At halftime during the 2 p.m. homecoming football game on Saturday, the 2015 homecoming royalty were crowned: senior in applied speech communication Austin Hamilton and senior in plastics and polymer engineering technology Rainer Brow.
This year was a first for Ferris in that the titles of homecoming king and queen were retired to create a more level playing field for the candidates, each equally vying for the two open “royalty” positions.
This year’s homecoming royalty court also included six female candidates: Megan Ankerson, Taylor Dempsey, Makenzie Hall, Victoria Hudgins, Kaitlyn Patrick and DorthiLen Taylor.
The candidates all rode in the homecoming parade earlier that day, smiling and waving to classmates and the Big Rapids community.
Being one of the two men on the ballot, Brow was caught off guard by the outcome.
“It was definitely a surprise,” Brow said. “Everybody did really well in their campaigning, so it was really down to the last minute, I had no idea I would win.”
Brow is from New Paris, Indiana, and was being sponsored by the Society of Plastics Engineers and Circle K International.
Hamilton, of Manchester, was sponsored by Sports Careers and the Professional Golf Management Student Association.
“I think it’s good to see our university changing the homecoming rules to be more up to speed with the times,” Hamilton said. “I like the thought of being the first royalty in Ferris history.”
Even with all of the chaos following the announcement, Hamilton was just happy to be there.
“I’m feeling great,” he said. “It’s a great day, beautiful weather and a good football game. It’s good to be crowned homecoming royalty.”