Feel the Teal Homecoming Weekend kicks off Feb. 4 with alumni, family and friends coming to UNCW from all over the nation.

“We have experienced steady growth in alumni interest over the past three years and are excited about hosting a great schedule of programs and events that appeal to alumni of varying age and interest,” said Robert McInturf, director of Alumni Relations.

UNCW Alumni Relations will be hosting several spirited events, including various alumni receptions, a TEALgate pregame party and an alumni homecoming celebration.

“Each year homecoming grows, which we are excited about,” said Crystal George, marketing and communications coordinator in the Alumni Relations office. “The day with all our reunions and socials can be very hectic and tiring with our alumni staff starting the day at 8 a.m. and not resting until after midnight.”

Free alumni receptions for graduates of the various departments on campus will be hosted throughout the day Saturday, Feb. 4. For more specific information, visit www.uncw.edu/homecoming.

“Some of the academic affiliated alumni receptions are new and will be smaller but will grow each year. Others like the Communication Studies, Cameron School, Watson School and AAGA alumni receptions are more established and will have larger attendance,” said McInturf. “The SGA and Honors College alumni receptions are new this year but we expect those to be very well attended.”

“Meeting alumni who have traveled long distances to attend homecoming, or some who haven’t been back to campus for a while and are seeing new buildings for the first time are my favorite parts of the day,” said George.

Beginning at 4:30 p.m. outside of Trask Coliseum there will be a pregame TEALgate party before the men’s basketball game. This event has been hosted for five years and is the only alumni event featured that has a charge for admission.

Alumni, friends and family are invited to attend, and online registration should be completed by Jan. 29. Adult tickets range from $15 for TEALgate admission to $25, which includes admission to the TEALgate party and a game ticket.

“As a UNCW graduate, homecoming is one of my favorite times of the year. The TEALgate gives alumni a chance to come back to campus, sometimes for the first time since they have graduated and feel the energy of UNCW during game time,” said Lauren Scott, assistant director of Freshmen Admissions.

“Throughout the course of the day, we expect between 400-500 alumni with their friends and families in attendance, filling the circus-sized tent that is erected next to the tennis courts,” said George. “During the TEALgate, we provide dinner, dessert, drinks, as well as beer and wine for those of age, games, giveaways, and speakers such as Coach Buzz Peterson address the crowd.”

“When alumni gather at the TEALgate, they reconnect with professors, deans, fellow students and friends whose paths they haven’t crossed in a while. You see UNCW shirts that you didn’t realize the bookstore ever made, you hear stories about how UNCW was ‘back then’ and you talk about how jealous you are of the current student body,” said Scott.

The men’s basketball game begins at 7 p.m.

The homecoming parade will begin at 4:30 p.m. and feature, among others, the Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients: Distinguished Alumnus of the Year, Shanda Bordeaux ’92; Young Alumnus of the Year, Justin Queen ’04; and Citizen of the Year, Ann Sherman-Skiba.

Following the game, a homecoming celebration will be held in the Burney Center for those who wish to attend. Food, refreshments and live entertainment featuring the Schoolboys Band will be provided.

Also hosted by the Alumni Relations office is the Where’s Sammy? promotion. Students, alumni, faculty and staff are eligible to participate and are instructed to take a photograph with Sammy and submit it to the UNCW or alumni Facebook page or Twitter feed to be entered to win a flip camcorder. The drawing will take place after homecoming weekend. More information can be found at http://www.uncw.edu/alumni/wheressammy.html.

“Giving alumni an opportunity to visit the campus where they made life-long friends and built the foundation for their careers makes all the hard work we put into it worth it,” said George. “It’s a campus-wide effort to host homecoming so when that time of year comes, it’s a campus-wide celebration.”

Others, like UNCW graduate and employee Lauren Scott, feel the same spirit of celebration that George does. “Homecoming and TEALgate is more than taking time to get excited for the basketball game. For me, it is about reconnecting and reflecting with friends about how much UNCW meant and still means to us today,” said Scott.