Homecoming
There's no place like home
It's the best time of the year: Homecoming at Bemidji State brings out students, alumni and school spirit like none other. BSU goes all out for Homecoming, and it's not hard to see why.
The lake jump:
Homecoming headliner
One of the best college football traditions takes place at one of the most beautiful settings in the country. It's a match made in heaven.
There is a tradition at Bemidji State that the majority of college campuses in the nation physically can’t adopt. Being one of just a handful of college football fields with a lake as its neighbor, the Beavers have a homecoming victory tradition like no other. After a Homecoming win, gear and all, the BSU players and coaches celebrate by taking a dip into Lake Bemidji, splashing around and singing the school song.
The first Homecoming at Bemidji Teachers College was held Oct. 6, 1927. Until 1931, Homecoming was a biennial affair. In that year, the demands of the alumni – eager for this season of reunion – changed it to an annual celebration with all the traditional dinners, teas, parades, dances, bonfires and football games.
During the 1993 season, the Beavers were off to an 0-4 start. In an attempt to motivate the team and the campus for Homecoming, graduate assistant coach Frank Haege wrote a faux postgame recap of the upcoming game between Bemidji State and Southwest State. The article included accounts of how the defense dammed the Mustangs and how the offense executed with precision. Haege also added that, after the victory, the Beavers jumped into Lake Bemidji in a fit of jubilation! Haege and others posted the article around campus during the week leading up to Homecoming.
As it happened, the Beavers went on to lose that Homecoming game 35-8 and never did win a game that season, finishing 0-10. There were further threats of jumping into the lake if the Beavers won Homecoming the following year, but BSU lost to Moorhead 33-6 in 1994.
Finally, in perhaps Bemidji State’s best effort during the Kris Diaz era, the Beavers beat defending conference champion Winona State 24-14 on Homecoming in 1995. Off went the helmets, and into Lake Bemidji went the players and coaches. Everything went in – shoes, equipment, jerseys and all. A tradition was born.
Before that jump in the lake, Bemidji State was just 1-26 in their past 27 games. But after that victory over Winona State, the Beavers went on to beat Minnesota Morris and Northern State for their first three-game winning streak in over a decade.
Since 1995, BSU has been celebrating victories in its annual Homecoming football game with a postgame lake jump into the waters of Lake Bemidji, which borders Chet Anderson Stadium on the east.
1995: The lake jump that started it all
Watch the lake jump
It's the best tradition in college football. Watch the Beavers jump into Lake Bemidji – then make plans to witness it from the shoreline next year.
Cheer through the years
Ever since 1927, Beavers have flocked to campus for Homecoming. Here's how it's looked over the years.
Homecoming buttons
In a bygone era, before the digital world took over, buttons were a big part of campus – especially surrounding Homecoming festivities. Here's how many of them looked, perfectly crafted to cheer on our Beavers each year.
