Homecoming weekend at Wayne State University holds the promise of new excitement this year. To generate additional enthusiasm for the annual return-to-campus weekend, Oct. 12-13, the university has added some new wrinkles, packed more events into the schedule and is putting additional focus on spirit-building activities.

New this year is the Warrior Homecoming Parade and Cruise, which will feature a color guard, five high school marching bands, a Detroit Fire Department engine and more than two dozen cars decorated by various WSU fraternities and sororities. The parade gets under way at 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 13, from the corner of Cass and Palmer on campus. From there the route is east on Palmer to Woodward, south to Warren, west to the Lodge Freeway Service Drive and north to WSU Stadium.

Grand marshals for the parade will be WSU alumnus and State Representative David Woodward and Sarah McLaren, president of the WSU Alumni Association. Bands from the following high schools will participate: Cass Technical; Central, Henry Ford, Mackenzie and Osborn.

Warrior loyalists are invited to participate in a tailgate party beginning at 8:30 a.m. in the parking lot of the Matthaei Athletics Complex. The College Football Hall of Fame RV Roadshow, a traveling museum, will be on site during the 11 a.m.-1 p.m. homecoming picnic near the stadium.

To promote school spirit, the Student Alumni Association is offering a free Warrior T-shirt to anyone who turns in wearing apparel from another college. And Warriors fans will have free use of Sprint PCS phones to make calls to friends and family nationwide.

The centerpiece of homecoming weekend will be the 1 p.m. Saturday gridiron clash between WSU and Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rival Hillsdale at WSU Stadium.

Friday evening, Oct. 12, will be special for the men's hockey team, which became a force in the CHA Conference last year just two seasons after WSU fielded a team. During 7 p.m. ceremonies, the Warriors will raise the CHA tournament championship banner to the rafters at their home rink, Great Lakes Sport Center in Fraser. A game against Ferris State University follows the ceremony. The two intrastate rivals face-off again at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13, at the same rink.

In other hockey action during homecoming weekend, the WSU women's hockey team will host Vermont at 7 p.m. Oct. 13 at City Sports Center in Detroit. The women's tennis team has matches at 3 p.m. Oct. 12 against Lake Superior State and at 10 a.m. Oct. 13 against Northern Michigan University. Both events will be at the Matthaei Athletics Complex courts.

This year, for the first time, the homecoming celebration was extended to a full week, leading up to the traditional Saturday football game. "We are embarking on a new tradition," said Charles Brown, vice president for student development and campus life. "With numerous activities planned for each day of the week, there is certain to be something of special interest to WSU alumni, students, faculty, staff and friends.

We are encouraging everyone to take part," he added. "Homecoming Week is a great way of forming lasting friendships and fond memories of Wayne State University."

Wayne State University is a premier institution of higher education offering more than 350 academic programs through 14 schools and colleges to more than 31,000 students in metropolitan Detroit.