Nostalgia for University traditions increases alumni donations. Without in-person Homecoming, those contributions will suffer

Lawrence A. Wien stadium may have the capacity to seat 17,000 people, but the vast majority of its seats remain empty even during a normal season. Homecoming, a rare Columbia tradition that gathers thousands of students, alumni, and faculty to a football game Columbia often loses, remains one of Columbia Athletics’ only opportunities to cement its role as an irreplaceable force in the University—both as a community and a revenue-driver.