More than a place, always a home: Generations of Scots celebrate Homecoming 2026
By Steve Wildsmith \ Nov. 3, 2026
Some victories aren’t measured on a scoreboard, and beneath the brilliant blue skies of a picture-perfect East Tennessee autumn afternoon, generations of Maryville College Scots discovered them Saturday in the familiar faces, old friendships and forever memories that have, for more than two centuries, made College Hill feel like home for those who spend some of the most important years of their lives here.
The Scots may not have emerged victorious from their Homecoming football game against Berry College, but the 27-7 final score did little to dampen the spirits of the almost 9,000 fans who filled Lloyd L. Thornton Stadium and its surrounding grounds, where tailgating tents, jubilant reunions and the easy camaraderie of relationships born during a transformational age turned Saturday afternoon into a celebration of something far more enduring than a football game.
Whether they were Scots by diploma or association, those who filled the stately grounds of this grand old institution on Saturday expressed a common sentiment: Few places mean as much or feel more familiar than College Hill. Some alumni returned for the first time, while others haven’t missed a single Homecoming since graduation; current students basked in the traditions they’ll one day inherit; and faculty and friends who consider themselves Scots regardless of a degree all embraced what Homecoming 2026 represented: A familiar invitation to reconnect with the people, places and experiences that continue to shape their lives.
And while the reasons for returning were as varied as the generations represented, the answers to one overarching question — what makes Maryville College feel like home? — revealed a remarkable common thread.
“It’s the community. It’s the memories. It’s the energy of being here as the leaves turn and being able to walk around and know that you’re connected to every person on this campus through this special place,” said Jennifer Phillips Triplett ’07, director of Alumni Affairs and the primary organizer of the weekend’s festivities. “You know you have that in common with each other, and that you will find community wherever you are, whether you’re on campus or not.”
For President Dr. Bryan Coker, the enthusiastic turnout reflected a devotion to the College that transcends the passing years. This year marked his seventh Homecoming, and he was just as humbled by the overwhelming amount of orange and garnet and the fervent displays of school spirit as he was in his early tenure.
“You just can’t beat the spirit of this,” Coker said shortly after the Scots Walk, when members of the Maryville College Football team made the trek from McArthur Pavilion to the Cooper Athletic Center, threading their way through a throng of enthusiastic fans.
“While I personally attended a Presbyterian college on the other side of the state, I often say that ‘my heart is here in the Highlands,’” Coker added. “For me, Homecoming is a reminder of my ‘why’ when it comes to serving as the College’s president. From our current students to the alumni celebrating their 60th reunions, the love for this institution is on full display, and there’s simply nothing like it.”
A place where the years fall away
For Andrea Worley McBryar ’04, Homecoming is less an annual event than a standing appointment with people who have remained central to her life since graduation. She’s attended every Homecoming since earning her degree, and her husband, Adam, who didn’t attend MC, has accompanied her to all but one. Their devotion to tradition has become a familiar subject of conversation at home, particularly because he marvels at the strength of her connection to her alma mater.
“He’s said to me so many times, ‘Nobody has a connection to their College the way that you do with your friends,'” McBryar recalled. “Literally, it is coming home. We just love this place.”
Her longtime friend and classmate Christie Latimer Knapper ’04, who serves on the Alumni Association Board of Directors, agreed, pointing to the unusually strong bonds among members of the Class of 2004 and the shared values that brought them together in the first place.
“I think part of it is the people they attract here, the things they find important and the people they attract who share those values,” Knapper said, adding with a laugh that the Class of 2004 has a particularly strong record of winning the annual Homecoming Spirit Award … one created by the class as well, she added with a grin.
For Sheridan “Dan” Greaser ’60, a former member of the College’s Board of Directors and a longtime benefactor, returning to campus offers something more profound than the chance to revisit old friends and remember old times. It’s an opportunity to rediscover a part of himself, he pointed out.
“You’re here for four years, and during that time, your experiences really are developmental,” Greaser said. “You don’t start from scratch, but you add a lot in those four years, and that becomes part of you. It becomes part of your culture.”
As fans filled the stands and spilled out onto the grass surrounding Honaker Field, Greaser was joined at the President’s Tent near the Cooper-side end zone by Management Professor Emeritus Dr. John Gallagher, whose relationship with the College began long before he joined the faculty. In the early 1980s, Gallagher regularly brought his young daughter to campus for Appalachian Ballet Company rehearsals, wandering the grounds or attending football games while she practiced for performances of “The Nutcracker.”
Back then, he couldn’t envision that he would eventually spend 24 years teaching on the campus that was such a familiar part of his family’s routine, he said.
