The Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and Chi Omega sorority won the float competition for the 2010 Homecoming parade Saturday morning with their “Chicago”-themed float. (KALEN SCHOU/The Daily Campus)

Students, faculty and alumni braved the wet weather to celebrate the Homecoming festivities and support their Mustangs.

Cloudy skies and rain were not enough to stop SMU fans from showing their Mustang pride Saturday morning at the Homecoming parade and on the Boulevard before the afternoon game against the University of Houston.  

Starting at 11 a.m., music could be heard blaring down Hillcrest Ave. as students, alumni and families from the community put on their blue and gathered on the sidewalks to watch the parade travel down the street.  

“The floats were my favorite part of Homecoming when I was a student,” said Stacy Dupell, who graduated SMU in 1983 and now lives in Tampa, Fla.  

One of the many alumni who travelled from out of town specifically for Homecoming, Dupell has attended the last three Homecoming games because her daughter, Elizabeth Dupell, is now a cheerleader for the Mustangs.

The parade began at Dallas Hall, travelled down Hillcrest Ave. and then looped around the Boulevard, ending at Mockingbird Lane.  

Various participating student organizations had decorated the elaborate floats the week leading up to the game.

Meanwhile, the parade’s Grand Marshall, country music singer Jack Ingram who graduated from SMU in 1993, sat in a truck wearing his SMU football jersey while waiting to perform a free concert on the Boulevard in front of Dallas Hall.

“I am very excited about Jack Ingram,” said Kayla Klingseisen, a junior psychology major who participated in the parade with her sorority, Pi Beta Phi.

“Who doesn’t love celebrities? Especially celebrities who went to your own college,” Klingseisen said.

At the front of the parade, the Black Eyed Peas’ hit song, “Imma Be” could be heard as Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and Chi Omega sorority’s first prize “Chicago”-themed float maneuvered its way down Hillcrest.  

“It feels great to have won first place on our float because we spent a lot of time working on it,” said sophomore Sigma Phi Epsilon member, Conner Sherline.

“This year, you can tell everyone put out their best effort. All of the floats looked really good,” Sherline said.    

This is the 84th Homecoming put on by SMU’s Student Foundation, and the theme, Broadway on the Boulevard, was a hit with both students and alumni.

Johnny Warren, a SMU alumnus from the class of 1990, holds season tickets for the Mustangs, but said the Homecoming game is his favorite. “My daughter is a Mini- Mustang, so she is in the parade and is very excited about it. We loved this year’s theme. It was really cute,” Warren said.    

Klingseisen had many praises for the theme as well.

“I really liked this year’s theme. I love the theater, so I thought it was cool that each organization had its own interpretation of a Broadway play,” said Klingseisen, whose “Mamma Mia”-themed float won the third place prize.  

The second place prize for best float went to the Association of Black Students (ABS) and College Hispanic American Students (CHAS) for their “Grease”-themed float.  

After the parade ended, students, faculty, alumni and families gathered on the Boulevard to relax before the game.

The smell of barbecue filled the air, and music played from all of the tents, which were lined up from Dallas Hall all the way down to the front of Perkins School of Theology.

“Even though it’s raining, you can tell how strong the school spirit is by all of the alums and family members here,” junior economics major Kendra Eaton said.  

Jack Ingram began his concert at 12:15 p.m. in front of a cheering crowd.  

In between songs, Ingram talked about the first time he performed and the first time his song made it to number one on the top 40 charts.  

“It’s so cool [Jack Ingram] is on campus performing for Homecoming,” Eaton said.  

“He is my favorite country singer, so this is really making Homecoming that much more special for me.”

After the concert ended, SMU fans gathered their umbrellas and headed to Gerald J. Ford Stadium to cheer on the Mustangs.

(KALEN SCHOU/The Daily Campus)