Homecoming Weekend to be Celebrated on October 1 and 2

Football, tailgating event, games and prizes, concert and movie night are among the many festivities

A football game, game booths, and tailgating event are among the festivities as the William Paterson University Alumni Association celebrates Homecoming 2016 by welcoming alumni back to the campus on Saturday, October 1 and Sunday, October 2.

"We're delighted that so many more alumni are returning to campus for Homecoming in recent years, and we look forward to welcoming everyone to this year's event," says Janis Schwartz, executive director, Alumni Relations.

The festivities begin on Saturday, October 1 with an alumni softball game (for WP softball alumni) from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Alumni and their families are invited to visit the Pioneer Midway for bumper cars, game booths, prizes, a caricaturist, and more. The first 400 to sign in at the Pioneer Midway and tailgaiting get a WP t-shirt. Admission is free.

The Pioneer Football Team squares off against Montclair State at 1 p.m. in Wightman Stadium. Admission is $8; $5 for alumni with a membership card, seniors, children under 12, visiting school’s students with I.D., and William Paterson faculty and staff; and free for William Paterson students with I.D.

Other activities include a sun-gazing event sponsored by the Department of Physics from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Lot 5. Alumni will have the opportunity to look safely at the sun with a special solar telescope and see the effects of gravity in a trampoline black-hole simulator. 

Alumni are invited to bring friends, fire up the grills, and join fellow alumni for a tailgating event in conjunction with the football game. Tailgating will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Lot 5; parking space is limited.  A women’s soccer match will be held at 5:30 p.m. in Pioneer Soccer Park against New Jersey City. The evening will conclude with jazz guitarist Rez Abbasai at 8 p.m. in Shea Center. For those who prefer an outdoor movie following the football game, Ghostbusters: Answer the Call will be held under the stars at Zanfino Plaza from approximately 8 to 11 p.m. Other activities include the WP Ice Hockey Team vs. RPI from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. at the Ice Vault in Wayne.

Homecoming 2016 continues on Sunday, October 2 with Bagel and Books, a celebration of William Paterson alumni authors and their published works. Children’s book author Doug Snelson ’78 will be presenting on how to read to children.

A tennis match vs. Rutgers-Camden will be held at 1 p.m. at the tennis courts. Alumni are also invited to enjoy the current exhibitions on view at the University Galleries, which include Armando Guiller: Patterns and Beauty and Ink, Press, Repeat: National Juried Printmaking and Book Art Exhibition. Maps will be available for self-guided tours of outdoor sculpture on campus.

Homecoming 2016 is underwritten, in part, by Liberty Mutual. For additional information about Homecoming events, call Alumni Relations at 973-720-2175 or visit the website at wpunj.edu/homecoming.