“I couldn’t imagine a better environment to teach undergraduate students than here,” Gallagher said. “I couldn’t imagine a better group of people to work with than my faculty colleagues, and I couldn’t imagine that I would develop the kinds of relationships with students that I have.”
Ultimately, he said, those relationships explain why the College remains so special.
“It’s mostly people,” he added. “There’s an awful lot of really good, positive, energetic, optimistic people here, and they believe in what they’re doing.”
Roots that run deep
For some Homecoming 2026 visitors, the connection to Maryville College dates back not just decades, but generations. Former Blount County Mayor Ed Mitchell, who retired in September, attended Saturday’s festivities with his son Josh and grandson Mason, a prospective Maryville College student-athlete whose recruitment brought three generations of the Mitchell family back to familiar ground.
Mitchell’s father, Marvin Mitchell ’48, captained the Scots’ undefeated 1946 football team that went on to compete in the inaugural Jan. 1, 1947, Tangerine Bowl (now the Citrus Bowl); earned All-American recognition; and became the first member of his family to graduate from college … or advance past the third grade, for that matter, Mitchell said.
“Maryville College is a huge part of what we are in Blount County – not just Maryville, but the whole county,” Mitchell said. “It’s kind of close to my heart. Dad coached up here in the ’50s, and we lived over on Stanley Street. Whenever dad was up here, I was over here, running around this College the whole time I was growing up, so I sort of feel like I’m coming home when I come up here.”
John Morgan ’96, owner of Broadway Barber Shop on West Broadway Avenue near Maryville High School, understands well that connection to family and place. His father, Otis Morgan, attended Maryville College and played football after returning from military service in Korea, and his son remembers accompanying him to games as early as the mid-1970s.
Rather than watching from the stadium seats, the two often settled onto a nearby hillside, sharing a view of the game and a tradition that would eventually become part of Morgan’s own identity. After four years of his own military service, Morgan followed his father to Maryville College, where he played baseball. Today, he sees his own children as the next generation in a family whose history has been shaped by the institution.
“I own the oldest barber shop in Blount County, so I know what tradition means and being able to pass that tradition down to future generations,” Morgan said. “My father passed it on to me. I’ve got to be able to pass my business and my legacy down to my kids.”
The familiar sights and sounds of Homecoming have evolved considerably since the days when he watched games from the hillside, added Morgan, his tailgate tent set up on the other side of the fence from the stadium, but the growing celebration has only deepened the opportunities for alumni to reconnect.
“Today I’ll see a lot of guys that I haven’t seen in 20 or 30 years,” he said, watching family members prepare pans of food, pour drinks for guests, tend to an accompanying dog and prepare for a tradition he honors at every Saturday home game in the fall. “These are people who have gone on and become leaders in whatever profession they have chosen.”
For brothers Wayne Kramer ’74 and Lloyd Kramer ’71, the ties are similarly enduring. Their grandfather, Dr. Ralph Waldo Lloyd 1915, served as president of Maryville College from 1930 to 1961, making the campus part of their childhoods long before they enrolled as students, and ensuring that the combined Lloyd/Kramer legacy left an indelible mark on College Hill.
“So many of my core values were either reaffirmed or created here, and I have carried them forward forever,” said Wayne, an attorney and member of the College’s Board of Directors. “Every time I’m back on this campus, I feel like I’m at home, and I feel the reaffirmation of those things in life that are foundationally important.”
For Lloyd, a professor emeritus whose career has been devoted to education, the College’s influence is inseparable from the intellectual curiosity instilled by faculty members who opened his eyes to literature, philosophy and so many other liberal arts principles that became pillars of his professional life.
“This feels like home to me because of friendships and family connections, but because it was also where I first encountered teachers who taught me about history and philosophy and literature and gave me the intellectual foundation that I could carry out into the world,” he said. “And that remains with me now.”
The friendships that become family
Not every bond forged at Maryville College stretches across generations. Some begin with a roommate who started out as a stranger, a demanding professor who became a mentor, a football game that ended in an iconic win, or an unexpected invitation to become part of something bigger.
Former Scots football players Joshua Campbell ’17 and Bryce Ruis ’17 returned Saturday with plenty of stories from their undergraduate days, although they were quick to acknowledge that a few adventures were probably best left untold.
“There’s too many stories to tell,” Campbell said. “We were roommates, too. Carnegie Hall was home for three years.”
“The College Woods!” Ruis jumped in.
“Two Doors!” Campbell replied, both of them bursting into laughter and reaffirming a silent pact that certain stories remain between pals.
But beneath the good-natured laughter lay a deeper appreciation for the people who helped them navigate the transition to college life. Ruis, a Florida native who came to Maryville College to play football and now teaches at Heritage High School, credited faculty members with helping him discover a sense of belonging when he considered leaving during his freshman year.
