This year’s Homecoming theme caters to the visitor —

and the visitor’s food.

WKU will face Louisiana-Lafayette’s Ragin’ Cajuns in

the Oct. 22 football game, so the Homecoming Committee decided to

“spice things up” by suggesting a ‘Geaux Toppers!’ theme — WKU’s

take on the popular phrase ‘Geaux Saints!’ used by New Orleans’

Saints fans. Ginny Hensley, director of Alumni Programming and head

of the Homecoming Committee, believes the theme will be familiar to

alumni and students.

A lot of work goes into choosing a Homecoming theme

that students, faculty, and visiting alumni can get excited about,

Hensely said. Some of the planning for the following year begins as

soon as Homecoming ends.

The Homecoming Committee begins by brainstorming 20

to 30 choices and narrowing them down to three or four top picks,

which are then submitted to President Gary Ransdell for approval.

Once approved, the choices go public and on social networking

websites, such as Facebook and Twitter, where voting is open to

anyone, Hensley said.

Another theme, #winning, based on actor Charlie

Sheen’s Twitter rants, almost won. Geaux Toppers! narrowly beat

#winning, by only 3 points, Hensley said, adding that she thought

it was “probably best” that #winning didn’t win.

Activities during the week will have a Cajun theme to

“incorporate the very best of Louisiana” into homecoming

activities.

The Festival of Friends tailgating on Saturday will

include Cajun food to give Toppers and alumni a taste of Louisiana.

One fraternity is even having a Cajun themed beignet

“Heauxmecoming” Breakfast, according to the WKU Alumni Association

website’s schedule of events.

There will also be homecoming events at the

WKU-Glasgow campus, which has the biggest enrollment of the WKU

Regional Campuses. The Alumni Association has scheduled for

WKU-Glasgow students to get a chance to participate in a Chili and

Cheese Luncheon and a pep rally on Tuesday.

Hensley anticipates a positive reaction from everyone

participating in Homecoming Week. She expects that pre-game

tailgating might even be a bigger hit than the game itself.

“Homecoming’s always big,” Hensley said. “It’s a fun

week for everyone. Sometimes it’s a struggle to get people away

from tailgating and into the stands.”