Quad City kicks off

With the weather finally cooling down and September coming to an end, UTM is gearing up for Homecoming.

This year’s theme for Homecoming is “Peace, Love, and Skyhawks.” Rope pull, lip sync, the Womanless Revue and other events involve many students, but one of the biggest highlights of Homecoming is Quad City.

This will be the ninth year for Quad City on campus. It started with only 17 tents its first year and is now up to 61 tents. Quad City will start at 10:30 a.m. on Oct. 6 and will feature  a petting zoo for all to enjoy and also a kids’ carnival. The tents that will be set up in the Quad are represented by the different student organizations around the UTM campus.

One new addition to Quad City will be “Sorority Village,” which will have a tentative floor plan for the future sorority houses. Members of Alpha Delta Pi, Alpha Omicron Pi and Chi Omega will be gathered to share their new plans with alumni and students.

The Skyhawk Walk through the Quad is set for 11 a.m. The UTM band will play and lead the football team through the Quad and over to Graham Stadium to prepare for the game against Eastern Illinois University. The walk will also include a memory lap for anyone to participate to help raise money for Tennessee Coach Pat Head Summitt.

At 11:15 a.m., a Beatles tribute band known as “The Return” will be
performing in the center of the Quad on the music stage. The band will be playing until 1:30 p.m. Quad City will then be over, as students, faculty and alumni walk over to Graham Stadium to watch the Skyhawks come out on top against Eastern Illinois.

Charley Deal, assistant vice chancellor of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving, expects to have anywhere from 4,000-6,000 people on campus this year for Quad City.

 “We want the alumni to feel welcomed and have something to enjoy while back at UTM,” Deal said.

 Not only will there be exciting events during Quad City, but there will also be a ceremony before Quad City at the Elam Center. Here, statues of Bettye Giles, the first and only Women’s Athletic Director at UTM, Nadine Gearin, head women’s basketball coach from 1969-1974 at UTM and well-known and well-respected Summitt will be unveiled. The unveiling is on Saturday, Oct. 6, at 10 a.m. outside the Elam Center.

T-shirts will also be available for Homecoming, $15 for tie-dyed and $10 for a grey. To pre-order these, go to www.utmforever.com.

Also, tents for student organizations at Quad City are $20 per tent. Contact Charley Deal for more information at cdeal@utm.edu.