SC State Homecoming: Massive turnout shows promise of future

ORANGEBURG, S.C. — As Hank Allen rode past thousands of revelers lining the streets of Orangeburg on Saturday, he saw more than just Bulldogs fans.

He saw potential.

“It’s fantastic,” said Allen, who was parade marshal for South Carolina State University’s Homecoming Parade. “It’s an amazing time to come back to my alma mater to see all family and friends — to see everybody back for a common goal.

“I know we haven’t had a Homecoming parade in a couple of years, so it’s great to see everybody come out and get a chance to see what SC State has to offer,” he said.

Allen, a 1978 SC State graduate, is president of the SC State University National Alumni Association. For the association, the massive Homecoming turnout represented promise.

“It’s potential. It’s possibilities,” he said. “We get a chance to provide more exposure and to let people see what we do to support the university. We need people to jump on board so we can help the students of SC State.”

Fellow alumnus Douglas Gantt, chairman of the university’s Board of Trustees, was all smiles as Miss Homecoming Divinity Taylor, the SC State Royal Court, alumni chapters, and high school bands filed past the review stand on campus.

“This is always an awesome opportunity to return home to see people celebrating and being excited about being at South Carolina State University again,” Gantt said. “There’s nothing like a homecoming.

“For me, it means seeing all the people from the past and looking at the future, as well, in the students who are participating. It’s a very happy and exciting moment to be in Orangeburg,” he said.

Gantt said the turnout was reflective of the love people have for SC State.

“People have faith in what this university does for so many,” Gantt said. “So many people come here with dreams, and a lot of them live those dreams because they had an opportunity to come to South Carolina State.”

Saturday marked SC State’s first Homecoming parade since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the first for Alexander Conyers since assuming university’s presidency.

“This is a great opportunity to show that after the impact of COVID, South Carolina State and the greater Orangeburg community are getting back to normal,” said Conyers, a 1989 SC State graduate. “This has been an absolutely phenomenal event. It was so great seeing not just our alums on the campus but also the Orangeburg community who lined the streets of downtown Orangeburg.

“It was an amazing sight to see, and I am just happy to be a part of it,” he said. “I am happy that South Carolina State is once again an integral part — a visible part — of this community,” Conyers said.

The energy along the parade route and inside Oliver C. Dawson Stadium was unmistakable Bulldog tenacity.

“The number of people who have descended upon the campus in the last two days is a testament to the momentum we have been building,” Conyers said. “Folks are really excited about South Carolina State University, and again, when we bring more students to campus and they are involved in organizations, more parents and family members are going to show up for events like this.”

After the parade, SC State fans packed into the stadium and were treated to a Homecoming football victory, as the Bulldogs shut out Virginia University of Lynchburg’s Dragons 36-0.