As in any massive event, Western’s Homecoming week doesn’t come together by accident. It comes together because Jeff Younglove and his staff have spent weeks planning the logistics behind the countless events. As the director of campus and community events, Younglove directs nearly 200 tables and 1,200 chairs to the receptions, lunches and tailgate parties that make up Homecoming.

His 24 years at Western began with a focus in public relations and broadcasting, but he began planning events after a few years on the Hill. He recently sat down with the Herald’s Michael Casagrande to talk about Homecoming from the planning side of the party.

How are preparations coming thus far?

Between this year and last year, there aren’t many differences. I still don’t have final numbers on tents and tables and stuff like that, but that will usually be the week of. I like to start on Monday (of Homecoming week) because we can’t do it all on Saturday.

How many tents do you expect to dot the South Lawn for tailgating Saturday?

Last year, we had more than we ever had before. This year, we have a few more individual alumni who want tents. We had between 45 and 50 tents last year, and I expect at least that many this year . We haven’t run out of room yet because we use the practice football field. We put about four or five on the practice field last year, and we’ll put more than that there this year. It will be the last year we’ll have that practice field available to us with renovations (of Smith Stadium). I don’t know what we’ll do next year. I guess I’ll worry about that when next year comes.

How do you prepare for an event like tailgating?

It obviously puts a strain on staffing and just what we have as far as tables and chairs . I haven’t run the numbers yet, but I’m guessing we are going to have to rent some tables and chairs, which we have done for things like Parents’ Day. It just gets bigger and bigger, but that’s a good problem.

This is nothing new to you, but now that the time is almost here, do you still get a knot in your stomach?

The only stressful part of it all is the last-minute requests. We don’t know about them now, but there is always somebody who, for whatever reason, said, “We forgot, we need this for our event.” The Monday and Tuesday aren’t bad. It’s the time we can plan it. On Monday, we can move tables and chairs to where they will stay all week. Mass Media (and Technology Hall) is a good example. That way, we don’t have to worry about everything on Saturday.

How many people does it take to put it all together?

We have a three-person crew that handles the day-to-day stuff. On Homecoming day, we’ll have extra people from the facilities end of it. We rely heavily on them. It’s nothing new, but that week, from Wednesday on, Homecoming is the priority.

Do you remember a Homecoming when the weather failed to cooperate?

Two years ago, it just poured. Mud and rain and dressed-up people just don’t mix. Up until 2 o’clock that afternoon, everything looked great, and then all of a sudden. It didn’t just rain a little bit. People were up on the North Lawn doing mud slides. Tents aren’t meant for everyone to be under them, and I remember everyone trying to squeeze under tents. It just puts a damper on things.

How do you organize all the logistics?

I am a big person on folders and keeping everything in folders. A lot of it is on computers, just so I can look back and say, “What did I do last year?” and use that for a starting point. A lot of the time, I will get requests for “the same thing I did last year.” I don’t always remember that, so we can always go to the folder.

Reach Michael Casagrande
at sports@wkuherald.com.