MANSFIELD – Mansfield University Homecoming weekend is a time for Mountaineer family, friends and community members to come together and celebrate all of the hard work that goes on throughout the year. Although Homecoming 2020 has been held virtually, it still has given alumni, current students and employees a chance to connect and share their stories.

The Athletic Communication office reached out to current mentors, administration and coaches to allow them to share some of their favorite memories, what homecoming means to them and more.

We will one day laugh, cheer and celebrate in person, but for now let's take a look back at some of the memories from the past.








Peggy Carl
Athletic Director
"For me, Homecoming represents such a great combination of joy and reverence.  That we honor all of those who are returning to visit "The Mountain" and those visits are filled with such happiness is such a wonderful combination.  I have only experienced one Mansfield Homecoming, but it was amazing in all of its facets and I cannot wait to welcome all of our wonderful alumni back in person in 2021."








Owen Lukens
Sports Information Director
"Mansfield Homecoming and Alumni weekend will always hold a special place in my heart as both a student and now an employee. Homecoming as a student-athlete on the Mountaineer baseball team was always so special because I loved hearing the old stories from alumni, seeing downtown Mansfield full of life and working the world-famous LUMA football event. Homecoming will forever hold a special place in my heart as an employee because it was the weekend I accepted the position to become Sports Information Director and fulfilled my dream working with my alma mater."








Ryan McNamara
Director of Marketing
"Homecoming at Mansfield is always a special time of the year because it puts the love and passion that we all have for this university on full display. There's really nothing better than hearing the stories that alumni share about their time at Mansfield and watching them reconnect with faculty and staff that they knew from their time on campus. Although we are physically apart this Homecoming, the sense of Mountie pride can still be felt. I cannot wait until we can all physically come together again and celebrate this special university and all the memories that were made here."








Steve McCloskey
"Mr. Mansfield"
"For me, Homecoming at Mansfield has always been about people and memories - it's also been about pride and good times. 
 
Homecoming 2007 had some similarities to Homecoming 2020 with a theme of overcoming adversity and finding a way - It also showcased the resiliency of the Mountie Spirit. 
 
Homecoming 2007 was the first in anyone's memory that the Homecoming celebration wasn't centered around a home football game. The University had dropped the football program at the conclusion of the 2006 season, ending a 115-year tradition. The decision was unexpected and unsettling to many. No one was quite sure if Homecoming would ever be the same.  
 
Events were still planned to include the Alumni Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony. There was the usual Homecoming Parade, but the number of returning alumni was significantly smaller than in past years. 
 
Still it turned out to be perhaps my GREATEST Homecoming. It started early Friday afternoon when President Loeschke announced at the conclusion of the Alumni Weekend Golf Tournament that Mansfield University would bring back football with sprint football team starting in the 2008 season. The announcement came just 11 months after football had been dropped and was the cumulation of a remarkable up-from-the-ashes effort by group of football alumni spearheaded by Ed Gillis, John Quashnoc, and Rod Pursell. 

Women's soccer was the only athletic event on campus and the Mounties were facing a seemly impossible task in hosting nationally ranked West Chester. The outgunned Mounties were down 2-0 at halftime but with a large and boisterous crowd behind them, the team rallied behind senior Caroline Furmato's two second half goals and combined with a from-the-gut defensive effort to send game into overtime. Never has a 2-2 tie felt so satisfying. 
 
The field hockey team was playing at East Stroudsburg that afternoon. Mansfield was ranked #8 in the nation in the NCAA Division II field hockey poll that week. Trailing 1-0 the Mounties rallied to tie the game at 1-1 at the end of regulation with Keely Jarrett scoring the winning goal with no time remaining in OT. 
 
I'm saving the best for last – In May of 2007, LEGENDARY head coach Dr. John Heaps passed away. Heaps was beyond successful and was the person responsible for making Mansfield baseball respected throughout the country. As remarkable as he was as a coach, he was even a better human being who had a lasting impact of the lives of so many of his players.  
After all we had been through and the negativity surrounding the dropping of football, we had to do something to rekindle and remind us of who we were and what we stood for. 
So, we decided to have a tribute to Dr. John Heaps as one of the main events for Homecoming. We contacted all of his former players inviting them to return and it has become one of my greatest Mountie memories.  
 
I walk past his grave almost every day and every time that day comes back to me." 
 







Drew Patrick
Assistant Sports Information Director
My Mansfield homecoming perspective is a little unique I'd say. The past three years I've worked here, my job is making sure that the main events athletically went as smooth as they can possibly be. It can be incredibly challenging at times but there is nothing more rewarding.

Being in charge of streaming, I wanted to make sure that the homecoming football broadcast was one of the best of the year, while also knowing that it would probably have less people watching it because they're present at the game. Your job then becomes to still give people at home that homecoming experience. I've had the opportunities to do a couple of doubleheaders during homecoming.

