This weekend marks a first for Missouri Southern with the innaugural Family Weekend Oct. 13-15.

“Many universities have a family weekend,” said Liz Scheurich, bookstore coordinatior. “We just have a great opportunity to bring families to campus and to be able to do it during Homecoming.”

According to Elisa Bryant, alumni relations coordinator, scheduling for the weekend is being done by trial and error.

“The first time we are kind of going on the schedule of Homecoming events,” she said.

Family Weekend starts today with parents having an opportunity to attend classes with students. A homecoming picnic will take place on the oval from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., with the coronation of Homecoming royalty at noon.

The afternoon will include tours of the campus for family members at 1:30 p.m. and home soccer games at Hal Bodon Field. The men host West Texas A&M in Southwest Soccer Conference play at 5 p.m., and the women host University of Central Missouri in MIAA conference play at 7 p.m.

Friday night’s activities conclude with a movie behind the residence halls at 7:30 p.m.

“We’ll be showing the movie Click,” Scheurich said. “There will be popcorn, candy and sodas. They can bring blankets and chairs if they want. If it’s raining, we’ll probably move the movie inside.”

Saturday morning kicks off with the Hall of Fame Brunch on the third floor of the Billingsly Student Center. The brunch starts at 9:30 a.m. and costs $8 for alumni members and $10 for non-alumni members. This year’s inductees are Ginger (Daniel) LaNye, Richard Jordan, Jeff Kilbane, James Thrash and Debbie Williams.

The Homecoming parade begins at 11:30 a.m. with a tailgate party by Zimmer Radio Group at 12:30 p.m. The Lions have a 2 p.m. kickoff at Fred G. Hughes Stadium against the Missouri Western State University Griffons. A coronation ceremony for the homecoming royalty will take place at halftime.

The weekend concludes with soccer action at Bodon Field with women’s action against Truman State at 1 p.m. and men’s action against Eastern New Mexico at 3 p.m.

“We looked into parents being able to stay on campus, but it just isn’t possible,” Schuerich said. “We have a package with Ramada Inn in place so they can stay for $55 and for those who are flying in, there is an arrangement has been made with Enterprise Car Rental.”

Although some may disagree with the choice of weekends for Family Weekend, Schuerich thinks this weekend is as good as any.

“The most spirit on campus seems to be during Homecoming, and with all the activities going on it helps to provide more for families,” she said.