HISTORY & TRADITIONS

One of the earliest Homecoming celebrations to involve a football game was on Nov 11, 1929. The Eagles defeated East Texas State Teachers College 34-0 in the Armistice Day Game. Attendants were referred to as “home comers” in the yearbook. Activities included a parade of bands around the downtown square, a boarding house decoration contest, a pre-game barbeque and a dance after the game sponsored by the Talons.

During World War II, official Homecoming festivities and football games were suspended. November 1946 marked the first postwar Homecoming celebration and included the election of the first Homecoming Queen, Nikki Hendrix. Hendrix was elected by the football team, and the tradition of the team electing the queen continued until 1952, when the student body elected the Homecoming Queen.

The coldest UNT Homecoming of the century began Friday night, Nov 12, 1976, with a torchlight parade and Bonfire to keep 200 attendants from freezing. By game time that afternoon, Fouts Field was buried under six inches of snow. Some Florida State players had never seen snow, so the team built a snowman before the games as some 3,800 warmly dresses fans filled the stands. Halftime was also not to be forgotten in this premature blanket of snow. Four brave musicians marched onto the field and entertained the crowds with the university fight song, Jingle Bells and White Christmas.