Family traditions: Bulldog faithful describe what makes Homecoming such an important part of SC State culture

ORANGEBURG, S.C. – Standing at the main entrance to the South Carolina State University campus on Saturday morning, Nicole Brevard-Hines offered a clear indication of just how persistent her family has been in celebrating Homecoming over the years.

“I have been here at this corner since I was a month old,” she said to her Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) line sisters, who were celebrating their 35th anniversary of membership at Homecoming.

As the 1991 SC State graduate waited for the parade to arrive from downtown Orangeburg, she described her family’s lengthy association with her alma mater and how home football games have played a part in their traditions.

“My parents went to South Carolina State. I am a third-generation Bulldog. My daughter is fourth generation. My grandmother went here,” Brevard-Hines said. “And since I was a month old, I have been at this corner of M. Maceo Nance Jr. Boulevard watching the parade.”

Brevard-Hines and her mother, Mildred Gilmore Brevard, were the first mother and daughter to have served as Miss SC State. Her father, Dr. Henry W. Brevard II, served as chairman of the Board of Trustees. Her daughter, Hayden Hines, is SC State’s current Miss Garnet and Blue.

“My brother also went here and graduated in 1987. All my first cousins went here,” she said. “So, we have a long legacy at South Carolina State.”

And when it comes to Bulldog football, the family is a fixture on the tailgate fields.

“My dad was one of the first State Club members. We are all State Club members, so we come to all home games,” Brevard-Hines said. “We tailgate every game in the same spot I tailgated at when I was a little girl. It feels fantastic, and to see my daughter walk the campus now, it’s unbelievable.”

Brevard-Hines was just as excited about sharing Homecoming with her line sisters, “The 60 Emeralds of Excellence” of Spring 1989 AKA initiates.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling. They are my sisters,” she said. “I love them for life and for us to get back together and to be able to celebrate Homecoming together is amazing.”

Greek-letter organizations were not alone in renewing their bonds at Homecoming. Several graduating classes held reunions, and like every year, the SC State Alumni Band and Alumni Cheerleaders took the field alongside their contemporary counterparts.

“I come home because home is a good place,” said Carolyn Anderson, a 1987 SC State marketing graduate and cheerleading alumna. “Home is where family is, love is and respect and honor are. I come home because we gather together. It’s to see one another, to help each other out and to just meet the family again.”

She travels to SC State every year from Charleston and soaks up the HBCU atmosphere.“

This atmosphere – there’s nothing like an HBCU. It’s the love. It’s the fact that we as African Americans have so much to be proud of,” Anderson said. “We owe our forefathers and foremothers who came before us, and they are still coming back.

“They’re still tailgating and wearing their paraphernalia representing their fraternities and sororities,” she said. “It makes you want to keep striving to be who you wanted to be when you came to South Carolina State.”

 

Like Brevard-Hines and Anderson, Derrick Broughton, a 1997 graduate with a degree in agribusiness, never misses an SC State Homecoming.

“It’s like coming home every time I come,” Broughton said. “It’s been 31 years straight that I’ve been here. It’s because of the relationships that I’ve built over the years, which I can’t trade for the world.”And why does SC State inspire such devotion?

“I can’t put a finger on it. I love this place,” Broughton said. “When I’m on this campus, my whole attitude changes.”

That devotion started when he was a student.

“Everyone just seemed to get along. Everybody was going through the same things at the same time. Everybody helped everybody.” Broughton said. “Even when I was going to Homecoming then as a student, the older people were giving back. It’s a family reunion to me.”

Current agribusiness major Ty Boston already feels that energy.

“Homecoming is when the Bulldog family comes together. We get to know each other, socialize and network,” Boston said. “Homecoming is the biggest thing here. Current students and past students hang out, enjoy the game and enjoy the atmosphere.”

The 20-year-old sophomore from Florence, South Carolina, also has strong family ties to SC State. His sister is a current student and a member of the Champagne Dancers. The university’s rose garden is dedicated to his great aunt, Thelma Howard Williams. His family includes her sons, South Carolina State Sen. Kent Williams and media executive Armstrong Williams, both of whom are SC State graduates.

“The legacy really is important to me because I can come here and network and get the same experiences they had,” Boston said.