Next year's homecoming theme, called "Every Day is Saturday in South Carolina," was announced during halftime of the spring football game on April 16 by the university's Homecoming Commission.
The Commission hosted a tailgate in celebration of the reveal which consisted of food, games and music at Gamecock Park available to students before the game began at 7 p.m.
The theme was revealed in a video produced by members of the committee that featured Coach Beamer and some of the athletes.
The theme reveal event has been in the works since January, with members of the homecoming committee meeting regularly to brainstorm ideas and make plans for the event.
“It’s a few months of planning that goes into it beforehand,” Julianna Tyndall, a third-year marketing student and President of the Homecoming Commission, said.
The committee brainstormed numerous different themes before landing on "Every Day on Saturday." The next step was to plan the theme reveal.
Jack Germain, a third-year sport and entertainment management student and the Vice President of the Homecoming Commission, said that he wanted a theme that didn't distract from the main idea of homecoming unlike themes in the past. The purpose of this year's theme is to shine light on some traditions surrounding the university such as football and school spirit, Soda City Market and Service Saturdays.
“We really wanted to go back to a classic homecoming, school spirit kind of idea … so we landed on "Every Day is Saturday in South Carolina" because one of the biggest school spirit things is football games. That’s what homecoming is all about, is the homecoming football game,” Germain said.
Cody Albers, a fourth-year sport and entertainment management student, was at Saturday’s game when the theme was announced.
“I kind of wish it wasn’t something sports-themed. I feel like the university is already very sport and football focused anyways, so it’s more of the same and not like a chance to do something unique,” Albers said.
Previous homecoming themes include “Around the World: Destination UofSC” in 2021 and “The Roaring '20s” in 2020.
Homecoming week consists of on-campus events that incorporate the chosen theme for past, present and future students to be a part of.
Monday through Friday, there are multiple activities available ranging from concerts to food stands, and ending the week with the first football game of the season.
Germain said he was excited for this year's reveal because of the work that went into the event and the publicity it could bring to the Homecoming event in the fall.
“We’re really trying to make it look like a Saturday in the fall … everything’s just kind of coming together into this weekend and I’m really excited to see how many people we can reach with it,” Germain said.
The events team is currently planning the weekend events in October, as a few months of planning go into the events beforehand.
“Theme reveal is just a way to start building that excitement for the fall,” Tyndall said.
Homecoming will take place the week of Oct. 24, ending with the football game on Oct. 29. To see updates, you can get more information from the Homecoming Committee's Instagram.
Editor's note: Sabrina Hampton contributed to the reporting in this article.