Drexel’s Winter Tradition Returns in 2026

Students stay warm at the bonfire. This year, it will be held on Lancaster Walk on the University City Campus. File photo.

At Drexel University, life on campus only heats up in January as the University’s winter tradition of Homecoming comes around. This year, the main events will be held Jan. 22–24, though other events will occur all weekend for alumni and families.

Alumni will return, students will pack the DAC (Daskalakis Athletic Center), Drexel icons will be honored in the Janet E. and Barry C. Burkholder Athletics Hall of Fame and the Elkins Park Campus will host their first-ever Homecoming events. Here’s what students on both the University City and Elkins Park campuses can look forward to this Homecoming.

• Homecoming Window Decorating Competition, Jan. 19–23: On the University City Campus, teams of students can reserve a window of the DAC online and make it their own with art and lettering. Designs must be completed by 5 p.m. on Jan. 23.
• Ignite the Night, Jan. 22: At 5:30 p.m. in the Hafter Student Community Center on the Elkins Park Campus, experience a night full of school spirit introducing students to Dragon pride. There will be food trucks, s’mores, games, giveaways (including a limited-edition sweatshirt) and more.
• Dragon's Den: Homecoming Kickoff & Basketball Showdown! 22: At 6:30 in the Hafter Student Center Gym, students on the Elkins Park Campus will get ready for their first Homecoming with a basketball showdown pitting students against faculty, staff and alumni.
• Homecoming Kick-off Bonfire, Jan. 23: At 5 p.m., head to the University City Campus’ Lancaster Walk for the iconic kick-off event. There will be s’mores, hot chocolate, a DJ and plenty of fire pits alongside the massive bonfire. Students can also arrive early to grab limited-edition Homecoming hats, mugs and earmuffs.
• Women’s Basketball vs. Stony Brook, Jan. 23: After the bonfire, head nearby to the DAC to cheer on the women’s basketball team as they take on Stony Brook University. Student tickets are free.
• Homecoming game: Men’s basketball vs. Northeastern, Jan. 24: At 2 p.m., pack the DAC and get Homecoming swag for the main event of the weekend as the Dragons take on Northeastern University’s Huskies. Student tickets are free. The Royal Dragon will be recognized, as well as Malik Rose ’96 and Coach Bill Herrion, icons of Drexel basketball who will be inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame over Homecoming weekend.

The men's basketball team cheers during the 2025 Homecoming game. This year, they'll play the Northeastern University Huskies. File photo.

For the past several years, the main Homecoming game has been played against Drexel’s bitter rival, the Delaware Blue Hens. The chants and taunts may look a little different this year, as the Dragons take on the Huskies from Northeastern University instead.

“Maybe it's time for new traditions to arise,” said Claire Gutherman, animation and visual effects ’26 from the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design and president of the DAC Pack, which is Drexel’s official student cheering section. “We do have fun traditions like cheers we do during games, whether it’s screaming when someone’s shooting a free throw or wiggling our fingers when our team is shooting one. We want to get more people in the loop with that sort of thing. The more people participating, the better. The game is just so much better, and the team plays better when there’s a big crowd.”

Gutherman said the DAC Pack has been incorporating rollouts this year, which are large banners decorated with cheers or taunts, plus free T-shirts and nights themed around a color (Homecoming will be gold) or even Taylor Swift. At the women’s basketball game on Jan. 25, it’ll be “Swiftie Sunday,” Gutherman said, with themed props including friendship bracelets.

Meanwhile, as the DAC Pack works to uphold and update Homecoming traditions, Salus at Drexel University, located on the Elkins Park Campus, is beginning a new Homecoming tradition — Ignite the Nite and the Dragon’s Den Homecoming Kickoff and Basketball Showdown. These are the first-ever Homecoming events for the Elkins Park Campus and were developed with student input, launching new traditions and activities for the students.

“This year is the first edition of Homecoming, and we’re hoping to make it bigger later,” said Director of Student Engagement and Assistant Director of Admissions Monae Kelsey. “We figured out some things we could do that would be a spin-off of what’s already happening. Doing it on Thursday allows it to build up into Homecoming down in University City, so our students on the Elkins Park campus can continue into three days of Homecoming festivities if they want.”

Inspired by the bonfire happening on the University City Campus, Ignite the Nite will feature fire pits where students can make s’mores, as well as food trucks, a pillow-stuffing station, caricatures, mugs with printed photos and a limited-edition sweatshirt for the first 200 attendees.

On the same evening, students who’ve previously won a rec league championship will compete against faculty, staff and alumni in the Hafter Center in a basketball showdown. It’s a hype prelude to cheering on the Dragons in University City two days later, complete with a pep rally before the showdown.

During the men’s basketball Homecoming game, the two newest members of Drexel’s Athletics Hall of Fame will be honored — Malik Rose ’96, who led the Dragons to their only NCAA Tournament victory, and Coach Bill Herrion, who led the Dragons from 1991–1999 and won three conference championships in a row in 1994–1996.

Rose had one of the most prolific careers in Drexel basketball history and went on to play 13 seasons in the NBA after being drafted by the Charlotte Hornets. Herrion led the Dragons to four total postseason berths and ended his Drexel tenure as the winningest coach in program history. He is still actively coaching basketball to this day. Players from the 1994–1996 teams have been invited back to be honored during the game as well.

Though it’s not an official Homecoming event, the DAC Pack’s “Bluau” night usually falls near the celebration. This year, it’s Jan. 29 against Hampton University, and will also serve as DAC Pack Alumni Night, Gutherman said, with past leaders coming back to cheer their Dragons on. As usual, the DAC Pack will uphold the luau theme with leis, inflatable palm trees and Hawaiian shirts, plus a special giveaway T-shirt. Gutherman is also encouraging everyone to wear all blue for the game.