Southern Illinois University homecoming preview: What to expect at the parade, football hosts No. 1 South Dakota State
CARBONDALE, Ill. (KBSI) – Carbondale Police Department Deputy Chief Anthony Williams said there are rarely major issues at Southern Illinois University’s annual homecoming parade, and that can be contributed to cooperation from drivers and attendees…
“We can prepare this thing to work as well as we can,” he said. “Obviously the one big thing we count on is the public to do their part, and that’s just to pay attention. That’s just to slow down, do those things, keep their eyes up on the signals and out for pedestrians and things like that.”
The parade will start at 10 am, and beginning about 9:30, all lanes of traffic on South Illinois Avenue from Pleasant Hill Road north to Walnut Street will be closed, and South University Avenue between Walnut Street and Mill Street will be closed, as will the Mill Street underpass.
Williams said there are minor adjustments made from year-to-year, but the mechanics of the parade have largely stayed consistent.
“We learn every year from something, from the things we do, there’s always changes, of course, minor changes, but for the most part, the vast majority of it is going to be the same as in previous years,” he said.
And following the parade, the 12th ranked Salukis football team will take on South Dakota State, the number 1 team in the nation.
Head Coach Nick Hill said one of the great things about competing in the Missouri Valley Football Conference is getting to play top-caliber competition on a routine basis…
“The thing with playing in this league is you get opportunities to play top five opponents,” he said. “You get to Week 7, you’ve got to challenge yourself against the best, and we get that opportunity this week.”
