By Neil Offen

noffen@heraldsun.com; 419-6646

DURHAM -- It's not just homecoming.

It is, officials at N.C. Central University say, the biggest bash the university has ever thrown.

NCCU is expecting more than 12,000 alumni, students and visitors to turn out for the homecoming festivities beginning Oct. 23 that will celebrate the university's 100th anniversary.

"This will be the biggest and best homecoming we've ever had," said Bill Evans, interim director of alumni relations at the university. "Our alums and community will come out in great numbers, just to be there for our centennial.".

The homecoming celebration, which will last until Nov. 1, will include a myriad of activities, including a comedy show, the coronation of Mr. and Miss NCCU and a performance by Grammy-nominated gospel artist Tye Tribbett.

There will be as well, of course, a football game complete with pre-game parade.

The activities may reach their high point on Founder's Day, Oct. 30, when with ceremonial pageantry the NCCU community will pay tribute to James Shepard, the university's founder, and the school's beginnings 100 years ago. Students will act out "The Good Life: The History of NCCU and Durham," telling the story of Shepard and his wife, Annie Day Shepard.

"There's a little more meant on the bone this time for homecoming," said Judy Womack, the university's centennial project manager. "We wanted to do something special to note the centennial."

It's important to take note of the fact that NCCU has survived for so long where similar institutions have not, officials said.

"Many other HBCUs are [now] defunct, out of business," says Melvin Riggs Jr., an imaging liaison and coordinator in the registrar's office. "We've lasted 100 years. This will be a sweet family reunion."

Officials knew this homecoming was going to be big when more than 2,600 people visited the new homecoming Web site in the first weekend after its launch.

"It's the centennial and everybody just wants to be there," said Womack. "I've heard that people are coming from as far away as California. We just have to make sure they all don't arrive at the same time, at the same place."

To accommodate the expected large crowd, homecoming planners have spread the various activities all across the campus.

"We wanted to use different locations -- like the McLendon-McDougald gym, the Leroy T. Walker Athletic Complex and the B.N. Duke auditorium -- so we didn't overload any particular area of campus," Womack said.

Homecoming is always a big deal at NCCU, said Joan Morrison, the assistant director of alumni affairs at the school. "But there's no question, this year is a little bit bigger than usual."