​Welcome Home

When the Wisconsin Alumni Association (WAA) first promoted Homecoming, we said: “Remember when you get here you will be an alumnus returned, a sort of prodigal son along with 7,000 others.” Groups of alumni had been returning to campus prior to the first official Homecoming, but it wasn’t until 1911 that WAA leaders organized a special weekend of activities. Specific traditions have come and gone — Homecoming Ball in the early 1900s, the bonfire through the ’50s, and house decorating in the ’80s — but the spirit of the weekend has stayed true: celebrating the university and its graduates by bringing alumni home to campus.