Around 10:30am, I opened the car door and exited my black 2012 Toyota Camry and started to make the trek from the Passan Hall parking lot to Mangelsdorf field, the site of the homecoming football game Sept. 26. A shuttle bus parked in the lot noticed me immediately and drove towards my direction. The driver opened the door and asked if I needed to ride to the homecoming festivities. I gladly accepted his offer.
On the short ride over to the North Lot, the driver and I, whose name I never got and which I now regret not getting, engaged in friendly conversation. Once he found out that I was a student covering the festivities for the school paper, which probably surprised him since I am quite clearly in my late 30s, he asked how I liked being an adult student and how my experience at Misericordia has been so far.
I found the fact that he cared about my human experience refreshing, so I proceeded to tell him how much I enjoy the sense of community and the supportive environment, which is the same thing many other people who are affiliated with the University say when they are asked what they like most about Misericordia. He was happy to hear that, and as he was dropping me off, he made sure I knew where to go to get a shuttle back to the Passan lot after the game. I thanked him and immediately thought to myself how lovely that conversation with a complete stranger was, something that I find rare in this country these days.
As I made my way around the North Lot, I was immediately hit by the smell of grilled meat, peppers, onions and the sound of music blaring from the tailgate tents around me. As I walked around searching for interview subjects, I came across a wide variety of groups of people at each tent. There was quite a mix of families of students and student-athletes, students, members of the Dallas community and Alumni. A University staff member pointed me towards a group of alumni, two of which were Misericordia Hall of Fame inductees.
I approached their table and introduced myself as a 38-year-old student reporter writing a story on the homecoming football game and the festivities affiliated with it, and that I would love to be able to talk to alumni about it, specifically the two people who were in the Hall of Fame. A few people in the group laughed at the way I described myself, but immediately afterward showered me with praise and encouragement for being an adult student. A gentleman identified himself as Eric Williams, but he was uninterested in gloating about his Hall of Fame status, but he did confirm he is inductee.
“Yes, I was fortunate enough to be selected into the Hall of Fame,” he said with a muted tone.
The rest of the group migrated about ten feet away to give us space for the interview, but one woman hung back and asked if I wanted a ribeye steak sandwich. Even though that was a tempting, I told her I had just had breakfast, but I appreciated the offer. She informed me that she was going to make me one anyway and asked if I wanted cheese and onions on it. I laughed and nodded my head yes.
Williams revealed that he that he graduated from Misericordia with a degree in accounting and later received his MBA from the University in 2010. He also revealed that he played catcher for the baseball team, and that he has a son who is a member of the football team. What he did not reveal, and what I later found out doing my own research, is that he still holds the highest career batting average in school history.
The woman who offered me the sandwich handed it to me. I said thank you, and she said if I needed anything else, just grab it off the table. I thanked her and continued on with the interview. Williams was reluctant to discuss his Hall of Fame career, but he certainly had zero hesitation discussing the topic of what the homecoming football game, and the football tailgates in general, have meant to him this year. He explained that when he was in school, they didn’t have a football program, so this is an experience he never got as a student.
“It’s just the experience and the family of Misericordia, and because we didn’t have football, we never experienced anything like this. It’s just such an experience to see where Misericordia was and being part of that, and where Misericordia is now and it has always had that family feel. That’s why my son chose to come here,” he said.
After I thanked him for the interview, he pointed at a woman that I should talk to. He revealed that she was also a hall of fame inductee. I approached her and she agreed to speak with me, and she introduced herself as Laura Poynton-Miller. She explained that she graduated in 1994 with a degree in liberal studies and psychology. I asked her to confirm her Hall of Fame status, and just like Williams, she was uncomfortable discussing her accomplishments.
“I played softball four years. I started all four years. I was on one of the first PAC championship teams, one of the first teams to go to the ECAC championships, and, I mean, it was a great time. I met lifelong friends. And yes, you don’t have to put this in there, but I’m also in the Hall of Fame,” she said in the same muted tone that Williams did.
