KU brings back homecoming parade on Jayhawk Boulevard after seven years

Jayhawk Boulevard will again fill with floats, marching groups and spectators at 6 p.m. Oct. 23, when the University of Kansas stages its first homecoming parade in seven years and shifts campus traffic, policing and business attention back into the heart of Lawrence.

KU said the parade will run along Jayhawk Boulevard on the KU Lawrence campus as part of the university’s 114th Homecoming, presented by Central Bank. The weekend will lead into the football game against Baylor on Oct. 24, turning the parade into a visible kickoff for a campus event that KU hopes will pull students, alumni and nearby businesses into the same public space.

For Lawrence, the return matters well beyond school spirit. A Jayhawk Boulevard parade brings a larger crowd into the campus core, with consequences for parking, traffic flow and security planning around one of KU’s busiest fall weekends. KU said the event will be led by Student Affairs in partnership with KU Alumni, Kansas Athletics Inc. and Jayhawk Community Partners, signaling that the university wants the parade to function as both a student event and a broader community draw.

Student body president Andrew Murga and vice president Henry Whalen said they campaigned on bringing back the parade, making it a concrete student priority rather than a ceremonial add-on. Katie Treadwell, assistant vice provost for Student Affairs, said KU students and alumni advocated for the parade’s return and that campus partners including KU Memorial Unions, Sorority and Fraternity Life, the Student Engagement Center and Student Senate are part of the effort.

KU set an Oct. 9 application deadline for groups that want to participate, and those groups must attend a safety meeting on Oct. 13. Only registered organizations in good standing with the university will be considered for parade participation. Local businesses and community organizations can also seek sponsorship opportunities through Jayhawk Community Partners, opening the door for more Lawrence involvement beyond campus groups alone.

The parade also restores a KU custom with deep roots. KU’s Spencer Research Library says homecoming dates to 1912, when KU played Missouri in the first homecoming game and won 12-3. KU archival records show a parade on Jayhawk Boulevard in 2000, while later parades moved to Massachusetts Street in downtown Lawrence in 2014 and 2018. Rob Riggle served as grand marshal of the 2014 parade, another reminder that the homecoming procession has long been one of the most public ways KU has connected campus traditions with the city around it.