An enthusiastic crowd approaching 2,000 people converged on J. Leslie Rollins Stadium to celebrate the 2026 Homecoming at Buena Vista University on Saturday, Oct. 3. Alumni, friends, students, prospective students and their families were greeted by blue skies and temperatures in the 70s with light winds coming from the lake.

“We were thrilled to have such beautiful weather that accommodated all the activities and tailgating our BVU alumni and friends enjoyed throughout the day,” said Chelsea (Winterboer) Hogrefe ’10, Director of Alumni Engagement.

Nearly 150 people attended the BVU Athletics Hall of Fame banquet on Friday night, Oct. 2, as they saluted the accomplishments of hall-of-fame inductees Bill Naughton ’86, Dail Fellin ’89, Michael Irvin ’05, and Coach Janet Berry, who won 393 games and five Iowa Conference Championships in women’s basketball. Berry coached women’s basketball for 26 seasons. She also coached volleyball and women’s golf in her BVU career.

“Buena Vista University has been such a huge part of my life story,” said Berry, a five-time IIAC Coach of the Year. “For 30 years, this place has given me opportunities, friendships, memories, challenges, and relationships that I will treasure for the rest of my life. I have been incredibly fortunate to call Buena Vista home…

“Thank you for believing in me,” Coach Berry continued. “Thank you for giving me the opportunity to live out a childhood dream. Thank you for allowing me to coach and to teach. And most of all, thank you for allowing me to be part of something bigger than myself. Tonight, I realize that the dream was never really about the wins, the championships, or the recognition. The dream was about the people.”

Additionally, the 1979 and 1980 men’s golf teams coached by the late, great John Naughton ’50 were present to participate in their teams’ enshrinement. Those conference championship teams were represented by the varsity roster, which remained consistent for each of those seasons: Tom Geelan ’81, Jeff Opheim ’80, Steve Ewalt ’80, Jeff Sawyer ’81, and Jim Mostek ’82.

Ewalt, son of the late Coach Merritt and Mareda Ewalt, likely covered the most distance in getting to the BVU Homecoming as he traveled from his residence in France. Ewalt said the 7,000-mile trip was worth every bit as he thoroughly enjoyed reconnecting with his teammates and friends from Buena Vista.

The Cobblestone and Puff’s welcomed crowds of Beaver alumni throughout the weekend.

Saturday morning began with alumni Kevin ’12 and Bri (Sweeden) Kloewer ’11, of Omaha, joining their children in ringing the Victory Bell on campus to formally start the day’s activities. Some 49 participants then started a 5K race along Lakeshore Drive that was won by alumnus Hadyn Piskorski ’26 (men’s division) in a time of 17:09.76. The winner in the women’s division was BVU Athletics Hall of Famer Dr. Jess (Jensen) Carney ’03 in 22:58.85.

Fifty prospective students and their parents were on campus to witness a wealth of activities that ranged from open wrestling practice to a BVU parent panel to a reunion of computer science majors that welcomed alumni from several states across six decades of BVU involvement.

“It's hard to put into words how thrilling it was to see our computer science reunion come together at the 2026 BVU Homecoming,” said Professor of Computer Science Dr. Jason Shepherd ’99. “At one point, I stood up on the Science Center rotunda staircase and looked down in awe as nearly 60 computer science graduates across six decades excitedly conversed with one another, sharing what their BVU experience meant to them and how it has shaped their careers in the rapidly evolving field of computing. 

“We had alumni in attendance who, in essence, broke ground on this major program in the 1980s,” Shepherd added. “I watched as those 1980s graduates networked with recent graduates from the 2020s as well as our current students. It was a sight to behold! It was especially meaningful to have Dr. Ken Schweller, Emeritus Professor of Computer Science, in attendance at the reunion and getting to hear his perspectives on the future of computing as he connected with the very same students he helped guide as undergraduates, including me!”

Members of the Class of 1976 were feted at the Cornerstone Guard breakfast as they received pins, a certificate, and a copy of The History of Buena Vista University by Dr. William Cumberland. Several members of the Gamma Sigma Phi were on hand for the Cornerstone Guard breakfast as they held a reunion over the weekend led by Dr. Rick Lampe ’69 and Charles Repsher ’70.

“We are thrilled to reconnect, and we really cannot say enough about the organization and enthusiasm with which we’ve been met,” said Repsher, who came from New Jersey for the Gamma Sigma Phi reunion. “It is so much fun to see people we haven’t seen for decades.”

Fourteen members of the 1976 Beaver football team were also hailed at the Cornerstone Guard breakfast and then again between the first and second quarters of the Homecoming football game as the team earned a berth in the NCAA Division III national semifinals by virtue of an overtime victory over Carroll College in the national quarterfinals. The 20-14 triumph in Waukesha, Wis., marked the first time the NCAA used overtime to determine the winner in a postseason football game.

Additionally, there was a scavenger hunt on campus for children, games on the South Forum Lawn, alumni tennis matches, alumni golf outings for baseball, softball, and women’s basketball, a coronation and lip sync contest for current students, and alumni golf outings for baseball, softball, and women’s basketball.

Coach Mauricio Lozada Hernandez and his women’s soccer program also welcomed 31 women’s soccer alumni back to campus to watch the Beavers defeat Spurgeon College, 5-0, while celebrating the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Beaver soccer at BVU. “We were so excited to have that many alumni come back, see campus, and share in the game-day experience with our student-athletes,” he said.

When it came to competition, the Beavers suffered a defeat on Peterson Field as the Simpson Storm prevailed in the Homecoming football tilt. However, in addition to the women’s soccer victory, the men’s soccer team won, as did the Beaver volleyball team, which swept Bethany Lutheran to remain undefeated on the season.

“Siebens Fieldhouse was loud and our team certainly fed off the Homecoming energy,” said Head Volleyball Coach Will Baumann ’04. “We had an incredible atmosphere on campus all weekend!”

Relive BVU Homecoming 2026!

From alumni reunions and campus celebrations to athletic events and cherished Beaver traditions, explore the many moments that made Homecoming weekend memorable in our 2026 BVU Homecoming Flickr Album.