Competing claims cloud stakes for first homecoming
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09/29/2011 -
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - Spirit-filled students and reminiscing alumni by the thousands will descend on Missouri in two weeks to celebrate what many consider the first collegiate homecoming 100 years ago.
There's just one problem, or maybe two.
Illinois already had its centennial homecoming celebration last year, having started its annual alumni event in 1910. And Baylor held its first homecoming in 1909, although it would take six years for the event's return and several more decades for the more-common moniker to take hold after an earlier incarnation as ``Good Will Week.''
Other schools such as Indiana, Michigan and Northern Illinois held homecoming-like events even earlier but without the traditional football game, bonfires, parades and other hallmarks of modern-day homecoming. When it comes to college football rivalries, none is older than Harvard-Yale and its 1875 origin. But Harvard's first homecoming didn't happen until 2009.
Tigers faithful have spent decades claiming former Missouri football coach and athletic director Chester Brewer's invitation for graduates to ``come home'' was the start of the tradition. School leaders know better - and are now more vocal in dispelling a well-worn myth whose adherents included Brewer himself.
``We try to be a little more careful about it,'' said Missouri Alumni Association executive director Todd McCubbin, whose organization used to promote the school's homecoming as ``the first and finest.''
The Oct. 15 game against Iowa State, preceded by a week's worth of activities, is now simply the school's centennial celebration.
``Certainly, our graduates feel like we're the first,'' he said. ``Sometimes perception is reality.''
In 2005, university archivists at Illinois attempted to get to the bottom of the historical uncertainty. Their conclusion: ``At the very least, Illinois can claim to have had the longest tradition called `homecoming' and to have self-consciously created the event with the intention of it being a precedent that would be adopted by other institutions.''
``Baylor probably had the first homecoming,'' said Ellen Swain, the school's archivist for student life and culture. ``Of course, there could have been a school in Florida somewhere that we don't know about.''
As for Missouri's claim?
``We were so surprised to hear that,'' Swain said. ``It was pretty clear that they weren't the first.''
Students and alumni in Champaign, where No. 24 Illinois (4-0) faces Big Ten rival Northwestern (2-1) in Saturday's homecoming game, were disappointed about the archivists' findings but accept their conclusion, Swain said.
In Waco, the 1909 celebration convened over Thanksgiving weekend included class reunions, a parade, a band concert and an ``old-time soiree,'' according to an online school history. The university makes no claims to have been the first, going only as far as noting that ``few were as early as Baylor's.''
``We don't say it's the oldest homecoming,'' said Baylor senior Zach Sartor, a chemistry major from Abilene who leads the homecoming committee. ``We hang our hat on having the oldest and largest collegiate parade in the nation.''
Settling the debate on the football field would seem to be an obvious solution, though Illinois chose not to renew what had been an annual season-opening game against Missouri in St. Louis after four consecutive losses. Sartor, however, noted that No. 15 Baylor hosts Missouri as its homecoming opponent on Nov. 5.
``That's a great story line, huh?'' he said.
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Alan Scher Zagier can be reached at http://twitter.com/azagierCopyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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Huskers' Lucky hospitalized for undisclosed reason
LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky was hospitalized Monday for undisclosed reasons after Lincoln police responded to a call at his residence.
The Nebraska athletic department said in a release Monday that Lucky was admitted Sunday night.
MySportsbook.com has the Cornhuskers listed at +2500 to win the BCS National Championship odds.
A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.
A Lincoln Police spokesman said officers responded to a call at Lucky's residence 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The spokesman said he didn't know Lucky's condition at the time he was taken to the hospital.
Lucky, from North Hollywood, Calif., started six games last season as a sophomore and was the team's second-leading rusher, with 728 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes for 383 yards. He averaged 19.1 yards on eight kickoff returns.
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FOOTBALL BETTING : Cassel Signs Contract
Kansas City, MO - Kansas City has not officially named Matt Cassel its starting quarterback, but there can be no doubt now.
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After praising his leadership and work ethic through spring workouts, the Chiefs announced Tuesday they had signed the 27-year-old Cassel to a multiyear contract. Terms were not disclosed, but he will almost certainly be one of the highest-paid members of the team.
"We are excited to be able to reach a long-term agreement for Matt Cassel to be a Kansas City Chief for many years to come," owner and board chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement. "His proven leadership on and off the field will be a tremendous asset to the organization."
Patriots made him their franchise player, meaning his salary for this season will be about $15 million.
New head coach Todd Haley, taking over for Herm Edwards after a 2-14 season, refused to name a starter at any position during offseason workouts. But it was obvious to everyone the team belonged to Cassel.
"I go out there each and every day with that focus that I'm the starter," Cassel said during a June minicamp. "Competition brings out the best in everybody."
The signing will come as welcome news to Cassel's new coaches and teammates. Amiable and hardworking, online football betting he appeared to win over everyone at minicamp.
"I think he's got some unique leadership qualities. I think his teammates like him and have respect for him. I think he's doing a pretty good job on the field, too," Haley said last month. "He's doing everything that I'm asking him, that our coaches are asking him to do. I don't have one single complaint how he's carrying himself."
After one workout, wide receiver Devard Darling declared Cassel "a breath of fresh air."
"He has a lot of swagger, a lot of confidence. It's good for us," said Darling. "We trust in him that he's going to go out there and lead us all the way."
nse to accommodate his specific abilities.
Trapped on the bench behind Heisman winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC and then unable to unseat Super Bowl MVP Brady at New England, Cassel seemed destined to be a backup all his life. As Brady was helped off the field last September, Cassel seized the opportunity he'd been waiting for since high school.
In his only sustained action since his teens, he hit 349 of 555 passes for 3,949 yards at New England. He had 23 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions as the Patriots, who had gone unbeaten through the regular season the year before, finished 11-5 and out of the playoffs.
Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, who had been Bill Belichick's assistant in New England, engineered the trade after the Patriots became convinced that Brady would recover fully from his knee operation.
"Since Matt arrived in Kansas City, he has embraced the team and the community," Pioli said. "His work ethic, his ability and competitive presence is what we expect from our players."
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