Florida Tech Celebrates Homecoming Nov. 1, 2, 3; Many Activities Open to Community

MELBOURNE, FLA.—Florida Institute of Technology welcomes everyone to join alumni, faculty, staff and students as they celebrate Homecoming 2012 Nov. 1-3, “Going for the Gold.” This year’s celebration is poised to outdo homecomings of the past with a concert from The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, an inter-squad football scrimmage and the signature alumni event of the year, the Homecoming Awards Gala.

Homecoming Fest will be on Friday night in Downtown Melbourne with a lively street party featuring food, drinks and a live performance from national headliners The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. The Bosstones are an eight-piece ska band from Boston, most known for their 1997 platinum release “Let’s Face It,” with its single “The Impression That I Get.” This free homecoming concert is sponsored by Florida Tech’s Student Government Association (SGA) and the Florida Tech Alumni Association (FTAA). The party continues from 6 p.m. until midnight. For more information on the Homecoming Fest, contact the Florida Tech SGA at (321) 674-8132 or email sga@fit.edu.

Saturday’s events kick-off with the FTAA Homecoming 5K Run, which begins at 8 a.m. at the Panther Dining Hall. The entire course is on campus. For more information, visit: www.runningzone.com/calendar2. The annual parade starts at 10 a.m. from Ruffner Park on Country Club Road. For more information about the parade contact Christina Anderson at (678)-231-9591.

An intra-squad, full-contact football scrimmage featuring the Florida Tech Panthers begins at 1 p.m. at Panther Field, located at the F.W. Olin Sports Complex on the south end of campus. Seating is limited for the scrimmage.

“This game will be a great opportunity for our students and alumni to get a look at Florida Tech football and for us to show them what they can expect to see when the program officially kicks off next fall,” said Head Football Coach Steve Englehart.

Later that evening, the Homecoming Awards Gala will showcase the very best of Florida Tech’s alumni and honor them with a celebration including drinks, food and live music. Each college within Florida Tech will present their Outstanding Alumni Awards for 2012 and the FTAA will present the GOLD (Graduate of the Last Decade) Award to Chrishanth Fernando ’02. Tom Folliard Jr. ’89, president and CEO of Carmax, will receive the Jerome P. Keuper Distinguished Alumni Award. 

“The gala has grown into the signature event of the year, and we fully expect to sell out again this year. We have really impressive nominees for the awards and have a fun and exciting evening planned,” said FTAA President John Valente.

For more information about the Homecoming Awards Gala and a list of Homecoming Activities, visit http://homecoming.fit.edu.