Looking at this weekend's athletic schedule, homecoming is evidently lacking something: most Tufts varsity sports. While the focus of homecoming has primarily always been upon the football game, besides the football team's match against Amherst on Saturday, the men's soccer team is the only other team that will see action, as it takes on Conn. College.
A late October tradition here at Tufts, homecoming has always been a display of all athletic teams. Yet with the changes in the NESCAC schedule this year, the shortening of seasons, and the tournament schedules homecoming has turned into a weekend that will exclude most Tufts athletes, including all women's teams.
"As many teams as possible should be at home for homecoming and as an Athletic department," athletic director Bill Gehling said. "We're very disappointed that it worked out this way."
Over the past ten years or more, Homecoming has always fallen in late October and featured the football team pitted against either Williams or Amherst. While the date is always officially set by the Athletic Department, many more committees participate in the planning of this event, most importantly the Alumni Association. Yet since this date has consistently fallen in late October, the Athletic Department never had to discuss the setting of the date with other administrative groups.
But looking at this year's athletic schedule late last year - the NESCAC schedule is set by the conference itself years ahead of time - Gehling realized that the traditional homecoming date would not feature all Tufts sports at the same time. So, he made the suggestion to move homecoming Oct. 6, a weekend where most Jumbo teams were facing Bowdoin.
"I suggested a tentative change to the Homecoming date," Gehling said. "Ultimately, though on a higher level within the University, the decision got overturned."
The main reasoning the homecoming date could not be switched was because the University Trustees had already started making plans for the weekend. Since the date had traditionally been set in late October, the trustees had already put plans for the event into motion before Gehling had even set the official date.
The NESCAC conference made several changes this year, including reformatting postseason tournaments to determine the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament in each sport. The conference tournaments have been moved up in the season so that they may be completed before the NCAA's selection date, which cuts the regular season short for most teams short. Because of this, both the women's soccer and field hockey teams have already completed their fall season.
Tufts also had the challenge of planning parents weekend, another time when the school attempts to display as many home teams as possible. Finding two weekends to display most athletic teams within the already short fall season posed a challenge that the University could overcome.
"In the end, we ask that our athletes be team players and I need to play that role within the university as well," Gehling said.
While the NESCAC changes and lack of communication in the administration has led to an atypical homecoming weekend, Gehling is confident this will not become a reoccurring problem for Tufts. The NESCAC conference is expected to make changes to lengthen the fall season by postponing conference tournaments, so it is unlikely that teams will be finished their seasons at this point next year. Gehling also hopes to feature the Jumbos against different opponents in the future, as this year both Amherst and Conn. College will take part in the event.
While planning for the event will not begin until much later in the year, Gehling already sees a potential weekend available that would allow Homecoming to return to it's traditional stature. Meanwhile, most athletes will be spectators this weekend.
"As we look to the future, a homecoming should be about more teams, and we hope to do that again next year," Gehling said.
