Generations of Lancers attend 2022 Homecoming festivities

Riverside, Calif. (Feb. 15, 2022) – Homecoming weekend at California Baptist University drew thousands of alumni and friends to campus on Feb. 11-12.

The weekend featured various events for attendees to enjoy, beginning with a reception on Feb. 11 to welcome alumni back to campus. In the evening, the Alumni Awards Dinner was held. Dr. Ronald L. Ellis, CBU president, thanked the alumni audience for returning to campus and for all the support the university has received from them throughout the years.

CBU recognized several alumni at the dinner: Ross Stout (’07), recipient of the Young Alumni Achievement Award; Jessie Bekkedahl (’02, ’04), recipient of the Alumni Service Award; Will Taylor (’94), recipient of the Alumnus of the Year; Dr. John Chestnut (’88), recipient of the Distinguished Service in Christian Ministries Award; Frank Ciprian (’84), recipient of the Lancer Lifetime Achievement Award; and Lisa Collinsworth (’83), recipient of the Alumni Philanthropy Award.

Also on Friday evening, students and alumni enjoyed the Homecoming kickoff event on the Front Lawn, which featured carnival rides, food, and hot air balloons.

Bob and Jana Tingle, graduates of 1976, attended several events and said they were most looking forward to seeing how much the campus had changed since they were students.

“I’m excited about everything and just to see the campus,” Tingle said. “We are doing the tour because everything is so new to us now.”

The events on Feb. 12 included a 50-year reunion breakfast, a hymn sing, a paint party, campus tours, and 10- and 25-year reunions.

Sandy and Alan Young, graduates of 1969, attended many of the events, including the 50-year reunion breakfast, the hymn sing, and the basketball game. They have attended Homecoming in previous years and their granddaughter attends CBU.

Sandy said her favorite part of Homecoming is the chance to see people they used to know.

“At the dinners and the breakfasts, they always set out the old yearbooks that were our years, so we go through those and talk about the people. That part is really fun,” Sandy said.

Sandy said her dorm was in the James Building, proving that CBU has changed a lot over the years.

“The facilities are just amazing,” Sandy said. “We have friends who have not been here since graduation who came back in the last couple years and they didn’t even know where they were. And then the programs and the outreach. There are so many more majors and things than what we ever had. We just had a few hundred kids.”

Alan was excited to attend the basketball game while at Homecoming and enjoyed hearing Dr. Ronald L. Ellis, CBU president, speak during the weekend’s events.

“Every time I hear him, I’m inspired, and it reminds me of the vision that he had when he came,” Alan said. “He uses the phrase ‘Roll up the sleeves.’ Obviously, a lot of people rolled up their sleeves here to make all this happen.”

Homecoming weekend came to an end Saturday with a pregame party and a men’s basketball game against the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. The pregame party featured games, activities and food for eventgoers leading up to the game’s tip-off.

During the game, seven new inductees into the CBU Athletics Hall of Fame were announced: Ashley Boyd and Emma Holden, both for softball; Kamille Diaz and Cassidy Mihalko, both for women’s basketball; Brian Sharp, for baseball; Michael Smith, for men’s basketball; and Jacob Waste, for wrestling.

The CBU Lancers secured a victory over UTRGV with a final score of 80-72 in front of more than 4,600 fans. The Lancers are now 14-11 on the season and 4-8 in the Western Athletic Conference.