Parade

Homecoming 2010: September 26 - October 2

Famous alumni chosen as grand marshals for U's "Ultimate Homecoming" parade

Pep fest and fireworks in new stadium follow the parade

Contact: Mark Cassutt, Student Activities and Unions, (612) 396-5332

Minneapolis / St. Paul (08/05/2009) - Six distinguished University of Minnesota alumni will serve as grand marshals for the university's 2009 Homecoming parade, scheduled for Friday, Oct. 9. The parade begins at 7 p.m. from its starting point at 15th Avenue Southeast and University Avenue. The parade will proceed down University Avenue to the new TCF Bank Stadium for a pep fest and fireworks.

The 2009 Homecoming grand marshals are:

  • Bobby Bell, NFL Hall of Famer and two-time All-American Gopher football great, who led the Gophers to a Rose Bowl victory and a national championship and, as a linebacker, took the Kansas City Chiefs to Super Bowl victory in 1970;
  • Norman Borlaug, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal and known as the "Father of the Green Revolution;"
  • Deb Hopp, vice president of publishing for MSP Communications, publisher of Minneapolis-St. Paul Magazine; influential community leader who headed the 2007 United Way campaign;
  • Garrison Keillor, author, humorist and creator of A Prairie Home Companion radio show and co-writer and star of A Prairie Home Companion movie whose essays have been published in Time, The Atlantic Monthly and The New Yorker;
  • Walter Mondale, former vice president of the United States and world leader who also served as ambassador to Japan and as a United States senator; and
  • Lindsay Whalen, the Gopher women's basketball standout who as a point guard with the WNBA Connecticut Sun, led the team to the WNBA Finals in her first and second seasons and to second place in the Eastern Conference in the 2008 season.

The alumni grand marshals were chosen by the University of Minnesota Homecoming Committee because they represent the depth and breadth of university alumni talent, leadership and knowledge.

"The alumni who are serving as this year's grand marshals are truly exceptional individuals," said Robert Bruininks, President. "They reflect the faces and achievements of the more than 400,000 living U of M alumni who've changed millions of lives through their contributions to the economic and cultural vitality of the state, nation and world."

Homecoming 2009 - "The Ultimate Homecoming" - will be a historic and extraordinary celebration, according to Margaret Sughrue Carlson, the University of Minnesota Alumni Association's chief executive officer. "With the opening of the new TCF Bank Stadium, the sounds, sights and excitement of homecoming week will spread across campus and the state as old traditions are embraced and new traditions are born," she said.

"We estimate that nearly 30,000 jubilant students, alumni, fans and friends of the U will line the streets to cheer on the parade and wrap themselves up in the excitement of homecoming," said Sughrue Carlson. "What a highlight it'll be to watch the parade being lead by our distinguished grand marshals, people we've seen on television, read about in books and listened to on the radio."

As the parade concludes, parade goers can follow the University of Minnesota Marching Band into the new stadium for an old-fashioned pep fest and fireworks, expected to begin at 9 p.m.

The parade and pep fest are just two of many exciting traditional and new events of homecoming week that begins Oct. 4 with free tours of the stadium. For a full schedule of events and information go to www.homecoming.umn.edu.

Grand marshal photos and bios are available by contacting Mark Cassutt (612) 396-5332 or going to www.homecoming.umn.edu.