“I had Dr. Sherry Kasper (who taught economics at MC from 1990 to 2016), and she was my guardian angel here,” he said. “I invited her to my wedding. That woman probably is the person who turned this school around for me, because my freshman year I thought I was done. She invested in me.”
Campbell, a Biology major, recalled his own early academic struggles and the professors whose courses were challenging but whose patience and persistence helped him discover new interests and develop confidence in his abilities.
“The small classes made a huge difference,” he said.
Those relationships have remained equally important for Javon Crane ’22, a former basketball player who now works as a financial advisor and serves on the Alumni Association Board. As a student, Crane knew the College as a place of academic and athletic opportunity, but his senior year, during an internship with Northwestern Mutual that became an employment opportunity after graduation, he began to meet MC alumni who helped open doors for him. After earning his degree and entering the professional world, he came to fully appreciate the network of relationships that would continue to support him.
“As soon as I graduated, it’s like the whole alumni gates opened up,” he said. “You think of your professors and coaches as professors and coaches, but then you start thinking, ‘Hey, these can be lifelong relationships I can build with them when I graduate.'”
That sense of brotherhood also brought former football teammates Taylor Thomas ’23 and Brock Skelton ’24 back to campus, where they reunited after last seeing each other at the previous year’s Homecoming. For Thomas, who now works in real estate, and Skelton, who is studying for a master’s in mental health psychology at Austin Peay State University, the annual event offers a chance to turn back the clock, if only for a few hours, and revel in the glory of being brothers on the gridiron in those days.
“Playing football is a community, a brotherhood,” Thomas said. “You get to see each other once a year because we’re all doing our own thing, in the corporate world and professional life. So coming back is about sharing a moment.”
Their favorite memories naturally include Saturdays on the football field, particularly victories over conference rivals Berry and Huntingdon, but their reasons for returning extend well beyond the game itself.
“Seeing the fellas makes it feel like home,” Skelton said. “That’s why we come back.”
New generations, familiar feelings
For current students, Saturday’s celebration offered a taste of the traditions and the relationships that will one day bring them back as alumni. Some, like Ella Reyes ’26 – who participated in Commencement ceremonies in May but will complete her degree in December – are already nostalgic for the memories they’ll carry with them. Reyes finds herself occupying an unusual place between the undergraduate experience and the alumni community she’s preparing to join.
“It’s a weird feeling, especially because I already walked, and now I’m here,” Reyes said. “I’m kind of an alum, kind of not. I’m in between, but it’s fun.”
A former volleyball player and Bonner Scholar, Reyes said her sense of belonging emerged early on through the opportunities to participate in campus life and contribute to the community.
“In my freshman year, I was trying to get involved in different things,” she said. “Seeing how everyone wanted to be part of the community, and how you could be involved in so many different things, that’s when it first really hit me. I just wanted to contribute back to this place because it’s given so much to me.”
For senior Eden Carnes ’26, Homecoming 2026 carried special significance as she prepared to represent her class during the halftime Homecoming Court presentation. Standing outside the stadium in a plum-colored dress, Carnes reflected on an experience she never had growing up as a homeschooled student.
“This is my first time ever getting to do anything like this, and it just really feels like such an honor to be able to represent the College as a whole in this way,” she said.
Her relationship with Maryville College, however, began long before her first year. She first performed at the Clayton Center for the Arts when she was 6 years old, and although she initially imagined attending college elsewhere, a campus tour convinced her that she had found the right place.
“I really didn’t expect to end up here at Maryville, but then I took a tour, and it was like all my dreams came true,” Carnes said. “Everyone is super friendly. There’s a lot of heritage here, and it feels true to my Appalachian upbringing to go to school in a place where that history is so important.”
Carnes hopes to return regularly after graduation, with ambitions to someday give back to the College as generously as others have invested in her education.
Fellow senior Homecoming Court representative Ashton Hensley ’26, who was equally surprised and delighted by his nomination, said the relationships he’s developed over the past four years have transformed his College experience.
“You know all your professors, you know all your friends, and all of the staff here get to know you on a first-name basis,” Hensley said. “Everybody makes sure you feel included. If you need help, you ask for help, and they’ll help you. This has been my family for four years now.”
The halftime celebration recognized class representatives from across campus and culminated in the announcement of Emma Lowery ’26 and Michel Gonzalez ’26 as the College’s 2026 Senior Homecoming Royalty honorees.