I told her, unless she didn’t want me to, that I was going to include her Fall of Fame status because it adds to the story and it’s an accomplishment worth mentioning. She laughed and gave me permission. Similar to Williams, she did not have any hesitation discussing how much the tailgate and football game experiences have meant to her this year.
“I think it’s a great thing to have all of the people come back that graduated here and to relive the glory days and to reconnect with people that we haven’t seen in years. And also, for people like myself, my son goes here now. So, he’s now a current student, and I think it just shows the support for the current students and brings back all the alumni,” she said.
Poynton-Miller also said that being back on campus in its current state is completely different than when she attended the University.
“So, there is nostalgia, but because things have changed so much. The campus has grown. The state of how many students are here versus how many were here. So, the thing is, is that it’s still a small college where there’s that sense of community. So, it’s bittersweet, because I can remember when there was really nothing here. And now we have the Anderson Center. We have the football stadium, and for all the athletic teams, the Dome, [and] all these dorms. So, it’s crazy,” she said.
I thanked the group for their time and hospitality, and then I walked away thinking to myself, “Those people embody the whole commodore of the tailgate experience.” I also thought about how I never met any Hall of Fame inductees with that much humility, which made me wonder if other Misericordia HOF inductees are the same way.
As I made my way into the stadium, the festive and tight-knit community environment continued to show. Fans were shaking each other’s hands, separate groups of people were engaging with one another, and plenty of students were either enjoying time with their fellow classmates or were spending time with their families. Similar to the tailgate lot, the stands were a variety of families, students, and alumni who were happy to be reunited with old college friends.
History professor Jennifer Black gifted the crowd with another lovely rendition of the National Anthem, which is a theme this season, while the pregame introductions and the team entrance whipped the crowd into a mini frenzy. The actual game did nothing to dampen the mood, as the Cougar football team came out firing on all cylinders. After an opening drive field goal by Alvernia, the Cougars proceeded to put up 41 unanswered points on a variety of splash highlight plays, including a blocked punt returned for a touchdown, which seems to be another common theme this year, in route to a 41-10 dismantling of Alvernia.
The halftime festivities were also chalked full of Cougar pride, as the presentation of the homecoming court, Cougar cubs, and the 2025 Hall of Fame inductees all had their shining moments at mid-field. Even as I was waiting to gain field access for the halftime show, I witnessed a group of what appeared to be high school recruits and their families with Will Chandler, Head Coach of the basketball team. As he was talking with the recruits and their families, what appeared to be ex-players walked over to him, and they all started joking around with one another, almost the way an uncle and nephew would joke around with one another at a family reunion.
As I walked back to my car I reflected on the day. This being my first time witnessing a homecoming Saturday at Misericordia, I had no idea what to expect. What I saw was a connection between alumni, the Dallas community and students and their families. Which, according to Jim Roberts, Vice President of Marketing and Communications and Chief of Staff, is a strategic goal of the University, and not just during homecoming weekend.
“Whether it is a lecture, art gallery opening, or an athletics event, our campus offers a surprising number of ways for students, visitors and alumni to connect. The greatest examples have to be welcome week for students and homecoming for alumni, just for the impressive number of events and the quality of the interaction. Campus life, university advancement, athletics, and others spend significant time planning and organizing homecoming, and we are all thrilled that attendance continues to rise to record levels. Alumni are welcome back on campus all the time; however, our hospitality core value is on full display at homecoming. We hope alumni stay connected long after they graduate,” he said.
Like many students who decide to attend Misericordia, I was sold on the idea of an intimate, supportive and family-like community environment. Many universities preach these qualities, but few may deliver. As a senior in his second and last year, I have largely had this experience from administration, students, faculty and staff. Experiencing homecoming has firmly cemented my stance.
My day started with a kind and hospitable shuttle ride, two themes that continued during my interviews at the tailgate and ended with celebrating a victory in the stands after the game. Striving to be a tight-knit, family-like community environment is not just a clever University marketing strategy. It’s real, it’s genuine and it’s the lived experience of so many current students and alumni, which is on full display during home football games in the fall, specifically during homecoming weekend.
