GREENSBORO, N.C. — Gov. Josh Stein came to Greensboro for North Carolina A&T State University’s homecoming game and used halftime to celebrate a century of the event Aggies call the Greatest Homecoming on Earth.
Stein joined Chancellor James R. Martin II on the field to present a proclamation recognizing the anniversary. The governor declared Oct. 31, 2026, a day in recognition of the 100th Greatest Homecoming on Earth across the state.
The A&T homecoming tradition dates to 1926. What started as a football weekend has grown into a weeklong celebration known worldwide by its GHOE nickname, pulling alumni of every age back to the city for reunions, concerts, a parade, tailgates and the game itself..
This fall also brings the 125th season of Aggies football. The program played its first game in 1901 against Livingstone College, and in 1927 A&T met Lincoln University at World War Memorial Stadium for its first homecoming game there, the first known event at the stadium with Black participants. The university now owns that property.
The proclamation also points to the school’s size and reach. Founded in 1891 in Raleigh, it opened as the state’s first public college for African Americans. Today A&T has been the largest historically Black university in America for 12 years in a row and is the only HBCU in North Carolina that is a doctoral, research and land-grant university at once.
State figures cited in the proclamation put A&T’s yearly economic impact on North Carolina at more than $2.4 billion, supporting the equivalent of 17,337 jobs.
Section: More Greensboro NC education news
Greensboro education business profiles
Filed under: Greensboro NC Education News
