Homecoming

2020 Parade Information

The 2020 Homecoming Parade is set for Friday, Oct. 16,

2020 Homecoming Parade Committee

Parade Route Map

Parade Entry Form

Parade Liability Regulations & Waiver

Golf Cart Usage Regulations Form (Student Orgs Only)

Parade Emcee Information

Student and Community Entries

The parade is a great way to bring together the university, its alumni and community to celebrate the past, present and future of UNI. Contact Homecoming Parade Director Eric Ramos with any questions.

NOTE:  All student orgs will need to provide their own cardboard for float building this year!  

Limited supplies will be provided and available to student organizations building floats: tag board, zip ties, painter’s tape, cardboard, TempraPaint, foam paint brushes, scissors, tape measure, yard stick, string, staple guns and duct tape (for cardboard), paper rotary rack (20 rolls), permanent markers, wire cutters, rubber cement, markers, exacto knife and blades, plastic tarps.

This year student orgs will pick up their supplies at the Mandatory Parade Meeting.  The additional supplies not in your parade box will be available the week of homecoming.

Additional supplies that student organizations may want to bring: extra cardboard, streamers, chicken wire, tissue paper, colored napkins, fringe, pipe cleaners, battery operated lights, wrapping paper, yarn, balloons, foil, stencils, floral, garland.

NOTE: Duct tape cannot be used to tape anything to the golf carts. No painting the actual golf cart. Items can be pre-painted and attached to cart.

Standard two-seat golf cart dimensions: length = 94.5" / width = 47" / height = 45.7" / height with canopy/suntop = 68.5"

2019 Parade Marshal: Jim & Bonnie Raasch

September 29-October 5, the University of Northern Iowa will celebrate 100 years of Homecoming. Leading the festivities will be parade grand marshals Jim and Bonnie Raasch. The Cedar Rapids couple is a mainstay in the UNI-Dome and at other Panther athletic events.

Both alumni of UNI, the couple met shortly after Jim graduated in August of 1971. Bonnie was student teaching in Clear Lake that fall and drove back to campus with friends for the first football game of the season. She was introduced to Jim by a friend that weekend. She graduated in January of 1972. They married in 1973.

After graduation, Bonnie accepted a job as a school library for Marion Independent Schools, where she spent her career. Jim retired from the Iowa Department of Transportation after 21 years as an auditor.

Shortly after they married, the UNI-Dome opened.

“The dome opened on a lot of people giving a small amount of money. We were two of those people. We didn’t give a large amount, but it was a good way to start. We’ve had season tickets ever since. We decided it would be pretty nice to be inside for football, and it still is today,” Bonnie recalls with a laugh.

Since the UNI-Dome opened in 1976, the pair has only missed four home football games.

“We missed one in the ‘70s, I had two [military] reunions and then I had knee surgery,” recalls Jim.

Over the years, the couple has taken to adopting players, becoming a second family to some student-athletes whose own families couldn’t travel to the games.

“We never had children of our own, so we decided it was fun to get to know the players and sort of adopt them as the kids we never had,” says Bonnie. “That support just kept going through all the years.”

Athletes and parents alike know the couple when they go down on the field after a UNI win. When Jim welcomes new student-athletes, he always makes sure to stress the importance of their education.

“When I go down there, I always welcome them to the UNI family,” says Jim. “Then I tell them to get their diploma—that’s why we give scholarship support.”

The Raasches have established three Panther Champions scholarships in addition to supporting the university in other ways.

Homecoming weekend Jim and Bonnie will be roaming campus, connecting with friends.

“The whole purpose of Homecoming is to come back, to visit and see people you knew from then and maybe between years, too. That’s what Homecoming is all about,” says Bonnie.

Come kickoff at UNI’s 100th Homecoming celebration, you will find Jim and Bonnie in the same seats they’ve occupied since the Dome opened its doors, ready to cheer on the Panthers.

“No matter the opponent or the game, it’s still a thrill to see that garage door open,” Bonnie said.