Huntington University prepares for the 2026 Huntington University Homecoming Weekend with new and returning events.
By Johnathan Christian | September 28, 2026
HUNTINGTON, Ind. – Huntington University’s 2026 Homecoming Celebration is set to celebrate the students, alumni, and community of Huntington through a variety of new and returning events set to take place on October 2-3.
Each fall, HU has a Homecoming weekend filled with activities, performances, and sports events meant to celebrate the culture of HU and the people who keep the school going – including students, alumni, faculty, staff, and the surrounding community.
This year features the new Coffee Crawl, an event taking place all around the city of Huntington on October 2-3. Students will be able to pick up an official Coffee Crawl mug from Forest Blend at the HUB and go all over the city to the community’s coffee shops, trying out each shop and voting on their favorites. Each coffee shop is set to be decked out in as much HU gear as possible to paint the town green.
Additionally, this year’s Homecoming will feature a spirit week during the week leading up to the weekend. Starting on September 28, students will be able to participate in themed days, including Moustache Monday, Throwback Thursday, Forrester Friday, and more.
To encourage students to dress up, there will be a raffle for students who participate. When faculty and staff notice that a student is participating in Spirit Week, they can give the student a raffle ticket that the student can use to win prizes such as gift cards, AirPods, or even a TV.
Another exciting event is the Campfire S’mores and Worship scheduled for October 2 at the firepits near Lake Sno-Tip. Attendees will be led in a cozy worship night by an HU alum under the stars.
On October 3, students, staff, faculty, and alumni can participate in the Festival on the Mall, an event that will feature all sorts of food including smash burgers, popcorn, cotton candy, and much more. The event will also include a new Forester Market where students and staff will be selling their own creations such as crochet, lotion, and more.
At the same time as the Festival on the Mall, the Alumni College will be returning so that HU alumni can get a glimpse of what is going on in three select departments. This year will feature the Department of Christian Thought and Practice, the Education Department, and the Division of Mathematical and Natural Sciences. Returning alumni will be welcomed back and learn about the new, exciting developments going on in these departments.
Returning events include PowderPuff and the coronation of the Homecoming Court. PowderPuff is a football event that will take place on October 2 on the Quad. The Coronation of the Homecoming Court will happen around the games.
On October 3, Troupe, a musical theater showcase, will take place in the Zurcher Auditorium. The show is free, so anyone is welcome to come.
The weekend will finish on October 4 with a baseball game between HU’s Foresters and Indiana University’s Hoosiers. The event will take place at Parkview Field in Fort Wayne as an exciting way to wrap up the weekend and all its celebrations.
After spending an entire year working to plan Homecoming weekend, HU’s Events and Special Projects Coordinator Vanessa Macias-Hannie said, “We want people to take part in it. We want people to stick around for the weekend. We want people to be excited whether they’re students, whether they’re alumni, whether they’re faculty.”
Speaking on this year in particular, Macias-Hannie added, “Everything is… really honed in on the students… I feel like this year in particular and probably in the years to come – it’s about [the students]. We want you to stay here. We want you to be proud of this place… We want to celebrate the campus as a whole.”
