NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — This weekend is a highly anticipated time of the year in the Music City! TSU's homecoming kicks off today and there are a lot of events happening for students, alumni, and TSU supporters to get them pumped up to face Eastern Illinois University at Nissan Stadium.
It all starts with ESPN bringing a live broadcast of First Take with Stephen A Smith and Shannon Sharpe to campus in TSU's Amphitheater at 9 a.m. It'll also feature a guest appearance from former NFL star quarterback Cam Newton. That gets started at 9 AM.
TSU's Aristocrat of Bands will be there to welcome First Take with the sounds of 'TSU Funk.' An hour later there will be a Fish Fry at the Gentry Center.
There's a pep rally at Hale Stadium at 11 a.m. and organizers say the energy will be electric! Saturday they'll carry that momentum to the Homecoming parade at 9 a.m. Saturday.
Kickoff for the game starts at 5:02 p.m. These are just a few of the events that are taking place. Here is the full list of events below:
Get Geeked! It’s Homecoming!🔥 Take a look at the 2024 calendar for the Mister & Miss TSU Coronation, Dr. Levi Watkins Jr., White Coat Ceremony, and more!
— Tennessee State University (@TSUedu) October 8, 2024
Don’t miss the student pep rally happening after ESPN’s First Take live show in the amphitheater @9am!#TSUHomecoming pic.twitter.com/pd1u7RfJKh
For the big game, more than 80 Metro police officers will be on the streets surrounding Nissan Stadium to help with the traffic flow. Arriving early is the key to fully enjoying TSU’s homecoming events especially the football game Saturday evening.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Tony.Sloan@newschannel5.com.
For people of my generation, in our younger days we spent part of our weekends watching music shows like American Bandstand and Soul Train. That was before the age of music videos. Several years before Soul Train was syndicated out of Chicago, another syndicated R&B show was taped in Nashville at NewsChannel 5. Night Train aired in the 60s and included what may have been the first TV appearance for legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix. Forrest Sanders has another great look back at station history.
-Lelan Statom
