University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
HOMECOMING Fan Feature: Jeffrey George
10/18/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Jeffrey George spent a lot of time during his undergrad dedicated to making HOMECOMING spectacular for everyone involved at Southern Miss.
George had been around Southern Miss before his freshman year, but his first taste of HOMECOMING came in 2012, as he was involved with SGA as a freshman.
“[I] got the opportunity to really help with everything that happened during HOMECOMING that year,” George said. “We had the opportunity to be at those events, work them and help set them up during HOMECOMING weekend and helping with the parade.”
George’s fraternity was another avenue for him to get involved. He spent time, along with his brothers, preparing floats, decorating floats and guarding the floats. These activities involved so many people and George liked how he was able to get to know so many people. Pi Kappa Phi also held their parents weekend in conjunction with HOMECOMING so George’s parents were able to take in the festivities as well.
George’s involvement with SGA during his sophomore year, in 2013, took him to other events, but he still found time to be involved. He was also a part of a group of students that planned something special for the football team.
“We came up with this idea for a flash mob,” George said. “ Everyone met by the fountain at the center of campus and from there we had signs, noisemakers, all kinds of things, and we filed into the south end zone. We had a unified group walk out onto the field cheering for the football team and supporting them. It really brought the student body together with the football team.”
The football team had been having a hard season but George said that the flash mob showed the strength of the student fan base and that they were there for the team no matter what.
George’s involvement in HOMECOMING ramped up after sophomore year when he was elected as SGA President. “You get to see it all come together and, from the sidelines, watch our student body come out and support,” George said.
He also wanted to make sure that there was more to HOMECOMING more than just the football game. The parade was moved from downtown to campus and other on campus activities for students and alumni came about. George’s favorite HOMECOMING memory comes from escorting the HOMECOMING Queen throughout the parade, Eagle Walk and onto the field.
“HOMECOMING is about supporting the University and showing how much you love the University. It is an opportunity to see what is happening at Southern Miss. It’s an opportunity to reconnect with those who went to Southern Miss and care about Southern Miss and show them that we’re moving forward and doing big things here. Our athletic teams are successful, we’re successful academically and we’re successful with what we’re doing in research.”
George graduated with a BA in Political Science and a minor in Marketing in April of this year. He is now a graduate assistant at the Trent Lott National Center for Economic Development and Entrepreneurship researching economic development in the state of Mississippi.
