Ball State Homecoming Celebrates 100 Years of Traditions and Cardinal Connections

Bed Race to B&B

For Crysti (Weilbaker) Everhart, ’81, Homecoming is perhaps best remembered as the celebration that helped introduce her to her future husband—and to a tradition that would outlast generations of student organizers.

Ms. Everhart was a student leader deeply involved in campus life when she joined the Homecoming Steering Committeeduring a country-themed “hoedown” year, “A Wild, Wild Midwest.”

The committee planned a large square dance and needed a caller. Ms. Everhart was told Bill Everhart, a well-known local caller, was the man to contact. She reached out through his son, Brian Everhart, ’81, a fellow Ball State student.

That connection changed far more than Homecoming plans—Crysti and Brian began dating shortly after.

Ms. Everhart’s committee work also helped launch one of Ball State’s most popular events: the Bed Race. The idea was new, and the logistics were hazy, but she secured beds from Delta Tau Delta fraternity and recruited her father to weld wheels onto them. To everyone’s surprise, the event was a success.

“No one knew how it would be done,” Ms. Everhart said. “I was shocked, but it went off without a hitch. People were just immediately supportive. It warms my heart that they’re still doing it.”

Looking back, Ms. Everhart said being part of the committee was the highlight of her college years. “I loved it, loved it, loved it,” she said.

After graduating from Ball State’s Miller College of Business, the Everharts built careers in sales, spending four decades in California before relocating to Mount Airy, N.C., where they now own a bed-and-breakfast called Heart & Soul—its Cardinal Room a quiet homage to the University that brought them together.

The name came naturally. While the couple sat on the porch mulling over ideas for the room, a cardinal landed nearby and seemed to settle the question.

The family’s connection continued through the next generation. Their daughter, Chelsey Everhart, ’10, had planned a different path, but Ball State’s Department of Theatre and Dance offered the mentorship she was looking for. She enrolled and eventually followed her parents onto the Homecoming Steering Committee as Talent Search chair.

“Ball State still holds a special place in our hearts,” Crysti Everhart said.

Growing Tradition

The Everharts’ story is one example of what Homecoming has meant to generations of Cardinals: a place to gather, reconnect, and build memories that outlast their time on campus.

That sense of connection began taking shape early in Ball State’s Homecoming history.

In 1938, Marjorie Haisley, ’41 MA ’63, became Ball State’s first Homecoming Queen. A year later, the University introduced what would become one of Homecoming’s most enduring events—the annual parade.

As alumni returned in growing numbers, Ball State President L.A. Pittenger encouraged students to embrace their role as hosts, reminding them that “one of the greatest things that can get into the heart of a person is fervor for an institution.”

That spirit of connection and school pride helped Homecoming evolve from a single day of festivities into a weeklong, campuswide celebration.

In 1961, the Homecoming Steering Committee was established as a formal student-led organization responsible for planning the week’s events—a structure that continues today. Photos of past committees line the hallways of the Alumni Center, documenting generations of student leaders.

More than six decades later, that responsibility belongs to students like junior Kaden Khayyata, chair of the 2026 Homecoming Steering Committee.

“I’ve always loved celebrating community, and I don’t think there’s anything that brings a community together quite like Homecoming,” he said.

A sport administration major with a minor in leadership and innovation, Mr. Khayyata first joined the committee as Air Jam chair before being selected to lead this year’s celebration.

Homecoming traditions have always reflected the students who created them and the eras in which they took shape. The celebration was suspended during World War II, from 1943–45. When students returned, they introduced an annual leaf rake to help maintain the grounds amid limited staffing. The event continued for a decade and has occasionally returned as a service project for fraternities and sororities.

Through the Years

Some events were designed simply to create memories.

In 1978, students competed in a phone booth stuffing contest. In 1986, Charlie Cardinal joined 248 students in a giant bunny hop from Neely and McKinley Avenues to LaFollette Field. A bonfire anchored Homecoming for years before being discontinued in 1986, briefly revived in 2007, and retired for good in 2010.

In the 1990s, a game show modeled on MTV’s Singled Out drew crowds but proved short-lived.

Through it all, some traditions endured: the parade still draws crowds each year; Air Jam, launched in 1987, remains one of the week’s most anticipated nights; and the football game continues as the highlight.

Homecoming also drew notable entertainers over the years, including Louis Armstrong, Bob Newhart, Count Basie, Johnny Mathis, Dionne Warwick, Rich Little, Kenny Rogers, George Carlin, Styx, Kansas, and Florida Georgia Line.

One appearance holds a special place in Ball State history. In October 1979, David Letterman, ’69, returned to his alma mater as a celebrity guest, years before becoming one of late-night television’s most recognizable figures. He participated in campus events, rode in the Homecoming parade, and performed a comedy set in Emens Auditorium alongside The 5th Dimension.

Memories Still Being Made

The unusual events—phone booth stuffing, the bunny hop, the game shows—are easy to remember because they’re so tied to their eras. But for most students, Homecoming memories are made in more ordinary ways: walking in the parade, cheering at the Bed Race, tailgating, or finally deciding to go to Air Jam.

Junior Karissa Allen is living that version of Homecoming now.

A general studies major and student assistant in the Office of Orientation, Ms. Allen has marched in the parade with Dance Marathon participants, cheered on her Christian Campus House friends at the Bed Race, and tailgated before games. This year, Air Jam is on her list for the first time.

“My favorite part is the Bed Race because everyone is laughing, cheering, and having a great time,” Ms. Allen said. “Homecoming brings so many people together, and there’s a sense of excitement all week long. It’s something I look forward to every year.”

Ms. Allen’s memories are still new. For other Cardinals, those same kinds of moments have had decades to grow into something larger.