball teams and watch the Liberty football team enter for the game later that day.
Danilson is a Campus News reporter.