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No More Homecoming At St. Cloud State

ST. CLOUD, Minn. (WCCO/AP) -- Alumni will always be welcome at St. Cloud State University, but homecoming is dead.

The school has decided to end its annual homecoming celebration, which has been in place every fall since 1925.  It will be replaced with a series of "school spirit" events scattered through the year.

The St. Cloud Times reports that homecoming has become tough to schedule because of a limited number of home football games. The school nearly dropped football last year because of a budget shortfall. Homecoming has also bumped up against popular events like the deer hunting season.

The decision has many students and alumni furious.

"(It's) contrary to the idea of building a community school for life," said John Zanmiller, mayor of West St. Paul who's a 1994 graduate of SCSU. "I think it's the finest state university we have, and I really hope that they rethink this."

Zanmiller says the school's decision to eliminate homecoming means he will not be giving his annual donation to SCSU.

"They're not getting a check from me this year."

NewsRadio 830 WCCO's Adam Carter Reports

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The school plans to create new events and expand old ones such as the Lemonade Art Fair, Trivia Weekend and Family Weekend.

(TM and © Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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