Her Campus Logo Her Campus Logo

One of Clemson’s Favorite Traditions: Homecoming Floats

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Clemson chapter.

Every year, Clemson opens up Bowman field the week before the Homecoming football game for “float building”. Float building is a process where several on-campus groups, including the Inter-Fraternity Council and the College Panhellenic Council, construct large standing (and sometimes moving!) floats based on the theme of the Homecoming game. These floats can be made of wood, chicken wire, tissue pomp, etc.

 

This year the theme for Homecoming was “Orange Crush”. Orange Crush is the name of the last play of the 2016 National Championship between The University of Alabama and Clemson University. This play sealed the championship win for Clemson when Hunter Renfrow caught the pass and secured the points needed for a Clemson victory. Orange Crush can also describe our emotional feelings towards Clemson. In a sense, Clemson alumni, students and fans will always have an “orange crush” on Clemson. This is shown by how Clemson alumni, students and fans seem to paint the town orange on, not only Homecoming weekend, but also every weekend.

 

This year, we took photos of the process of Homecoming float-building, including the late-night work being done by students. Here’s a timeline:

Float-building late night:

A close-up of tissue-paper-pomping and construction on a float:

 

The work continues…

 

The floats are finally finished & lovers of Clemson are encouraged to view and enter the floats!

 

The winner of this year’s Homecoming Non-Moving Float Competition went to the members of Gamma Phi Beta, Phi Gamma Delta and Pi Beta Phi.

Freshman English & Psychology major at Clemson UniversityGamma Phi Beta sorority  
Caitlin Barkley is currently a senior at Clemson University pursuing a degree in both Biology and Psychology. In 2016-2017, she served as the Campus Correspondent and Editor-in-Chief for Her Campus Clemson after joining her freshman year. She is also an ambassador with the Calhoun Honors College, a teacher with Clemson Dancers, and a member of Tiger Strut Dance Company. Caitlin is a colonizing member of the South Carolina Beta Chapter of Pi Beta Phi, and she serves as the current Chapter President. A few of her favorite things include coffee, her Clemson ring, and fuzzy blankets! Follow her on Instagram @c_barkley19