Creation in 1912

Samuel Beyer, an Iowa State professor in 1912, first came up with the idea of celebrating ISU alums with Homecoming. The celebration would be held the same week as the football game against rival University of Iowa.

The Iowa State President at the time, Raymond A. Pearson, put the event into action by inviting ISU alums to celebrate along with current students.

The alums week began the Homecoming week with tours of campus, a play and a football game. 

The football game was the highlight of the week and was ended with more celebration during the evening.

At the end of the week they attended a pep rally and luncheon.

The first Homecoming was such a success that they continued the event the following year, and many years after that.

1918 Cancellation

Homecoming wasn’t always a yearly event. The 1918 Homecoming didn’t occur due to the Spanish influenza and World War I.

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

Banners and Victory Lane

Along with lawn displays, banners and Victory Lane have been a way for ISU students to show off their creative side for Homecoming.

Banners were first used to welcome ISU alumni since the beginning in 1912.

The awards for best banners and lawn displays were given at the same time, but when the number of lawn displays began to diminish so did the number of banners.

As a result, the banners were moved from central campus to the Greek houses, but were then moved back to central campus when lawn displays returned 

In the 1980’s various organizations and students would paint sections of pavement at the north parking lot of Jack Trice Stadium