2021-22 Event Calendar
Major Events
A list of The Citadel’s primary celebrations can be found below. A full schedule for each event will be added here when it becomes available.
To view The Citadel’s military dress parade schedule, click here.
Matriculation Day
Saturday, Aug. 14
Matriculation Day is when hundreds of cadet-recruits report to campus and officially begin their Citadel careers. Processing for members of the Class of 2025 will begin at the Holliday Alumni Center, where they will receive company and room assignments; later, the incoming class will get haircuts, uniforms and necessarily equipment. Starting on Matriculation Day and continuing through the rest of the year, the cadet-recruits will began to receive their military instruction.
Homecoming 2020 makeup
Friday, Sept. 10 – Sunday, Sept. 12
The postponed Homecoming 2020 — honoring the classes that end in ‘0 and ‘5 — will be held on the weekend of Sept. 10-12. In addition to traditional Homecoming activates, the School of Humanities and Social Sciences — with support from the Fine Arts program — will exhibit a fragment of steel from the World Trade Center.
Parents’ Weekend
Friday, Oct. 1 – Sunday, Oct. 3
Parents’ Weekend features traditional events like the military dress parade, drill competitions and performances by the Regimental Band and Pipes. But the highlights of the weekend are the promotion of Fourth Class (freshman) cadets to conclude the cadre training period and the presentation of class rings to the First Class (senior) cadets.
Click here for the full schedule.
Friday, Oct. 1
| 10:30 a.m. | Gen. Walters speaks during The Citadel Family Association annual meeting | Buyer Auditorium in Mark Clark Hall |
| 2:45 p.m. | Seniors march to Summerall Chapel for the Ring Presentation | Summerall Field |
| 3 p.m. | Class of 2022 Ring Presentation Ceremony – open only to cadets | Summerall Chapel |
| 5 p.m. | Ring Reception | Deas Hall |
| 6 p.m. | Ring Ceremony, including the Ring walk-through and a Junior Sword Arch performance | McAlister Fieldhouse |
Saturday, Oct. 2
| 8:30 – 10:30 a.m. | All barracks open (2nd Battalion Band rooms open to parents at 8 a.m.) | Pipe Band performs in barracks |
| 8:45 a.m. | Kelly Cup Finals | Padgett-Thomas barracks quad |
| 10:10 a.m. | Freshmen Promotion ceremonies | All barracks |
| 11 a.m. | Dress parade | Summerall Field |
| 1 p.m. | Formation and march to Johnson Hagood Stadium | Across campus |
| 2 p.m. | Bulldogs vs. VMI | Johnson Hagood Stadium |
Sunday, Oct. 3
| 8 a.m. | Catholic Mass | Summerall Chapel |
| 10 a.m. | General Protestant worship with a Blessing of the Rings service | Summerall Chapel |
| After service | Reception | Buyer Auditorium in Mark Clark Hall |
Leadership Day
Wednesday, Oct. 20
During The Citadel’s annual Leadership Day, all regularly scheduled classes are replaced with an on or off-campus training, seminar or service project for all cadets. Day students living off-campus and graduate students may also participate in the event.
Leaders in Philanthropy Weekend
Friday, Oct. 22 – Sunday, Oct. 24
Every fall, the newest Leaders in Philanthropy gather on campus with family and friends to be inducted into The Citadel’s legacy, cumulative, and lifetime giving societies, which represent donors of estate gifts, 25-year consecutive giving, or cumulative contributions totaling $100,000 or more.
Homecoming 2021
Thursday, Nov. 11 – Sunday, Nov. 14
As early as the Class of 1886, Citadel graduates have been holding reunions on campus to celebrate their achievements and catch up with their classmates. Homecoming now spans three days and includes not only reunion celebrations, but a host of activities that highlight the Corps of Cadets and alumni achievements.
Click here for the full schedule.
Thursday, Nov. 11
| 2:30 – 5 p.m. | Stray Dog Society cruise | City Marina |
| 6 – 9 p.m. | Junior Sword Drill, JSA Reunion | Holliday Alumni Center |
Friday, Nov. 12
| 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. | Citadel Alumni Annual meetings and awards | Holliday Alumni Center |
| 12 p.m. | Citadel basketball vs. Morris College | McAlister Field House |
| 1 – 3 p.m. | Tommy and Victoria Baker School of Business open house for donors and alumni | Bastin Hall |
| 5:10 p.m. | Twilight Parade | Summerall Field |
| 5:45 – 7 p.m. | The Citadel Young Alumni Reception | Holliday Alumni Center |
| 6 p.m. | Citadel volleyball vs. WCU | McAlister Field House |
| 7 – 11 p.m. | Stray Dog Society Jamboree | Off campus |
Saturday, Nov. 13
| 8:30 – 10 a.m. | Open barracks and cadet performances | Barracks, Summerall Field |
| 8:40 a.m. | Summerall Guards performance | Summerall Field |
| 9:45 a.m. | Charles Foster, ’70, and Joseph Shine, ’71, portrait presentation | Daniel Library |
| 10:45 a.m. | Homecoming Review Parade | Summerall Field |
| 11:30 a.m. | School of Engineering Alumni BBQ | Grimsley Hall |
| 2 p.m. | Bulldogs vs. Wofford | Johnson Hagood Stadium |
| 7 p.m. | Citadel volleyball vs. UNCG | McAlister Field House |
Sunday, Nov. 14
| 9 a.m. | Protestant Service | Summerall Chapel |
| 10:15 a.m. | Alumni Memorial Service | Summerall Chapel |
| 7 p.m. | Catholic Mass | Summerall Chapel |
Corps Day Weekend
Friday, March 25 – Sunday, March 27
Corps Day is the birthday of the South Carolina Corps of Cadets, and is one of the most highly attended weekends at The Citadel. Attractions include dress parades, awards presentations, special cadet performances and athletic events.
Recognition Day is a momentous occasion in the life of a knob. It means the end for rigid formations, walking in single file at breakneck speed and the highly regimented way of life that is The Citadel’s Fourth-Class System: the toughest college military training system in the country.
Class of 2022 Commencement
Saturday, May 7
Commencement exercises are held in May of every year to confer academic degrees upon members of the South Carolina Corps of Cadets and students in The Citadel Graduate College. A week of events leads up to graduation day, including the Star of the West competition for the best drilled cadet, commissioning ceremonies, and the Long Gray Line parade in which the graduating class becomes part of the long gray line of alumni when they transfer command to the upcoming senior class.
Bulldogs Football
| Date | Game and event |
| Sept. 2 | at Coastal Carolina |
| Sept. 11 | vs. Charleston Southern – Military Appreciation/Homecoming 2020 |
| Sept. 18 | vs. North Greenville |
| Oct. 2 | vs. VMI – Parents’ Day |
| Oct. 9 | at ETSU |
| Oct. 16 | at Furman |
| Oct. 23 | vs. WCU |
| Oct. 30 | vs. Mercer – Hall of Fame induction |
| Nov. 6 | at Samford |
| Nov. 13 | vs. Wofford – Homecoming 2021 |
| Nov. 19 | at Chattanooga |