NEWS RELEASE

Office of External Communications

Houston, TX 77204-5017 Fax: 713.743.8199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 4, 2005

Contact: Angie Joe
713.743.8153 (office)
713.617.7138 (pager)
ajoe@uh.edu

TEN DAYS OF HOMECOMING ACTIVITIES TO ENTERTAIN UH ALUMNI

Homecoming at the University of Houston will span 10 days this year, beginning Nov. 5 and climaxing with the football game against University of Southern Mississippi at 4 p.m. Nov. 13.

This year’s Homecoming theme is “Discover Your Cougar Connection.” The Web site http://www.mycougarconnection.com/homecoming/ has been created for this year’s Homecoming with a schedule and list of the events, links to campus organizations and sections specifically designed for each stage of life as a Cougar, including alumni and students.

  • The Cougar Spirit Bell Office competition will kick off the Homecoming week festivities Monday, Nov. 7, with an opportunity for faculty and staff to show off their Cougar spirit by decorating their office suites. Student leaders will decide the winning office suite, and the winner receives the Cougar Spirit Bell for display in its office suite for one year.
  • The Golden Cougar Reunion for alumni marking their 50th year since graduating is scheduled for Nov. 12. Tonja Jones, director of Cougar Connections for the Houston Alumni Organization (HAO), said the reunion is always an enjoyable annual Homecoming event. “It’s neat to just sit in there and listen to them telling their stories,” she said. “You get insight on how it used to be.”
  • The annual “You Make The Difference” reception from 1 to 2 p.m. Nov. 13 is a ceremony for recognizing supporters, scholarship recipients and faculty and staff awards. It will take place in the UH Athletics/Alumni Center.
  • The HAO Homecoming Golf Tournament will mark its 23rd year on Nov. 14, distinguishing itself as the longest running annual golf tournament at UH. Check-in for the tournament begins at 10 a.m. at the Pecan Grove Plantation Country Club in Sugar Land, and the shotgun start is at 11:30 a.m. The cost is $80 per entry.
  • Another highlight of Homecoming Week is a fundraising event whose proceeds go to earthquake relief. The UH women’s basketball team leads the way, with Coach Joe Curl grilling hotdogs. The team will be selling plates of hotdogs and chips to students Wednesday, Nov. 9, from 10:30 a.m. until 2 p.m.
  • To purchase tickets for the Homecoming football game against Conference USA rival Southern Mississippi University, call 713-GO-COOGS or visit http://uhcougars.collegesports.com/tickets/hou-tickets.html. Tickets are $20 for the public; $16 for faculty and staff; and $10 for youth.

The homecoming tradition officially began at UH in 1946. According to “Our Time,” a book celebrating the first 75 years of the university, the tradition was started when the Cougar Football program began in earnest after the World War II era. The first homecoming at UH, just one day of events, began with breakfast and concluded in the evening with a football banquet, followed by a ball.

For information, call 713-743-9550 or visit http://www.mycougarconnection.com/homecoming/

For more information about UH visit the university’s ‘Newsroom’ at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.