As Butch Loveall was crowned Homecoming king Oct. 11, he didn’t wave to a girlfriend or a bunch of his buddies in the stands.

He waved to his wife and three children. Loveall, senior secondary education major, is 35 years old and a family man.

“It was great hearing my name get called out,” Loveall said. “It was fun being a celebrity for a day.”

Loveall, a member with the Kinesiology Club, didn’t take the Homecoming nomination seriously when fellow club members nominated him.

“It was really funny, but at the same time I was honored,” Loveall said. “They wanted me to run and represent the club.”

Southern’s Homecoming queen for the year is Jaime Green, another Kinesiology Club member.

“I thought they were teasing when the club nominated me,” Green said. “I was shocked.”

Julie Blackford, director of student activities, said 704 students voted for this year’s event.

Last year about 500 students voted.

“I thought Homecoming went really well this year,” Blackford said. “Students were a little hesitant about the Western theme, but they had fun with it.”

Although campaigning for votes wasn’t a high priority, Green and Loveall set out together and made posters. They purchased candy with promotional advertising messages taped on the wrappers as well.

Green, a student assistant in the residence halls, had help from several of McCormick Hall’s residents.

“Those girls got the word out,” Loveall said.

At the big game, Loveall had his children and wife Julie at the ceremony. Four-year-old Josiah walked out with Loveall in a lion’s outfit.

“The kids were just as excited as I was,” he said.

Julie Loveall said Homecoming was an amazing day for her husband and the family.

“It doesn’t make sense that a homecoming king is 35 years old and going back to school,” Julie Loveall said. “But it does make sense for him being homecoming king when you think of what type of guy he is.”

During the ceremony, she said, her husband continually looked over to her and her children with excitement. After the crowning was over, she was overwhelmed.

“When it was over he sat by me,” she said. “He wasn’t so caught up in the moment that he forgot about his family – I was proud.”

It was also a special day for Green. Being a secondary education major with an emphasis in physical education, Green said she spends almost all of her time in Leggett & Platt. She said she’s surprised that so many people voted for her.

“It was just a compliment to be in the top five,” Green said.

Although she wasn’t nervous walking onto the football field for the crown, she said it was still a special moment.

“I never thought in my wildest dreams I thought I would be nominated,” she said. “It says a lot that a lot of your peers respect you.”