Collegiate Times

As the campaigning for homecoming queen and king began to flood the social media sites over the past couple days, anticipation for homecoming festivities is growing. This year marks the 86th Homecoming at Virginia Tech.  Here's an overview of the events.

The Ranger Company Game Ball Run will take place until Friday, Oct. 12. The tradition consists of members of Ranger Company running the game ball for 100 miles around campus during the week of the homecoming football game. The runners attend the Homecoming pep rally to rally the crowd and then run the ball into Lane Stadium. On Friday, civilians will be invited to meet at the Pylons every half hour from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. to get a close up of the game ball.

Voting for the 2012 king and queen will began Monday at 10:00 a.m. and will last until 11 p.m. Thursday.

On Tuesday, Oct. 9 from 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. in Burruss Hall Room 112, students will be given the opportunity to meet the Vice President for Student Affairs, Patty Perillo, sponsored by the Tech Division of Student Affairs. Later that night, a concert featuring Hoodie Allen and Kendrick Lamar will be held in Burruss Auditorium at 7:30 p.m.  The admissions fee will be $15 for students with Hokie Passports and $20 for the general Public. The Virginia Tech Union is sponsoring the sponsoring the event.

On Wednesday, Oct. 10, the Ranger Company Game Ball Run continues.

On Thursday, Oct. 11, the highly anticipated Laugh Riot featuring Kevin Hart will be in Burruss Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. The Black Student Alliance will be sponsoring the event. At 11p.m., voting ends.

Friday, Oct. 12, is a full day of Homecoming activities. The Ranger Company Game Ball Run will conclude, and the Homecoming Traditions Spirit Rally will be held at the Graduate Life Center at Donaldson Brown Lawn. The rally starts at 6:30 p.m. with free admission and will be sponsored by the Student Alumni Associates. Starting at 7 p.m. will be the Dr. Zenobia L. Hikes Memorial Step Show in the Commonwealth Ballroom of the Squires Student Center. The admission fee is $5 for Greeks, and $7 for the general public. The event will be sponsored by the National Pan-Hellenic Council.

The fifth day of the week concludes with an after party with DJ Mike E in the Old Dominion Ballroom of the Squires Student Center at 10 p.m. The admission fee is $5 and the event will also be sponsored by the National Pan-Hellenic Council.

On Saturday, Oct. 13, the Annual Virginia Tech Homecoming Parade will commence at 9 a.m. and will stretch from Main Street to Alumni Mall. The Parade is both free to attend and participate in. The event will be sponsored by the Homecoming Board. The Virginia Tech vs. Duke Football Game in Lane Stadium will kick off at 12:30 p.m. soon after the conclusion of the parade.

Sunday, Oct. 14 will conclude homecoming week with the Recreational Sports and University Bookstore 5K and one mile walk and fun run, celebrating 86 years of homecoming at Tech. The one mile run will begin at noon and the 5k will begin at 1 p.m. at Margaret Beeks Elementary School. Participation cost will be dependent on registration time. Registration costs will be as follows: early registration for the one mile is $5 and the 5K is $15;  day of event registration for the one mile is $10 and the 5K is $20. The run will be sponsored by Rec Sports and University Bookstore.

A version of this article appeared in the Oct 9 issue of the Collegiate Times.