Kentucky Wesleyan College will celebrate Homecoming 2021 on campus and throughout the Owensboro community the weekend of Sept. 24-26. Festivities will include an alumni awards ceremony and an Alumni Hall of Fame during which Bart Darrell and Joel Utley will be inducted.
The weekend’s events surround the Panthers’ home football game versus William Jewell on Sept. 25 at noon.
The 2021 Alumni Hall of Fame and Awards Dinner, hosted at the new Kentucky Wesleyan Activity Hall (3300 Frederica St.), will be Sept. 24. The event will begin with a 6 p.m. reception followed by dinner, the awards ceremony and Hall of Fame induction at 7 p.m. The celebration will honor the awardees and inductees — Darrell and Utley — originally chosen in 2020.
Darrell, KWC President Emeritus, is a 1984 graduate of Kentucky Wesleyan College. After numerous roles with the college, Darrell was appointed as the 44th president in 2014. He stepped down from that role in 2019.
Utley is a 1974 graduate of Kentucky Wesleyan College. Widely known as the “Voice of the Panthers,” he has the distinction of being the only broadcaster in the nation to call 12 NCAA Basketball Championship games, including eight Division II titles, and ranks in the top five in longevity for college basketball radio broadcasters.
New this year for homecoming activities is the Panther Pride 5k, which will feature a one-lap course that will also serve as a tour of Wesleyan’s campus with a finish line in Steele Stadium. Also new is and the Back Together Bash on the Front Lawn, which will feature live music by Ariel & The Highwheels and Kalico, food trucks and family-friendly activities.
KWC will also be hosting a special “Commencement Photo Op” for members of the Class of 2020, where the alumni who graduated virtually will have the opportunity to walk across the stage and get a picture.
Other events include the Golden Jubilee 50th Reunion Celebration for the Classes of 1970 and 1971; a Panther football tailgate; a Panther baseball golf scramble; a Panther basketball open practice; Sunday Chapel; and a fine arts showcase titled In Meeting We Are Blessed.
