IUP Homecoming Celebrating IUP Sesquicentennial: Special Fifth Quarter Concert With the Clarks, Chris Higbee

Indiana University of Pennsylvania's annual Homecoming celebration on October 4 is expected to draw thousands to Indiana, including for a special event in celebration of IUP's sesquicentennial.

On October 4, IUP's Homecoming celebration will feature a special "Fifth Quarter" concert, featuring Pittsburgh rock favorites-and IUP alumni-the Clarks and special guest Chris Higbee.

The Clarks came together as a group while students at IUP. Scott Blasey and Rob James graduated in 1987; Greg Joseph graduated in 1985, and David Minarik graduated in 1968. Higbee studied music education at IUP and graduated in 2001.

The concert will take place at the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex at 7:00 p.m. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. Tickets are available online on the Kovalchick Complex website and at the door the day of the concert.

In 2004, the Clarks received a Distinguished Alumni Award from IUP (and performed during the awards event). The group also presented a special benefit concert to raise funds for IUP as part of the 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award weekend.

The Clarks continue to credit IUP for their start as a band, and have offered a number of concerts in Indiana, including an IUP Homecoming concert in 2015 and a benefit concert that raised $25,000 for a recording studio in Cogswell Hall, named in the band's honor. Higbee has performed in Indiana and with the Clarks several times at different locations.

"As we celebrate IUP's 150th anniversary, it is especially meaningful to welcome back alumni who have gone on to achieve so much in their musical careers," IUP 150th Anniversary Cochairs Jennifer Dunsmore and Molly Russell said. Dunsmore is IUP's assistant vice president for University Advancement; Russell is IUP's executive director of marketing.

"The 5th Quarter Concert is not just a performance-it's a homecoming of talent, spirit, and pride. These alumni remind us of the incredible legacy of IUP graduates and the lasting impact they continue to make, both here on campus and far beyond," Dunsmore said.

Parade

IUP's Homecoming celebration includes many of the traditional events, including the Homecoming parade on October 4, starting at 10:00 a.m.

With a theme of "IUP Icons," in celebration of IUP's sesquicentennial, the parade will feature more than 90 campus and community units, including following floats by IUP fraternities, sororities, and student organizations:

• Oak Grove - IUP Ambassadors student-alumni group
• Norm - Alpha Gamma Delta sorority, Alpha Sigma Tau sorority, Sigma Chi fraternity
• The Penn - Delta Zeta sorority, Sigma Kappa sorority, Sigma Pi fraternity
• IUP fraternity and sorority life - Alpha Xi Delta sorority, Zeta Tau Alpha sorority, Phi Delta Theta fraternity
• The HUB - Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority, Delta Gamma sorority, Phi Kappa Tau fraternity
• Chalk the Walk - Delta Phi Epsilon sorority, Theta Phi Alpha sorority, Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity
• Kopchick Hall - IUP Pre-Veterinary Club
• State Teachers College at Indiana - Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority, Kappa Sigma fraternity
• Nursing at IUP and Johnson Hall - Alpha Tau Delta nursing society

Vehicles for the floats and dignitaries have been provided by a number of community members and businesses, including Altmeyer's Trailer Sales, Delaney Auto Group, and Penn Mechanical. Floats are being constructed at Mack Park.

The Alumni Association Board of Directors will be featured in the parade, along with Alumni Association Board President Mary Morgan, of Indiana, a 1991 graduate. Morgan, a 2023 recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award for Service, retired from a 30-year career at IUP that culminated with her role as assistant vice president for Alumni and Friends. She touched thousands of alumni in the course of her work, maintaining traditions and creating new and innovative ways for alumni to stay connected with IUP. She was largely responsible for the creation and growth of the IUP Ambassadors, IUP's award-winning student-alumni organization, now in its thirty-second year. This group of outstanding student leaders continues to serve as a link between prospective students, current students, administrators, faculty members, alumni, and friends of IUP, working to engage alumni and current students with campus life and make students more aware of their potential roles as IUP alumni.

The parade will start at 11th and Philadelphia streets and travel east to Sixth and Philadelphia streets, south on Sixth Street to Church Street, west on Church Street to Oakland Avenue, and southwest on Oakland Avenue to 11th Street, where the parade will disband. All motor-driven floats will continue southwest on Oakland Avenue to the Robertshaw building for disassembly.

Immediately following the parade, student volunteers from IUP's fraternity and sorority life and members of the Indiana Senior High School varsity hockey team will clean the parade route.

Four float prizes will be given: first prize of $1,000, sponsored by the IUP Alumni Association; second prize of $900, sponsored by Aramark; third place of $800, cosponsored by the Student Government Association and the offices of Student Leadership and Student Inclusion; and fourth prize of $700, sponsored by University Advancement.

Parade judges this year are Peter Broad, representing Indiana Borough Council; Sam Kenly, representing Downtown Indiana Inc.; Cate Planisky, community representative and 1993 IUP graduate; James Rickard, community representative, local artist, and 2006 IUP graduate; Curt Scheib, dean of the College of Fine Arts, Humanities, Media, and Public Affairs, a 1977 IUP graduate; Patricia Simmons of Indiana, a 1972 IUP graduate; and Indiana business owner Quintina Thomas, a 2011 IUP graduate.

In addition to the IUP Marching Band, the parade will feature marching bands from area high schools: Indiana, Homer-Center, Marion Center, Penns Manor, Purchase Line, River Valley, and United.

Crimson Court

Now in its fifteenth year at IUP, the Crimson Court will take part in all university Homecoming activities, including the parade. The Crimson Court consists of students chosen by a university-wide vote to represent each of the colleges at IUP. To qualify for the court, students must have junior or senior standing, at least a 3.0 cumulative grade-point average, and be in good judicial standing.

IUP's 2025 Crimson Court