Homecoming 2025

Wrap up

Here’s a look back at Homecoming 2025

Every October, College Hill calls them home — and across generations and miles, Scots return to where their stories began.

From far-flung cities to the College Hill neighborhood next door, Maryville College alumni once again made the pilgrimage home: to the hill, the halls, and the people who shaped their lives. Homecoming 2025, held Oct. 10–12, was more than a weekend of reunions and reminiscence. It was a celebration of shared history, enduring friendship, and the unshakable spirit that defines the MC experience.

Standing parade-side along Circle Drive or sitting in the dim Ronald and Lynda Nutt Theatre of the Clayton Center for the Arts … taking the first steps of a vertical ascent up the Alpine Tower or the last ones back to a nearby hotel after the Young Alumni After Party … from the thunderous roar of a packed Lloyd L. Thornton Stadium after a touchdown to voices raised in unison as Fine Arts students led the Alma Mater during the Founder’s Day Showcase — they basked in every glorious moment of Homecoming 2025. And in doing so, they remembered why the love they feel for this place abides, year after year.

Wherever one turned on that unseasonably warm weekend, that love was evident. An estimated 9,258 people — alumni, faculty, staff, students, friends, and diehard supporters — made the journey. For three full days (four, if you count Thursday’s Wall of Fame ceremony), they reunited to swap stories, relive memories, and remind themselves why this place has always felt like home.

Friday began with registration inside Bartlett Hall and a Connection Plate Lunch, hosted by the Center for Community and Belonging and its Alumni Taskforce, at the College’s Downtown Center. Former warriors of the gridiron gathered for the Football Alumni Luncheon with Coach Ben Fox and his Fighting Scots. Campus tours and residence hall open houses gave visitors a glimpse of what has changed — and what remains timeless — since their undergraduate days.

By late afternoon, the President’s Welcome Reception doubled as a celebration of generosity and legacy. Among those honored were:

Mary Boldon, widow of the late faculty legend Dr. Dean Boldon;
Dorsey “Dan” Ellis Jr. ’60, whose $750,000 gift in memory of his wife Sondra Wagner Ellis ’60 will fund the Sondra and Dorsey Ellis Center for Faculty and Student Excellence;
The Rev. Bill ’72 and Jan Welton Postler ’72, whose $500,000 gift established the Isaac Anderson Fellows Endowment; and
Dr. John Nichols ’65, whose contribution created the Dr. John Nichols Award for Excellence in Mathematics, Computer Science and Statistics.

This year’s Alumni Award winners — Jonika Dhima Hoomes ’02 (Alumni Citation) and LeSean “Seanny” Brannon ’11 and Dr. Jerica Johnson Hall ’13 (Kin Takahashi Award for Young Alumni) — were celebrated as the night carried into laughter, music, and memories that stretched well past midnight.

Throughout the weekend, campus buzzed with energy and tradition: the Homecoming Parade winding through the heart of campus, the Sutton Science Social and Potluck, the Alvin C. Baker ’72 Harvest Craft Fair, and a clash of titans on Honaker Field that saw the Scots triumph over Centre College, 33–13. On Sunday, the revelry gave way to reverence as the Service of Remembrance at the Center for Campus Ministry honored Scots who have passed since Homecoming 2024.

It was, without hyperbole, a Homecoming of epic proportions — so magnificent that many left wondering, “Can it possibly get any better?”

Short answer: Yes.

Because Homecoming at Maryville College is something like “Field of Dreams” in reverse: if they come, it will be built — a weekend of unforgettable memories constructed on timeless rituals by those who live to “do good on the largest possible scale” and who believe, without reservation, that orange and garnet truly do float forever.

Because that’s what Homecoming on College Hill is — a reminder. A reaffirmation. A homecoming not just of people, but of spirit. Here, surrounded by the beauty of East Tennessee and the bonds of a lifetime, every returning Scot knows the truth in their heart: this will always be home.

Photos

Videos

Maryville College Homecoming 2025: Service of Remembrance

Stories

Save the Date – Oct. 23-25, 2026

Make your plans for Homecoming on College Hill, the most special time of year when we come together to celebrate our shared love of Maryville College! Did you graduate in a year ending in 6 or 1? Happy reunion! Congratulations to all reunion classes and especially to the classes of 1966, 1976, and 1986 celebrating Milestone Reunions. We look forward to welcoming all alumni home, where “orange and garnet float forever.”

@MCALUMNI

@MARYVILLECOLLEGEALUMNI

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