A popcorn bar and free T-shirts were a few of the things available to students at the IUS Homecoming KickOff Bash.

The Homecoming KickOff Bash took place Monday, Feb. 15 from noon to 2 p.m. in The Commons.  

J.T. Douglas, director of alumni engagement and annual giving, said the purpose of the event was to get students in the spirit of Homecoming. He said the event was also the official kickoff for the Grenadier Cup competition.

According to the IUS Homecoming webpage, the Grenadier Cup is a competition between student organizations to promote school spirit and involvement during Homecoming Week.

Lucas Taylor, criminal justice senior, introduced the players from the men’s and women’s basketball teams. Taylor said that because of the inclement weather on Feb. 15, some of the players did not attend.

“Due to the two-hour delay, most of the men’s and women’s basketball players were not able to make it,” Taylor said.

Douglas said the Homecoming games on Feb. 20 are white-out games. He said T-shirts for the games are also being given out at Homecoming events all week.

Douglas said he hopes the T-shirts will help encourage students to attend the Homecoming games on Feb. 20 and show their support for their home teams. He also said that if students don’t receive one of the T-shirts at an event, they are still encouraged to wear white at the games.

Additionally, Douglas said there will be a full day of events on Feb. 20 leading up to the games, including the Tundra Run and a hospitality tent.

According to the Homecoming webpage, the Tundra Run will take place from 10 to 11 a.m. in the Athletics parking lot.  

Douglas said the hospitality tent, held by the IU Alumni Association, will be set up by the tennis courts from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. He said the hospitality tent will give out free hot dogs and white-out T-shirts, and the tent will be covered and heated to prepare for any bad weather that day.