Search the UCM website

Breadcrumb

Events | University News | Honors and Awards | Office of Student Activities | Homecoming | UCM Alumni Foundation | UCM Athletics

UCM Celebrates Alumni, Campus and Community During 2026 Homecoming

By Nicole Lyons, October 26, 2026

  |     |     |  

 

 

The UCM twirler is standing on the 50-yard line; the 50 is red and white and the twirler is wearing a red-and-white top and skirt with a Mule logo on the top and she is holding a silver baton. Behind the twirler are the Marching Mules in red, white and black band uniforms and holding their instruments. The red visitor's bleachers are in the background.

 

The 欧美视频 (UCM) took a trip back in time as it celebrated 2026 Homecoming, themed 鈥淩etro Rewind,鈥� with a week of events Oct. 12-17.


The Homecoming Hub in the Elliott Student Union was busy all day Friday as UCM employees, students, alumni and visitors stopped by for food, trivia, giveaways and a throwback pop-up shop from the UCM Fashion and Apparel Merchandising program. 


The four Distinguished Alumni Award recipients stand in front of the stage in the Elliott Student Union. Each is wearing a silver medallion with a red-and-black ribbon around their necks and they are holding their awards. Kati is wearing a black shirt and cream-and-black floral skirt. Kelton, Abhi and Kevin are all wearing navy suits. All are wearing glasses.On Friday evening, the UCM Alumni Foundation presented the annual Distinguished Alumni Awards, which have recognized outstanding UCM graduates since 1978. The 2026 honorees are Kati A. Roach, 鈥�10, recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award for Early Achievement; Kevin J. Visser, 鈥�78, recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award; Kelton W.H. Smith, 鈥�64, 鈥�66, recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award for Service; and Abhi Shimpi, 鈥�10, recipient of the Distinguished International Alumni Award. Click here to read each recipient's bio.

 

Throughout the week, 31 UCM student organizations participated in various events, plus roughly 100 students took part in the trivia contest and almost 400 students signed up for The Next Contestant game show hosted by Mo鈥檚 Activities Council. Along with fun competitions like a bowling tournament in the Elliott Student Union, decorating spirit arches, and performing choreographed cheers at the pep rally in the Jerry M. Hughes Athletics Center, UCM students also gave back to the Warrensburg community.


Students collected more than 3,000 nonperishable food items for the Can Creation competition, in which organizations created Homecoming-themed sculptures using the items. The food was donated to the Campus Cupboard, which supports UCM students, faculty and staff. The afternoon of community service was postponed due to inclement weather and has been rescheduled for later in October.


The university also hosted its annual Homecoming blood drive in partnership with the Community Blood Center. The drive collected 200 units of blood, potentially saving 600 lives.


On Saturday morning, community members and UCM fans lined the streets of downtown Warrensburg for the Homecoming parade. The lineup featured UCM Athletics teams, student organizations and academic programs, marching bands, and community organizations and businesses. More than 117 groups, including 15 marching bands, registered for the parade. The celebration continued with food trucks, live music, giveaways and kids' activities at Party in the Park at Selmo Park.


The top 10 royalty candidates were introduced during halftime of the Mules Football game against the Washburn Ichabods at Audrey J. Walton Stadium. Keegan Bluette of Alpha Sigma Alpha Sorority, Carmen Holt of Sigma Kappa Sorority and Owen Johnson of Delta Chi Fraternity were named the 2026 royalty winners. Mules Football was victorious in its Homecoming contest against Washburn, 49-43.

 

The three royalty winners stand next to each other smiling and looking at the camera while standing on the football field. Owen is on the left and wearing a tan suit. Keegan is in the middle and wearing a red dress. Carmen is on the right and wearing a dark red dress. They are all wearing red Homecoming Royalty sashes and black Homecoming Court sashes. The red visitors bleachers can be seen behind them.From left, Owen Johnson of Delta Chi Fraternity, Keegan Bluette of Alpha Sigma Alpha Sorority
and Carmen Holt of Sigma Kappa Sorority.


The top 10 royalty candidates included: 


Keegan Bluette, a senior from St. Louis, majoring in Biology - Pre-Med and minoring in Chemistry, represented Alpha Sigma Alpha Sorority. 


Adam Czerniewski, a senior from Montgomery City, Missouri, majoring in Physical Education, represented Sigma Pi Fraternity.


Hayden Hall, a sophomore from Lee鈥檚 Summit, Missouri, majoring in Occupational Safety and Health, represented Gamma Phi Beta Sorority.

 

Carmen Holt, a junior from Lee鈥檚 Summit, Missouri, majoring in Nursing, represented Sigma Kappa Sorority.


Owen 鈥淥J鈥� Johnson, a senior from Wichita, Kansas, majoring in Aviation - Professional Pilot, represented Delta Chi Fraternity.


Alex Moore, a junior from Laclede, Missouri, majoring in Speech-Language Pathology, represented Delta Zeta Sorority.


Houston Morrison, a sophomore from Hannibal, Missouri, majoring in Kinesiology, represented FarmHouse Fraternity.


Haley Schertel, a senior from Quincy, Illinois, majoring in Kinesiology, represented Alpha Omicron Pi Sorority.


Sophia Schnetzer, a senior from Blue Springs, Missouri, majoring in Events Management and Marketing, represented Alpha Phi Sorority.


Landon Winder, a senior from Chillicothe, Missouri, majoring in Agribusiness Management, represented Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity.


