Published on January 13, 2006 by William Nunnelley  
Posted by William Nunnelley on 2006-10-09

Samford University's Homecoming 2006 will offer a smorgasbord of activity for alumni, students and others the weekend of Oct. 19-22. The university will celebrate its 140th homecoming with football, fireworks, reunions, balloon rides, soccer and plenty of opportunities for visiting with old friends.

Samford alumni of the year will be recognized at the annual homecoming banquet Friday, Oct. 20, at 6:30 p.m. on the Wright Center Concert Hall stage. Honorees are Bill Cash of Birmingham, founder and chairman of Principle Pharmacy Group, Inc., a pharmacy management firm; Pat M. Courington of Albertville, Ala., retired publisher of The Sand Mountain Reporter newspaper; Martha Ann Cox of Talladega, Ala., retired Samford administrator; and attorney Todd Crider of New York, N.Y. Fireworks in the parking lot will cap off the evening.

Samford will host UT-Martin in the homecoming football game Saturday, Oct. 21, at 2 p.m. Earlier Saturday, Samford alumni from 1956 and before will meet for breakfast at 9 a.m., the homecoming parade around campus will begin at 11 a.m. and the alumni reunion luncheon will follow 11:30 in Beeson University Center. Alumni can meet Samford President Andrew Westmoreland and his family on the quadrangle at 11:30. Numerous other events are planned on and around the campus quadrangle. The Golden Anniversary class of 1956 will hold a reunion dinner at 6 p.m. in the Rotunda Club.

Frank Lewis, senior pastor at First Baptist Church, Nashville, Tenn., will preach during homecoming worship Sunday, Oct. 22, at 10 a.m. in Hodges Chapel.

The annual J. Roderick Davis Lecture will kick off the Homecoming schedule Thursday, Oct. 19. Dr. Juan Hernandez, president of the Organization for Hispanic Advancement, will speak in Reid Chapel at 7:30 p.m. Hernandez, born in Dallas, Texas, and a dual citizen of the U.S. and Mexico, was the first director of the Office of Mexicans Abroad in the cabinet of Mexican President Vicente Fox. He is author of the book, The New American Pioneers; Why Are We Afraid of Mexican Immigrants? 

Samford's defending Ohio Valley Conference-champion women's soccer team will play twice–on Friday at 7 p.m. against Eastern Illinois and Sunday at 2 p.m. against Southeast Missouri. Both are at Bulldog Field across Lakeshore Drive from the main campus.

Numerous other events are planned. Some are free, but many require tickets. Follow the link below for more information.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 5,791 students from 49 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.