Date of Homecoming carefully select every year to fit with football season schedule, holidays.

By Priya Patel

Deciding the dates for the Homecoming game and dance isn’t as complicated as many think it is; there’s no special formula to the selection. The dates are essentially decided by the process of elimination based on the school calendar, giving special acceptances to national and religious holidays and the regular football season schedule.
According to Athletics Director Jim Inskeep, he generally goes through the calendar and uses the process of elimination to find a date that satisfies the largest percent of students, and submits his recommendation to the administration for an overall okay.
In a given year, there are usually four or five home games to choose from as the Homecoming game. Inskeep said he tries to stay away from the first and fifth games; there isn’t enough time to prepare for the first one, and the fifth one is typically senior night.
This year, Oct. 2 turned out to be the date because, excluding the first and fifth games, the second home game fell on the Friday of Labor Day weekend, and it was a little early to have Homecoming, which left us with the third and fourth home games. The third, against Lawrence North, was on the last day of the six weeks and a major Jewish holiday, Rosh Hashanah, also happened to fall on that day.
“We try to be sensitive to holidays, and if possible, try not to do it on the last day of the six weeks,” Innskeep said.
Although the administration does put much effort into finding the right fit for the homecoming date, quarterback and senior Adam Shaffer said, “I don’t think when the Homecoming game is, really matters and neither does the opponent. It’s Homecoming either way and we try to treat every opponent the same anyway.”
However, Inskeep said that he works in collaboration with the administration to try to find a perfect date so that they can allow as many people to get involved and enjoy the festivities as much as every other person. So much rides on the date because besides the game, the dance is also a huge deal for most of the students.
“I know I couldn’t tell you who we played for Homecoming when I was in high school, but I know exactly who I took to the dances,” Inskeep said.