Those were hectic days making sure that every game is set up how it needs to be and that everything runs smoothly. 

It's an absolutely insane day of moving parts but it's incredibly rewarding if you can give those who don't have the opportunity to travel to the game a homecoming experience.

I also think it took working here to truly realize the joy and honor of a Mansfield homecoming. I grew up in Tioga County in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania. So, I've been around a number of Mansfield homecomings but even one town away there was still a bit of a bubble. I grew up at a time around here when there was a lot of negative publicity about Mansfield university. It honestly scared me away because I was a young, naïve and caught in my bubble. I went away from the area to go to college. When I began to look for jobs, one opened up right near my hometown. An opportunity that was almost perfect for me, and an opportunity that would change my unfair perception of Mansfield university forever.

One of the first homecoming things I was in charge of was streaming our  '17 alumni athletic Hall of Fame ceremony. I was listening intently to each and every speech, from the 1992 baseball and Brian DeCecco '05 and they were talking about opportunities they've had and the great people that helped him get to where they were. Then Freddie Coleman walked up to the podium and in one speech completely changed the way I saw Mansfield.

He talked about all of the individuals that helped him along the way and how Mansfield is and will always be a home to him. How the Mansfield family helped him get through rough times in his life. He talked about what it means to be a Mansfield Mountaineer and being a Hall of Famer in the school that he loves as much as we love him, maybe even more. And that's when it clicked, this place has magic to it.

I started to then pay attention more to the pride and love that people who have not only Mansfield degrees but also work for this institution have for it. And truthfully the thing that makes this place special is the people. his speech will forever stand out in my mind, I have clips of it saved that I sometimes play to myself if I need motivation."








Don Tees
Assistant Women's Soccer Coach / Assistant Sports Information Director
Following the Homecoming virtual presentation from ESPN Radio's Freddie Coleman '87.

"The mental well-being of student-athletes, coaches, and all for that matter is so important and hearing Freddie Coleman speak on this during his virtual visit only reiterated this. Taking sports for granted, it has brought myself personally a more humbling appreciation to continue to provide the support for those who need that supporting figure in their lives. We don't have those bonds and interactions anymore in the office or on the field like we once had but supporting one another is going to be so important to see us through. When we are able to celebrate in person once again and reflect every day on Freddie's "do not take sports for granted" mindset, I'll come to appreciate seeing the faces and joys and what brings the best out of all of us through sports."








Jakob Woods
Assistant Football Coach
"My favorite homecoming weekend was last years in 2019. We completely controlled the game against Alderson Broaddus and beat them 42-18. The best memory wasn't the game itself though. It was afterwards when we went down to the tailgate area to see family and friends along with some alumni. Sharing of stories and all the camaraderie between generations of football here at Mansfield. That is what makes Mansfield homecoming so special."








Michael Whitling
Women's Basketball Head Coach
"I love being able to bring my family to homecoming and seeing how happy they are to be in Mansfield for all of the festivities. We are so excited to be in a great atmosphere and celebrate with the community."








John Evans
Sprint Football Head Coach
"My favorite homecoming moment was beating Franklin Pierce in front of a large crowd. As the game ended 18-2, a double rainbow covered the field."








John Shaffer
Women's Soccer Head Coach
"As a relatively new coach at Mansfield, I've only had the opportunity to have one alumni weekend in my time here.  That weekend had a tremendous impact on me.  Twenty plus alumni came back when invited by a new coach and we did an alumni dinner.  At the dinner the alumni shared their memories of Mansfield and what made Mansfield special for them.  It gave me such great insight and an even deeper respect for my position and the University I am lucky to represent.  I've been trying to deepen my alumni connections throughout the pandemic, and I look forward to meeting in person all the alumni I have been able to connect with."








Brittany Hansrote
Field Hockey Head Coach
"My favorite memory is playing at home on Homecoming. As a coach and alumna, they are equally fond memories here at MU. The whole day leading up to the game is special. The parade, the team meal, the pre-game locker room vibes, the face painting, seeing your friends and family (and former teammates) in the stands cheering you on as you walk out on to the field; it's a feeling like no other. Those memories and traditions stay with you for life. Things still happen on this team that happened over a decade ago or more.... we can't wait to be back on our home field again creating those memories!"








Edith Gallagher
Softball Head Coach

"I love Homecoming so it's hard to pick just one story but here is my all-time favorite.
A bunch of the Alumni came in Friday night and went out downtown.  They decided they were going to play a prank on the current team and tarp the field.  They headed up to the field and managed to get the tarp on.  As they were leaving the field and climbing over the fence, they were stopped by campus police.  They told campus police what they were doing and that the Coaches knew about the prank, so the Campus Police let them go!   Needless to say, this set off a prank war between the Alumni and current players for many years, but none topped the extra tarp duty."