For President Scott Green and many others, University of Idaho Homecoming traditions are more than just hooting and hollering at the football game or parade — but rather a sense of coming home.
Green grew up on the UI campus with a grandfather who was the athletic director and a department head. He realized at a very young age, the university was a special place — there was no doubt he would go to school here.
One of his favorite experiences as a student was always the Homecoming Parade. Specifically, helping create the parade float for the 75th anniversary of his fraternity, Kappa Sigma.
Scott Green at the University of Idaho in 1983.
“The theme was something like ‘Sailing for 75 years,’ and we were terrible at it (making the float), but it was a lot of fun,” Green said.
That anniversary doubled as a reunion for all the fraternity alumni, and now reunions are even better because he has kept in touch with many of his fraternity brothers, Green said. He has visited campus many times over the years, and upon his arrival back this summer he still feels it’s the people who make UI special.
“I hope Homecoming is the same experience as when I went here,” Green said. “The only difference will be getting to spend more time with students — which is great. I am going to participate in Homecoming the same way as any other alumnus.”
He said students should participate in Homecoming events simply because traditions are fun to be involved with now and are something to appreciate even more as an alumnus.
Compared to other universities, UI Homecoming is special in Green’s eyes because the campus has so much energy from being inundated with Vandals of all ages. It’s always a lot of fun to see people he hasn’t seen in a while when everyone comes back, he said.
“Homecoming is a great time to connect. As a student, I always enjoyed hearing the stories from alums regarding their time on campus,” Green said. “Homecoming brings together alumni who had amazing experiences here and blends them with our current and future Vandals in a shared experience.”
Newer traditions, like serpentine, are something Green is looking forward to because he has not experienced them in the past. He said he is excited for his wife, daughter, brother and niece to visit for Homecoming this year.
Scott Green standing in front of Kappa Sigma.
“It’s a place I care deeply about and I’ve stayed involved in even after I left,” Green said. “One of my professional mentors tipped the scale for me applying as president. He said, ‘Scott, when you look back on your career, do you want to say you made lawyers more money or would you rather like to say you helped educate 100,000 students in your home state?’ The answer was obvious.”
Mary Kay McFadden, the vice president of university advancement, said Green used his network to explore his current job as president, making his UI experience more multidimensional. She knows Green from planning Homecomings as the associate alumni director back when he was a student.
Homecoming is really about coming home, McFadden said. She feels the university experience is a formative time of life unlike any other, when students are growing into adulthood — making consequential decisions and living on their own for the first time.
“President Green wouldn’t have come back if he didn’t have an attachment to this place,” McFadden said. “I know one of his greatest pleasures of coming back is connecting with students.”
She said students at UI are lucky Homecoming does not just revolve around football, but holds the ability to bring so many different groups together under the same umbrella for one big school spirit event.
“It is the college experience and alumni experience coming together, and that is where the magic happens,” she said.
Story by Allison Spain
Photos by Leslie Kiebert
Courtesy Photos provided by Gem of the Mountains 1983
Design by Rachel Wiedenmann