A community beyond College Hill
That feeling of belonging is hardly limited to those who have earned a Maryville College diploma. Throughout the campus on Saturday, from the Scot-Land area with children’s activities and a chance to pet Nibblet, the miniature horse and unofficial College mascot, to the Mountain Challenge Alpine Tower at Crawford House … from the lines at the food trucks to the entreaties of children for candy from Homecoming Parade participants … there was a familiar warmth in the air that wasn’t just because of the balmy weather. Smiles were plastered to every face, shouts across parking lots heralded old friend sightings, and the sparkles, accessories and new wardrobe selections by fashion-conscious women of all ages made Homecoming 2026 one like so many others … which is exactly how alums and Scots supporters alike wanted it to be.
Blount County Commissioner Shannon Effler, who attended Saturday’s tailgating festivities as a guest at Morgan’s tent, described the afternoon as a reminder of the close-knit community spirit that has long distinguished Maryville and Blount County. Her daughter enjoyed face painting and the excitement of greeting football players, and Effler found herself reflecting on how much such simple traditions matter in a community experiencing significant growth.
“I didn’t even go to Maryville College, but just to be in our community on a beautiful day like this, with all this great food and all these people so excited, it just feels so hometown,” Effler said. “It feels like Maryville. It feels like what we’ve grown up in and what we’ve been around our whole lives. It reminds me that even with all this crazy growth, there’s still a part of us left here, and we can still be a part of it.”
For Dr. Jennifer Oody, associate professor of exercise science and chair of the Division of Health Sciences and Outdoor Studies, the opportunity to see alumni old and young return year after year is among the most rewarding aspects of working at the College. Although she didn’t attend MC herself, Oody has been a member of the faculty since 2016 and has come to regard the campus as home.
“I love seeing how much school spirit people have after 30, 40, 50 years,” she said. “It’s so much fun to engage with all of the alumni coming back and hearing their stories about the things they remember and the things they’ve forgotten.”
Asked what makes the College feel like home, her answer was immediate.
“The people make it feel like home,” she said. “I’ve never met a stranger on this campus. I love the people. That’s my favorite part, and it’s why I’ve been here so long.”
For Dr. Katie Stephenson McCarthy, who joined the faculty this year, the feeling is still developing, but the welcome has been unmistakable.
“I love how welcoming it is,” she said. “I feel that (Homecoming) is well thought out to be really inclusive. We have things for kids to do, and we have things that adults might want to do. Although I haven’t been here very long, I won’t say it feels like home yet, but I will say it feels very welcoming and very inclusive.”
Her sentiment spoke to the broader purpose of Homecoming, this year and every year: welcoming longtime friends and newcomers alike into a community whose history continues to be written by those who embrace it.
For Triplett, the weekend offered opportunities to honor that history while showcasing the accomplishments of current students, including a student Homecoming art exhibit that drew considerable interest from returning alumni, she said.
“We want to show off the accomplishments of current students and ensure that alumni see that the legacy they started is continuing through our current students,” she said.
Not a word to be used casually, “legacy” is often the right descriptor for Homecoming at Maryville College. After all, it was evident throughout the weekend, from Friday’s Founder’s Day ceremonies and alumni honors to Saturday’s reunions, festivities and football game, as generations of Scots rediscovered familiar corners of campus, celebrated old friendships and forged new connections.
And when the tailgating tents came down, the crowds dispersed and another Homecoming passed into memory, the answer to the question that had echoed across College Hill throughout the day seemed less elusive than it first appeared.
Home, after all, isn’t simply the buildings, the beautiful autumn scenery or the traditions that draw thousands of people together for a weekend.
It’s the people who make those places matter, the relationships that endure after Commencement, and the knowledge that, however far life might lead after stepping off of College Hill, a part of each Scot will always remain in this sacred place. As Greaser observed earlier in the day, returning to Maryville College, whether it’s after a semester or 60 years, offers a chance to rediscover something that never really disappeared … but is often elusive until he and his fellow alumni return to that place where “Chilhowee’s lofty mountains pierce the Southern blue.”
“The good thing about coming back to Maryville College is that somehow you re-identify,” he said. “You say, ‘Oh, that’s right. That’s a part of me.’ And it’s a really great feeling.”
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Maryville College is a nationally ranked institution of higher learning and one of America’s oldest colleges. For more than 200 years, we’ve educated students to be giving citizens and gifted leaders, to study everything, so that they are prepared for anything — to address any problem, engage with any audience and launch successful careers right away. Located in Maryville, Tennessee, between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the city of Knoxville, Maryville College offers nearly 1,200 students from around the world both the beauty of a rural setting and the advantages of an urban center, as well as 70 majors, seven pre-professional programs and career preparation from their first day on campus to their last. Today, our 10,000 alumni are living life strong of mind and brave of heart and are prepared, in the words of our Presbyterian founder, to “do good on the largest possible scale.”