- Events
- Parade
- 2023 Homecoming Booklet
- Registration Forms & Rules
- Homecoming Committee
- EIU Foundation
- EIU Alumni Association
Local businesses, civic groups and residents are invited to help us Paint the Town Blue! This annual tradition is held throughout Charleston in support of EIU Homecoming and is sponsored in conjunction with the City of Charleston's Tourism Department. Let’s showcase our Panther Pride by decorating our windows, marquees, storefronts and front yards.
The Spirit Cup Competition is for all currently active registered student organizations, Greek-lettered organizations and Residence Halls and is designed to promote EIU spirit and pride in friendly competition during EIU Homecoming Week 2022. The Spirit Cup Competition will consist of points, prize money and a traveling trophy, to be awarded to participants that have accumulated the most points throughout EIU Homecoming Week. Spirit Points will be awarded based on the Spirit Cup Points/Awards System: Attendance, Participation and Placement. The Overall Winners of the Spirit Cup Competition will be announced during half-time of the EIU Homecoming FB Game on Saturday, October 15.
Homecoming Spirit Cup Points & Awards System:
All RSOs, Greek Organizations, Residence Halls, EIU Departments, EIU Colleges and EIU Faculty/Staff are eligible to compete within the respective Divisions throughout EIU Homecoming Week. There will be three Overall Divisional Winners. The name(s) of the Divisional Spirit Cup Winner(s) will be engraved on a Traveling Spirit Cup. Spirit Points/Prizes/Awards are awarded based on the Spirit Cup Point System below.
Dates & Deadlines:
Rules & Regulations:
The following rules regulations apply to all Spirit Cup competition divisions as follows:
Help us address food insecurity and hunger among EIU students by alleviating barriers to consistent, adequate, and healthful food. Let’s show our generosity throughout homecoming and beyond by supporting the EIU Campus Food Pantry. Donate perishable and non-perishable food, volunteer your time, or provide a monetary donation. Everything helps! Drop your goods off at the Campus Food Pantry located at 1347 McAfee Gymnasium or the Student Activities Center (SAC) at 3065 MLK Jr. Union.
Current Wish List: Canned Corn, Peanut Butter, Spaghetti O’s, Chicken Noodle Soup and Apple Juice
8 a.m. - 12 p.m. Daily, EIU Campus
EIU’s on-campus mobile trivia game is back! Get a free lift from the Panther Patrol while you answer EIU trivia questions for a chance to take home a great prize. Keep an eye out for our golf carts throughout the week and be prepared to put your EIU knowledge to the test!
Let’s kick off EIU Homecoming with a celebration on the Library Quad! EIU students, faculty, staff and alumni are all invited to join the festivities – featuring free food, prizes, giveaways, inflatables and yard games (i.e., Football Toss, Ax Throw, Joust, Bags and more). We can’t wait to see you there!
Grand Ballroom, MLK Jr. University Union
Witness the crowning of royalty as we introduce our new King and Queen, Prince and Princess, Faculty/Staff Lord and Lady, and Lil’ Prince and Princess as they begin their weeklong reign over this year’s homecoming celebration.
2022 Nomination Royalty Application/Nomination Forms
Doudna Fine Arts Center, Main Concourse
Let’s get together over some tasty barbecue to celebrate homecoming and show our appreciation for the hard work and accomplishments of our fellow faculty and staff. Lunchtime festivities include a complimentary meal with your campus colleagues, prizes and giveaways.
Bring in a canned good to donate to the EIU Campus Food Pantry and get an extra ticket for the Blue-B-Que prize giveaways.
It’s fun for the whole family! We’re breaking out the jumbo yard games and the ever-popular BINGO!
The fun begins when the light comes down! This popular campus event features 12 lanes of glow-in-the-dark-bowling, mock-tails, popcorn and pizza, free shoe rental, discounted games and homecoming prizes and giveaways.
When it’s good, it’s good. This event is in such high demand that we had to schedule it twice! If you couldn’t get in the first time, come on out and enjoy 12 lanes of glow-in-the-dark-bowling, mock-tails, popcorn and pizza, free shoe rental, discounted games and homecoming prizes and giveaways.
Please join the Office of University Advancement to honor the benefactors who inspire greatness at EIU. A social hour will begin at 6pm and the program will start at 6:30 p.m. The EIU Foundation will be presenting the Philanthropist of the Year award.
Office of Admissions
1230 Old Main
Reminisce about your college days with a tour of campus to see what has changed and what has stayed the same since you became an alum. After your tour, pick up your Legacy Gift Bag from the Admissions Office.
O'Brien Stadium Parking Lot
Free and open to the public. Refreshments served.
Spend the afternoon visiting the studios of EIU faculty and students to learn about their research and practices. Hosted by the Tarble and EIU Department of Art + Design at the Tarble Arts Center, Doudna Fine Arts Center, and Burl Ives Studios. Visit www.tarbleartscenter.org for a map.
Start your day at this all-you-can-eat sunrise breakfast for the EIU and Charleston communities. Sponsored by the Charleston Rotary Club, proceeds benefit local charities.
Adults - $6
Children (11 & under) - $3
Take to the streets for this annual tradition. Sign up and join us for a fun 1.5-mile run/walk from Old Main to up-and-around the square and back! Prizes and awards will be given to the top place-finishers in Walk, Run and Wheelchair categories.
The 2.5K (1.5-mile) race begins at 9 a.m. at the corner of Seventh Street and Lincoln Avenue. Participants will make their way north on Seventh Street, race around the square (Monroe Avenue), and then return to Lincoln Avenue by heading south on Sixth Street to the finish line at First Financial Bank, across the street from Old Main.
2022 Parade Forms
The EIU Homecoming Parade is an annual tradition that consists of around 100 campus/community parade entries. Highlights include parade grand marshal Libby Murray, decorated cars, bands, banners and floats.
The EIU Homecoming Grand Marshal is a prestigious honor bestowed upon individuals who have made significant contributions to the EIU mission, vision and community.
The 2022 grand marshal recipient is Libby Murray. Murray, a 1970 education graduate, has a passion for EIU and the Charleston community. A former cheerleader, member of the Tri Sigma sorority and the 1970 EIU Homecoming queen, Murray has remained an active supporter of her alma mater as a member of the EIU Alumni Association and the Panther athletics Sixth Man Club. Murray was a former pre-school and kindergarten teacher and a Sunday School teacher at Immanuel Lutheran Church. A lifelong Charleston resident, Murray has served as a leader for the Charleston CAN Community Organization; a Youth Alive leader at Charleston High School; an original member of the Charleston Food Pantry board; and a member for the Coalition for People in Need. She is married to Mike Murray, EIU associate athletic director for development. She has three children and six grandchildren.
The EIU Class of 1972 is invited to a reunion weekend to commemorate its golden anniversary. Register at eiu.edu/alumni/event_register.php?event=203
O'Brien Stadium Parking Lot
O'Brien Stadium
The Eastern Illinois University Alumni Association would like you to join us as we honor the 2022 class of alumni award recipients for their outstanding achievements. Awards to be bestowed include Outstanding Young Alumna/us, Distinguished Alumna/us, Distinguished Educator, and the Louis V. Hencken Alumni Service Award.
Dirty's Parking Lot