Homecoming offers more than a game

Penn didn't exactly extend the welcome mat to Princeton during last year's Homecoming. Not only did the football team beat the Tigers on the field, but Quakers faithful decapitated a stuffed-animal tiger and tossed it around the stands. But Bill Richter, Penn's new director of marketing and promotions, has plans for an even bigger celebration today. According to Richter, the first 750 students to enter Franklin Field for the 1:30 p.m. game against Yale will receive free phone cards, compliments of Axistel International. The phone cards, available for purchase at Penntrex, guarantee five free minutes and are rechargeable. Richter also hopes to distribute 2,500 "survival packs" to the fans. The giveaway -- one for women and one for men -- will include items such as a toothbrush, shaving cream and gum, and will be distributed to fans as they leave the game. As of Wednesday plans had not been finalized for the "survival packs." Halftime will be extended beyond the usual 15 minutes, said Richter, to make room for several "special presentations," including honoring last year's Penn Ivy League champions. Richter is also encouraging students to bring their tickets -- distributed to on-campus students before the start of the season -- to Saturday's game. Each home game, students can bring their tickets and enter them in a raffle. Besides the free giveaways and various promotions inside of Franklin Field, Locust Walk will be lined with free food, activities and a carnival-like atmosphere before the kickoff. Events on Locust walk being at 10 a.m. with the Locus Walk Mile Run. The junior and senior class boards are sponsoring a Bulldog Blowout on Locust Walk. starting at 11 a..m. Students can participate in jousting, wall-climbing and moon-walking, in addition to different basketball and football contests. Pompoms and buttons will also be distributed to fans as they head to the game. According to senior class president, Sarah Gleit, Saturday's Homecoming "promises to be the best in a long-time." "The overlapping with Halloween will make it a huge party weekend at Penn," Gleit said. According to Richter, if the promotions go well and if the Quakers continue to play well, students can expect even bigger giveaways -- and bigger crowds -- in the near future. "That also makes our finale with Harvard [November 14] a very big game, if we continue to do well," Richter said. Richter did not speculate on today's expected attendance, but said he expected a good crowd. "We're hoping the weather will cooperate with us," Richter said. Last year's attendance was 15,841. In 1995 the crowd was a more staggering 34,504. Both those games were played against Ivy rival Princetor.