Other Homecoming results from the Office of Student Activities include:


Overall Winners

First Place: Delta Zeta Sorority and Alpha Kappa Lambda Fraternity

Second Place: Alpha Sigma Alpha Sorority and Sigma Pi Fraternity

Third Place: Sigma Kappa Sorority and Delta Chi Fraternity

 

Spirit Arches

First Place: Delta Zeta Sorority and Alpha Kappa Lambda Fraternity

Second Place (tie): American Marketing Association

Sigma Kappa Sorority and Delta Chi Fraternity

Third Place: Honors College Student Association


Bowling Tournament

First Place: Delta Zeta Sorority and Alpha Kappa Lambda Fraternity

Second Place: Alpha Omicron Pi Sorority, FarmHouse Fraternity and Sigma Tau Gamma Fraternity

Third Place: Sigma Kappa Sorority and Delta Chi Fraternity


Blood Drive

First Place: Alpha Sigma Alpha Sorority and Sigma Pi Fraternity

Second Place: Gamma Phi Beta Sorority and Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity

Third Place: Delta Zeta Sorority and Alpha Kappa Lambda Fraternity


Trivia

First Place (tie): Alpha Sigma Alpha Sorority and Sigma Pi Fraternity

Delta Zeta Sorority and Alpha Kappa Lambda Fraternity

Second Place: Gamma Phi Beta Sorority and Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity

Third Place: Alpha Phi Sorority and Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity


Can Creation

First Place: Engineering Design Technology Student Organization 

Second Place: Sigma Kappa Sorority and Delta Chi Fraternity

Third Place: Alpha Sigma Alpha Sorority and Sigma Pi Fraternity


Cheer Competition

First Place: Sigma Sigma Sigma Sorority and Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity

Second Place: Delta Zeta Sorority and Alpha Kappa Lambda Fraternity 

Third Place: Alpha Sigma Alpha Sorority and Sigma Pi Fraternity


Parade (Community)

First Place: Elite Realty

Second Place: Tommy鈥檚 Car Wash

Third Place: Warrensburg Christian School EOC


Parade (UCM Affiliates)

First Place: Delta Zeta Sorority and Alpha Kappa Lambda Fraternity

Second Place: Honors College Student Association

Third Place: THRIVE

 

Four students are sitting on tile floor and stacking cans that are wrapped in various colors of paper. Three students are wearing Homecoming T-shirts and the fourth is wearing a gray polo.

Two students are in the Union Auditorium holding plastic guitars and playing the Guitar Hero video game. Other students can be seen in the background playing video games on other TVs.

 

The Marching Mules Color Guard walks down the street in the Homecoming parade. They are wearing red-and-black uniforms with a C on the shirt. They are holding red-and-black flags with a red C and the Mule logo. Spectators are sitting and standing along the side of the street. It is sunny. The band members are behind the color guard.

 

Four UCM cheerleaders are sitting in the back of a black pickup truck while riding in the Homecoming parade. They are all wearing black zip-up jackets, have a large red bow in their hair, are holding one black pom and one red pom and have gray blankets covering their laps. They are smiling at the camera. A sign on the side of the truck says "欧美视频 Cheer Seniors 2026" and two other signs say "Emily Lucas 2026" and "Yanijah Allen 2026."

Eight members of the Jennies Basketball team are seen. They are all wearing black sweatsuits with "Jennies" on the sweatshirt and red-and-black sneakers. One is wearing a hat. One student is facing away from the camera; everyone else is smiling at the camera and showing the UCM Snouts Out hand gesture. Three members are walking alongside the pickup truck; the rest are sitting in the bed of the truck. They are on the street during the Homecoming parade. People can be seen sitting and standing on either side of the street watching the parade.

 

A student is riding a brown mule in the homecoming parade. The rider is wearing a black jacket and black cowboy hat that is red-rimmed. Three students are walking next to the mule. Two are wearing red sweatshirts and one is wearing a white jacket. All three are wearing blue jeans. Two are wearing a dark-colored cowboy hat. All four students are waving to the crowd. People can be seen in the background standing and sitting along the side of the road to watch the parade.

Some of the Mules cheerleaders are seen walking in the parade. It is sunny. They are all wearing black leggings, black zip-up jackets, white tennis shoes, and large red bows in their hair. They are each holding one red pom and one black pom. The cheerleader in the center focus of the photo is waving to the crowd.

Distinguished Alumni recipient Kati Roach is wearing glasses, a black long-sleeved shirt and teal skirt with black flowers. She has long blonde hair. She is also wearing a Distinguished Alumni silver medallion that hangs from a red-and-black ribbon. Kati is speaking behind a podium. The red-black-and-white Distinguished Alumni logo is seen on the screen behind her.

 

Two inflatable bounce houses and an inflatable obstacle course are set up in a grassy area. People are playing on the inflatables and walking around. Several large trees are in the background. To the right, the UCM Friendship Tower is seen.

Two people are facing away from the camera. Both are wearing jeans and a black jacket that says "CMSU Football" on the back. The person on the left has both of their arms up in a pose to show off their muscles. The person on the right is wearing a red-and-black hat. They are standing in the grass and pop-up tents and other Party in the Park guests are seen.

 

A football player, #7, is running and holding a football. He is the quarterback. He is wearing a black, red and white uniform and helmet. He is on the field. An opposing player is seen on the right in a white-and-blue uniform.

Three UCM Football players are wearing red, black and white uniforms. One of them is smiling and touching the helmet of another player to congratulate him.

A Marching Mules drum major is directing the band, which is not in the photo. Behind the major, the stands are filled with spectators and the building with press boxes and suites is seen. The major is wearing black pants and the top of the uniform is black, red and white and says "UCM" in red. The major has a red whistle in his mouth and both arms are up as he conducts the band.

Fans are in the stands at the football game. Two students, standing on either side of UCM mascot Mo the Mule, are cheering and holding a red flag that has a mule logo and "UCM" in black letters. Mo is waving and wearing an '80s-style colorful zip-up jacket. The students are wearing red-and-black UCM attire.

social-section

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • youtube
  • linkedin
  • instagram