Homecoming Queen

The UA Homecoming Queen is a symbolic representation of the goals and spirit of UA Homecoming festivities. As such, it is important that the individual representing The University of Alabama during this time-honored tradition uphold the values of service, leadership, scholarship, and character, which are important tenets of our UA community.

Through the Homecoming Queen Endowed Impact Fund, the elected Homecoming Queen has the opportunity to support an on-campus initiative of their choosing. Established by Cathy and Mike Buhai in honor of their daughter Katie Buhai (2018 UA Homecoming Queen), this fund provides a tangible and positive impact for the UA community, and strengthens the legacy of each UA Homecoming Queen since its inception.

As part of the Homecoming Queen application process, each candidate will outline information about themselves, their reason for running, and their cause in a 250-word personal statement, which is published on the website for the 5-member court prior to the general body election. In the spring following the election, the elected Homecoming Queen will present a check from the Homecoming Queen Endowed Impact Fund to the program or initiative that they supported and chose during their campaign.

2024 Homecoming Queen Candidates

General Requirements

Each candidate for UA Homecoming Queen, the candidate must meet the following critera:

Be enrolled and in good academic standing as a UA graduate or undergraduate student during the 2024 semester at the time of selection and through homecoming festivities and crowning.
Must be a full-time student with at least 60 total earned credit hours (60 credit-hour minimum is for undergraduates)
Posess a Cumulative overall GPA of at least 2.5

Selections Process

The goal of the selections process is to select a Homecoming Queen who represents the values of The University of Alabama through a unified voice of the students, faculty, staff, and alumni that make up this community. The Homecoming Queen should exemplify the ideals of service, leadership, scholarship, and character.

This process places emphasis on student voice by incorporating students in every step of the selections process in the preliminary round, elections, and disputes. Through application the general criterion will be verified and then each application will be reviewed based on a 3-part process: Essay, Interview, and General Election.

If, at the conclusion of the application submission period, there are five or fewer applicants who are verified as meeting the general requirements for application, they will be moved forward to the general election, eliminating the essay scoring and interviewing round.

Candidate Essays

One essay consisting of 750-1000 words which will be scored by a selected panel of faculty, staff, students, or alumni using a prescribed rubric.
Candidate Interviews

A candidate interview will last approximately 15-20 minutes and will be conducted by a selected panel of faculty, staff, students, or alumni and scored with a prescribed rubric.
General Election

The top five candidates from the combined essay and interview score will be included on the ballot for a general student Body election.

Scoring

The top total combined raw scores of 500 points from each preliminary round (essay and interview) will advance to the general election and the official five-person UA Homecoming Court. In the event of a tie at the preliminary round scoring, the individuals with the top five scores will still advance and individuals who tied will advance (up to five). In the event of a process where there are more than five top scorers, all candidates will be invited to campaign, and the 5-person court will be announced at the conclusion of the election results being confirmed. The Queen would be announced at the Homecoming Pep Rally & Bonfire.