Homecoming 2022: Football, music, and fun will greet alumni this weekend

After more than five decades of Training Champions for Christ, Liberty University will once again welcome back graduates and their loved ones for Homecoming, Oct. 14-15. It’s a celebration of community and faith for alumni, their families, and all current students.

“On this weekend, we’ll likely have about 10,000 people and our student body of 15,000-plus current students all together, and they’ll all have a passion for Jesus Christ in common,” said Cort Comfort (’13), director of Liberty’s Student Activities Department, which organizes all Homecoming events. “This is three days when we get to come together and celebrate.”

Actress and Christian media personality Priscilla Shirer will kick off the festivities during Convocation at 10:30 a.m. on Friday. Then guests will have multiple opportunities to connect with different facets of the university and meet fellow alumni, including a Homecoming Luncheon (12-1:15 p.m.) with Flames Football Head Coach Hugh Freeze, a carnival (3-7 p.m.) with food and fun in the LaHaye Parking Lot, and Family Fun Friday at the Liberty Mountain Snowflex Centre (5-10 p.m.).

“The Office of Alumni Relations looks forward to reconnecting as you come ‘home’ this Homecoming,” said Dr. Greg Tilley (’92), director of alumni engagement. “At Liberty, alma mater = alumni matter.”

Friday evening will bring alumni from every decade of Liberty’s history together for the Alumni Reunion in the Montview Alumni Ballroom. This gathering of graduates from across the generations began last year and was so popular that it was scheduled again this year, with tickets selling out early.

“We want the alumni from all 50-plus years to be able to come together and talk about their Liberty stories,” Comfort said. “Depending on what era they’re from, our alumni experienced very different versions of Liberty, but the heart and dedication to Christ has always been there.”

The event will lead directly into the Annual Homecoming Concert, titled “The Story of God’s Passion for His People” in the Center for Music and Worship Arts Concert Hall from 7:30–9 p.m. Bringing guests “on a journey from Creation to the Resurrection,” the concert will feature a Homecoming 2022 Alumni Choir, Liberty University worship choirs, the Liberty University Symphony Orchestra, and soloists Charles Billingsley, Mindy Damon, Daryl Duff, Jason Schonfelder, and Jason Nichols.

Friday’s festivities will conclude with a bonfire at the East Campus Satellite Parking Lot from 9-11 p.m. featuring live music and s’mores. The bonfire is open to all alumni, faculty, staff, and current students.

The annual Deep Hollow Half Marathon and 5K, held at the Hydaway Outdoor Center, will kick off the events on Saturday at 8 a.m. The annual Homecoming parade will march down University Boulevard at 12:30 p.m. before the Flames kick off against Gardner-Webb University at 3:30 p.m. Fans with tickets to the game will have access to the Alumni Tailgate (Outdoor Football Practice Field) and Flames Fan Fest (Indoor Football Practice Field) from 1-3 p.m. (Alumni who register for Homecoming can receive discounted tickets).

Visitors to campus can also enjoy DII men’s hockey games (4:30 p.m. on Friday and 4 p.m. on Saturday) and performances of the Department of Theatre Arts’ musical comedy “Curtains,” with showtimes at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Sunday. Liberty’s longstanding October tradition of Scaremare will also be open on Friday and Saturday from 7:30-11 p.m.

Check-In/registration: Homecoming Check-In will be held in the LaHaye Event Space 9 a.m.-7 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on Saturday. Alumni are encouraged to register and purchase event tickets online (discounts are available). Registration is also available at Check-In for those who miss the online deadline.