There are probably a few slow-working graduate students left on campus who can recall a different kind of Homecoming at UCLA.
Back in October of 2002, a parade poured into Westwood, floats rolling in behind 1,600 Bruins, a DJ spinning tunes, chants of “UC-LA” filling the air.
The next year, the event doubled in size to nearly 4,000 people. B-list celebrities helped invigorate the festivities, and for the first time, UCLA held a university-sponsored Parents’ Weekend.
But by the third year, a Daily Bruin editorial bemoaned that the parade was attended by only a “tiny fraction” of students and that it had become a “pony-show for Parents’ Weekend.”
Six years later in 2010, students are ravenously anticipating a free dinner from their relatives but are hardly aware it happens to be Homecoming.
“We’ve tried for a number of years to do what other schools do in terms of Homecoming, and it doesn’t really work for us,” said Kristy Peterson, the director of student outreach and engagement at the UCLA Alumni Association.
The traditional homecoming parade was revived in 2002 by the Student Activities Association after a six-year sabbatical. But enthusiasm fizzled quickly for a number of reasons.
The distance fans must travel to get to UCLA’s football venue, the Rose Bowl, makes it difficult, Peterson said. Alumni who might attend the game in Pasadena may not always find their way back to the campus in Westwood, making homecoming activities inherently disjointed from the game itself.
Furthermore, Peterson added that holding any kind of large event in Westwood or even on campus creates a logistical nightmare. Organizers must make a good-faith effort to contact all businesses, homeowners and local authorities who could potentially be affected by planned events. Even events held on campus must seek permission from UCLA officials and often the residential community of Bel Air.
For a combination of these reasons, Peterson said that the SAA has chosen to focus its efforts and funds on other more popular events like Blue and Gold Week that precedes UCLA’s football game with rival USC.
“When you draw a crowd in the street, there are going to be issues,” Peterson said.
But without any single group to spearhead the organization and incur the costs of homecoming events, most of the meaning behind the homecoming tradition has been lost on current students.
Peterson said that like UCLA’s once-famous mardi gras event which ended in 1995, and the Undie Run which has been phased out more recently, concerns about student safety that weren’t as prevalent decades ago make it very difficult on organizers to plan any sort of large-scale event.
Still, Saturday’s contest against Arizona is a little extra special for some players, and especially coach Rick Neuheisel, a UCLA alumnus himself.
“You see a lot of familiar faces,” Neuheisel said. “My favorite part is the song girls from long ago are in their uniforms ready to go, even from my era. I’ve got some old pals that were song girls when I played that are down there. It’s a treat to have everybody come out, and it’s a lot of fun when you play well.”
The Bruins are certainly hoping to play better than the 60-13 battering they took against Oregon on national television Oct. 21.
Junior free safety Rahim Moore said he knows that fans and alumni expect a better showing.
“It’s a big game,” Moore said. “It’s probably bigger than last week’s game. Because it’s our homecoming, our first home game back, and our fans want to see another UCLA football team, and I’m quite sure they will.”
Junior linebacker Akeem Ayers said he knows many of the fans at Saturday’s game will be making their only appearance of the year at the Rose Bowl, but he was adamant that he will not be playing just to please the crowd.
“I’m not playing to put numbers in the seats,” Ayers said. “I’m playing for my teammates. That’s it. But it is a great opportunity to turn things around.”
This Saturday, then, there will be no floats, no parade, no buildup. But there will be a football game this UCLA team says it needs to win if it wishes to end its season at a bowl game.
And there will be stands full of middle-aged alums like the coach, who, even without the hoopla, will be happy to be back.
“I don’t know that our players realize it’s Homecoming or not, but I do know that whenever we play at the Rose Bowl, we want to take full advantage of it,” Neuheisel said.
“As you get older,” he added with a smile, “obviously Homecoming becomes a little more significant.”