King and Queen

In 1933, Sally Pucket, a charismatic ISU student, won the very first Homecoming queen crown.

The first Homecoming queens held various duties which included handing out prizes for the lawn displays and attending evens such as the pep rally and parade.

In the 1950’s the process of choosing a candidate for queen became controversial when it included a style show, interviews, and a swimsuit contest. People complained that the process was superficial. 

A king was added to join the queen during the 1952 homecoming, but was removed the following year.

Homecoming was then followed by another controversy when a male student was nominated for Homecoming queen by his dorm but was then disqualified when he had to attend an event hosted by the the Homecoming Committee. People criticized the election process of discrimination.

The tradition of having a Homecoming queen halted for 16 homecomings until it was reinstated when a King and Queen were chosen based on their academics and community service.

In 1997 the Homecoming King and Queen tradition was criticized for not being diverse. It was then replaced with awards given to successful alumni. 

The King/Queen tradition was brought back in 2006 with the creation of the Cardinal Court