MANSFIELD, PA– Alumni, family and friends returned to Mansfield University to celebrate Light Up Mansfield Again (LUMA) at Homecoming 2017 on September 29-October 1. The weekend marked the 125th anniversary of the world’s first night football game. Pittsburgh Steelers legend and four-time Super Bowl Champion Franco Harris was the honored guest.
Harris, Interim President Scott Barton, new Mansfield Hall of Fame inductee Freddie Coleman ’87 of ESPN and former sprint football player Christian Sookdeo, a 2015 graduate who is now a sales specialist at GE, flipped the switch to “Light Up Mansfield Again” in pre-game ceremonies before the Mountaineers took on Cornell University on Saturday night.
Harris also met with the MU football team, local high school teams from North Penn-Mansfield and Troy, participated in the coin toss and interacted with fans. Siaka Hoff was named Homecoming Queen and Marc Holman was named Homecoming King. The royal couple was crowned by President Barton and last year’s queen and king, Rachel Hohenwarter and Lascelles Boothe, during halftime ceremonies of the football game.
Hoff is a senior from Bristol, PA. She represented the Black Students Union in the campus-wide voting.
Holman is a senior from York, PA. He represented the Phi Beta Lambda.
Earlier in the day, the Homecoming and Mansfield Heritage Weekend parade made its way up Main Street to the delight of the crowd lining both sides of the street.
To see photos from the parade, click here.
Friday night, the MU Alumni Athletic Hall of Fame welcomed four new members and a team during inductions ceremonies at Manser Hall.Joining Coleman (football) were Brian DeCecco ’05 (football), coach Ethel Moser (field hockey), and the 1992 Baseball Team. Bernard “Bernie” Feldman ’39 (football and baseball) was inducted as a legend.
The new Hall of Famers were also honored during the Homecoming parade and before the football game.Homecoming Weekend also included a women’s soccer game, a 50th reunion celebration for cross country, a golf tournament, concerts and other activities.
To see photos from LUMA at Homecoming 2017, click here and for photos from the football game, click here.