Homecoming 2025 promises fall family fun

Every autumn, thousands of Liberty University alumni return to campus to celebrate what it means to be a Champion for Christ and a member of the ever-growing Liberty family. At this year’s Homecoming, Oct. 31-Nov. 1, alumni, families, and all members of the Liberty community will enjoy a combination of familiar favorite events and new options that recognize Liberty’s history.

Families are encouraged to register in advance online to take full opportunity of the weekend’s events. (See the full schedule.) Check-in for registered guests and in-person registration will be in the Hancock Welcome Center from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday.

The itinerary begins with Convocation at 10:30 a.m. in the Vines Center featuring champion pitmaster Christopher Prieto.

With this year’s Homecoming overlapping with Halloween, Liberty’s Student Activities office has planned multiple themed activities on Friday. Guests can take hayrides at the Liberty Mountain Equestrian Center, attend a Family Fun Day at the Liberty Mountain Snowflex Centre (where they can wear costumes and play carnival games), enjoy a Kids Karnival in collaboration with Thomas Road Baptist Church, roast s’mores at the Hydaway Outdoor Center, blacklight bowl in the Montview Bowling Alley, and watch the family-friendly movie “Hotel Transylvania” in the Vines Center.

“Even though it’s not the traditional trick or treating at home, we’ve planned a lot of fun options,” said Director of Student Activities Cort Comfort. “Costume or no costume, it’s going to be fun for everybody.”

Also on Friday, the Alumni Relations Office is holding its first annual Golden Alumni Luncheon in honor of the school’s first students, alumni from the graduating classes of 1974 and 1975, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Tall Oaks, the estate of Liberty founder Dr. Jerry Falwell. The next morning, alumni are invited to the Alumni Breakfast at 8:30 a.m. in the Montview Alumni Ballroom. Registration is currently open.

“The luncheon will be a chance for an intimate gathering for this special group of alumni who were here in those early years of Liberty,” said Dr. Greg Tilley, executive director of Alumni Engagement. Then we have what I call the crown jewel and the apex of Homecoming for us — the Alumni Breakfast. This is where we gather with 500 alumni to hear from the Liberty University leadership, award the Alumnus of the Year award, acknowledge all the chapter leaders, and visit and reconnect with classmates while enjoying a fantastic breakfast. The Alumni Breakfast is a must for any alumni to attend.”

The early afternoon will build up anticipation for Flames Football’s matchup against Delaware, kicking off at 3:30 p.m. The annual Homecoming parade down University Boulevard — featuring university dignitaries, candy, floats, and the Spirit of the Mountain Marching Band — begins at 12:30 p.m. Immediately following, Flames fans can attend the Alumni Tailgate on the Outdoor Football Practice Field and the Flames Fan Fest at the Indoor Football Practice Field before gates open for the game. A Homecoming badge (given at check-in) is required for a meal at the Alumni Tailgate.

Throughout the weekend, guests also have the opportunity to take tours of the Jerry Falwell Library Archives or the Chaplains Museum in the lower terrace of the library and the Rawlings Scriptorium Museum on the ground level of the Freedom Tower. The Jerry Falwell Museum is open to visitors in its new location in the Hancock Welcome Center, just a few steps away from the future entrance to the new Champion Center. Campus tours are also available through the Hancock Welcome Center. The Liberty Mountain Gun Club will be holding open houses on Friday and Saturday for visitors to see the ranges and the mountain view beyond (the ranges will be closed for operation).

Comfort said Homecoming is an annual opportunity for the Liberty community to reconnect and share their common pride in what God has done and continues to do at Liberty.

“You have decades of young Christians who have prayed on this campus, worshipped Christ on this campus, and figured out who they were going to be as adults on this campus. Homecoming is a chance for them to reconnect, whether they graduated the same year or not, to celebrate and remember,” he said. “They have a lot in common, having been a part a deeply unified student body. There’s going to be so many fun activities going on, but the real fun comes from the community that our alumni share on this campus.”