Kansas University fans cheer for the Jayhawks during the homecoming game against Texas Tech on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2011, at Memorial Stadium.

Kansas University will celebrate its 100th homecoming next week with some new twists on the event’s age-old traditions.

Among the changes for this year’s celebration will be the move of the Homecoming Parade from Saturday to Friday evening; the introduction of a pep rally following the parade; a new light-decoration contest called Glow KU; and the reintroduction of the Jayhawk Jog 5K, which on Sunday morning will kick off the week’s events.

Matt Araiza, a KU senior who has led the 15-person steering committee for this year’s homecoming celebration, said those changes were made with an eye on the history of homecoming at KU and with a desire to get more people involved.

“That’s been the committee’s main goal: to celebrate such a great tradition and history that KU has, and start new ones that can be another century-long tradition,” Araiza said.

Part of that was the move of the parade from Saturday before the football game, where it had been scheduled since 2002, to 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 26. Research done by the committee had shown the parade had been held on Friday of homecoming week at various other times during its history, including for most of the 1990s.

Setting it on Friday allowed for the committee to plan further ahead, rather than waiting until the time of the football game is set. And, because the homecoming game against Texas, Oct. 27, was set earlier this week for 11 a.m., the committee avoided an 8 a.m. start for the parade, which happened last year.

“It’s hard to get people to an early event like that,” Araiza said.

The parade will also switch directions on Jayhawk Boulevard, running now from the Chi Omega fountain east and then north toward the Adams Alumni Center on Oread Avenue.

That will allow for a new pep rally to take place at the alumni center following the parade, beginning at 7 p.m.

Well, the pep rally isn’t exactly “new.” Rallies have previously taken place during homecoming week during various periods of its existence, noted Caitlin Wise, who works for the KU Alumni Association and serves as adviser to the homecoming committee.

“That’s something that we’ve had in the past and, for whatever reason, it was done away with, for lack of a better word,” Wise said.

The rally will include food, carnival games and appearances by the KU cheer squad, mascots and athletics representatives. Floats from the parade will be parked on Oread Avenue nearby, allowing attendees to get a closer look and snap photos.

Jennifer Sanner, the alumni association’s senior vice president for communications, said the new combination of the parade and rally on Friday night should make for a family-friendly evening designed to draw people from the community as well as students and visiting alumni.

“Having it in the evening, combined with the rally, should be an attraction for folks around town to come up to the hill and be part of the celebration,” Sanner said.

Floats in the parade are to reflect this year’s homecoming theme, “Century Long, Tradition Strong,” so visitors can expect them to give a nod to KU’s history, said senior Kayla Boal, who has helped plan the parade.

Olympic gold medalist and KU junior Diamond Dixon will serve as the grand marshal, and former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole will be an honorary grand marshal.

Also making its return is the Jayhawk Jog 5K, which was left off the schedule last year. It will be the first event of the week, beginning 9:30 a.m. Sunday and running through downtown.

The run — along with all other events during homecoming — will serve as a fundraiser for the United Way of Douglas County. Entrance fees are $15 for students or $20 for other people, and entrants can register at homecoming.ku.edu, under the “Entry Forms” link.

New this year is Glow KU, a crimson-and-blue light-decoration contest among residence halls, Greek organizations and campus offices. Araiza said it was inspired by yard decorations that Greek houses used to put up in advance of the homecoming game decades ago.

He encouraged people around Lawrence to decorate their homes with crimson-and-blue lights for the week, too.

“Like a Jayhawk Christmas in October,” Araiza said.

— Kansas University reporter Matt Erickson can be reached at 832-6388. Follow him at twitter.com/LJW_KU.