The University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s 2026 homecoming week runs Sept. 26 to Oct. 3 and will carry the theme “Cosmic Cornhuskers.”
The week’s activities open with a 5K fun run from 9 to 10 a.m. Sept. 26, beginning and ending on the Nebraska Union plaza. The rain-or-shine event, which is untimed, is open to students, faculty, staff and registered Family Weekend guests, but runners must be at least 16 years old. All participants must register by 9 a.m. Sept. 26.
A Nebraska-Michigan State football watch party will take place at 4 p.m. Sept. 26 at Memorial Stadium. Students, faculty, staff and Family Weekend guests are invited to sit on the field or in the stands to watch the game on the stadium’s big screen. The event is free to all Husker students with the NvolveU app, to faculty and staff with an NCard and to Family Weekend guests with the registration email.
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Showtime at the Coliseum is 8 to 10 p.m. Sept. 28 at the Coliseum. Recognized student organizations will compete for bragging rights with skits and dances. The event is for students.
A yard games competition — featuring cornhole, washers, ladder ball and spikeball — will take place from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Sept. 29 at the Vine Street Fields. Student teams of two can sign up to compete in the single-elimination, bracketed contests. In the event of inclement weather, the competition will move to the Nebraska Union’s Ballroom.
The Battle of the Bands returns from 8 to 10 p.m. Sept. 30 at the Bourbon Theatre, 1415 O St. The competition, which is free for Husker students with an event pass and faculty and staff with an NCard, will feature local bands that include current students. There will be a $5 cover charge for non-university attendees. Students can vote for their favorite bands after the competition, and one will be named the best band.
A Maryland seafood boil (in honor of Nebraska football’s homecoming opponent) is set for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 1 at the Willa Cather Dining Complex. The menu will include a shrimp boil with corn, potatoes and sausage; Maryland crab cakes; crab meat mac and cheese; Old Bay seasoned fried chicken; cheddar biscuits; fried okra; crab salad; and Old Bay deviled eggs. Regular faculty and staff meal pricing applies.
A Dairy Store ice cream social will take place from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. Oct. 1 on the Dinsdale Family Learning Commons plaza on East Campus. Campus community members can receive a free scoop of ice cream and enjoy live music by local artist Jonathan Leach.
A Homecoming Yard Show, hosted by the Multicultural Greek Council and the National Pan-Hellenic Council, will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. Oct. 1 on the Nebraska Union plaza. The showcase of stepping, strolling and chanting is not a competition, but a celebration of unity, culture and pride across culturally based fraternal organizations. All are welcome.
A free outdoor screening of the film “Project Hail Mary” will begin at 8 p.m. Oct. 1 on the greenspace west of the Willa Cather Dining Complex. Attendees are encouraged to bring blankets and lawn chairs. This event is for students.
Student lawn displays will be completed by 10:30 a.m. Oct. 2 and judged at noon.
The Cornstock Festival, which is free and open to the public, is 5:30 to 8 p.m. Oct. 2 on the plaza immediately east of Memorial Stadium. The event will feature food available for purchase (or free for students with an NCard) from Amigos, Chi Style Kitchen, The Corndog Company, Harper’s Smokehouse and Rutabagas; free grilled corn, Insomnia Cookies and Papi Churros; free Pepsi products; face painters; balloon artists; caricatures; crafts; virtual reality games; and music. The event concludes with a drone show at 8 p.m.
The annual homecoming parade starts at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 2. The free public parade will start south of the Nebraska Union, moving east on R Street, north on 16th Street, west on Vine Street, south on 14th Street and clockwise on the East Stadium Loop, ending south of the Coliseum. In addition to floats built by recognized student organizations and community groups, participants include the Cornhusker Marching Band, the Spirit Squad, 2026 homecoming royalty and special guests Clayton Anderson, a retired NASA astronaut and Nebraska native, and Allison Porter Carpenter, a NASA engineer and Husker alumna. Free parking is available in the 14th and Avery garage.
The Nebraska Alumni Association will host a parade watch party in the Wick Alumni Center’s Holling Garden, 1520 R St., beginning at 5:30 p.m. The event will include hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar. For more information, contact Zac Frenzen at zac.frenzen@huskeralum.org.
A blood drive will be held during the week from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 28-29 and Oct. 1 in the Nebraska Union’s Centennial Room and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 30 in the Nebraska East Union’s Great Plains Room.
In addition, a canned food drive to benefit the Husker Pantry is 1 to 4 p.m. Sept. 28-30. Food and other essential items can be taken to the University Health Center, Room 123. Donations can also be made via the pantry’s Amazon wishlist at https://go.unl.edu/wfdg.
Husker faculty and staff can show their school spirit through the Husker Spirit Decorating Contest. Registration is due Sept. 23, and offices will be judged Sept. 29.
In addition, faculty and staff are invited to participate in a HealthierU movement challenge, with the goal of completing a virtual journey of 2,342 miles — the distance to SECU Stadium at the University of Maryland and back. The challenge runs from Sept. 26 to Oct. 3.
Elections of royalty will take place on students’ MyRED portal Sept. 30 and Oct. 1. Homecoming royalty will be crowned at halftime of the Nebraska-Maryland football game Oct. 3.
