THE 2026 GEORGIA COLLEGE HOMECOMING GUIDE CRUSH Magazine™ Presents: Six Schools. Five Cities. One Fall Across Georgia. ATLANTA — ATHENS — ALBANY — SAVANNAH — STATESBORO

THE 2026 GEORGIA COLLEGE HOMECOMING GUIDE

CRUSH Magazine™ Presents: Six Schools. Five Cities. One Fall Across Georgia.

ATLANTA — ATHENS — ALBANY — SAVANNAH — STATESBORO

Georgia doesn’t have one Homecoming.

It has dozens.

Different traditions.

Different campuses.

Different bands.

Different crowds.

Different food.

Different fashion.

Different sounds.

But every fall, those separate worlds begin moving at the same time.

Students become hosts.

Graduates become students again.

Fraternity and sorority jackets come out.

Hotels fill.

Barbers get booked.

Beauty appointments disappear.

Restaurants get crowded.

Promoters start moving.

DJs start preparing.

Brands start activating.

Tailgates become reunions.

And entire cities feel different for a weekend.

In Fall 2026, CRUSH Magazine™ is following that movement across Georgia as CRUSH UNIVERSITY™ prepares for its inaugural College Homecoming Tour.

Here is the road ahead.

SEPTEMBER 28–OCTOBER 3

GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY

ATLANTA, GEORGIA

CRUSH UNIVERSITY TOUR DATE: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2

The tour begins in the middle of Atlanta.

And that matters.

Georgia State isn’t tucked away in a traditional isolated college town. Its campus lives inside downtown Atlanta—surrounded by professional sports, government, business, entertainment, restaurants, nightlife and some of the most recognizable attractions in Georgia.

For Homecoming, that urban campus becomes the opening stage for CRUSH University.

Georgia State has scheduled its 2026 Homecoming celebration from September 28 through October 3.

Friday brings one of the week’s central traditions: the Homecoming Parade.

Then comes the Block Party.

Then Atlanta gets the night.

That makes October 2 a natural starting point.

Students don’t need to travel to another city to find entertainment.

They’re already standing inside one.

THE CRUSH OPPORTUNITY

CRUSH University intends to connect the campus celebration to Atlanta’s larger entertainment economy.

Student ambassadors.

Creators.

DJs.

Local businesses.

Food.

Fashion.

Merchandise.

Nightlife.

And brands.

Atlanta becomes the launch pad.

But there isn’t much time to celebrate.

Because the next morning, the road continues.

OCTOBER 2–3

UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

ATHENS, GEORGIA

CRUSH UNIVERSITY TOUR DATE: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3

Approximately 70 miles away, the atmosphere changes completely.

Welcome to Athens.

UGA brings the classic college-town equation:

football + alumni + bars + restaurants + Greek life + downtown + tradition.

The Homecoming Parade arrives Friday.

The NPHC Step Show follows.

Then Saturday brings football.

UGA hosts Vanderbilt with an early kickoff window.

That early game creates something particularly interesting for the entertainment economy:

time.

When an early football game ends, thousands of students, alumni and visitors still have an entire Saturday evening ahead of them.

And downtown Athens is waiting.

THE CRUSH OPPORTUNITY

Athens isn’t a city where CRUSH needs to manufacture nightlife.

The nightlife already exists.

The opportunity is to enter that ecosystem intelligently.

Partner locally.

Activate during the day.

Create content.

Sell merchandise.

Build relationships with campus organizations and promoters.

Then create a recognizable CRUSH University destination after football.

Atlanta Friday.

Athens Saturday.

The opening weekend becomes a two-city sprint.

OCTOBER 9

MOREHOUSE + SPELMAN

ATLANTA UNIVERSITY CENTER

CRUSH UNIVERSITY HOMECOMING KICKOFF

One week later, CRUSH comes back to Atlanta.

But this is a different Atlanta.

The Atlanta University Center represents one of the most important concentrations of historically Black higher education in America.

Morehouse.

Spelman.

Clark Atlanta.

And generations of Black scholarship, leadership, entrepreneurship, athletics, art and culture surrounding them.

Homecoming here carries meaning beyond football.

It is reunion.

Legacy.

Fashion.

Networking.

Greek life.

Black excellence.

Music.

Business.

Family.

And Atlanta culture colliding in one place.

FRIDAY NIGHT: THE KICKOFF

CRUSH University is positioning Friday, October 9 as its Atlanta University Center Homecoming kickoff.

The objective isn’t to replace existing Homecoming traditions.

It’s to add another platform around them.

A place where students, alumni, creators, entrepreneurs and visitors can connect before Saturday’s larger Homecoming activity.

And because CRUSH already passed through Atlanta one week earlier for Georgia State, this stop creates another opportunity:

continuity.

Same city.

Different university ecosystem.

Growing audience.

Growing content library.

Growing partner network.

OCTOBER 10

ALBANY STATE UNIVERSITY

ALBANY, GEORGIA

HOMECOMING SATURDAY

Then the interstate stretches south.

Albany State officially lists Saturday, October 10, 2026 as Homecoming, with the Golden Rams hosting Lane College at 2 PM.

And South Georgia knows how to do Homecoming.

Albany State brings students together with alumni, families, Divine Nine organizations, local businesses, vendors and visitors.

For entrepreneurs, this weekend matters.

Homecoming isn’t only an entertainment event.

It creates temporary economic density.

Thousands of people need somewhere to eat.

Somewhere to stay.

Something to wear.

Transportation.

Hair.

Beauty services.

Photography.

Entertainment.

Merchandise.

Food.

And places to gather.

THE CRUSH OPPORTUNITY

Albany represents one of the clearest examples of what CRUSH University wants to become.

Not simply:

party → leave.

Instead:

campus + vendors + businesses + creators + nightlife + merchandise + media.

A daytime CRUSH presence can introduce the brand.

QR codes can capture interested attendees.

Merchandise can travel across campus.

Content can circulate online.

And the nighttime event becomes the continuation rather than the introduction.

Then the tour heads toward the coast.

OCTOBER 16–17

SAVANNAH STATE UNIVERSITY

SAVANNAH, GEORGIA

FRIDAY — HOMECOMING KICKOFF

SATURDAY — HOMECOMING + AFTERPARTY

This stop feels different.

Because Savannah isn’t simply another tour market for CRUSH.

Savannah is home territory.

Savannah State officially lists Saturday, October 17 as Homecoming 2026, with the Tigers facing Fort Valley State at Theodore A. Wright Stadium.

Kickoff: 3 PM.

That means the city gets an entire weekend.

Friday night begins it.

Saturday brings tailgates, alumni, football and campus culture.

Saturday night finishes the story.

TWO NIGHTS. ONE WEEKEND.

CRUSH University plans to approach Savannah differently from the one-night stops.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16

CRUSH UNIVERSITY
SAVANNAH STATE HOMECOMING KICKOFF

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17

CRUSH UNIVERSITY
HOMECOMING AFTERPARTY

The goal is to create a complete weekend ecosystem rather than a single event.

DAYTIME MATTERS TOO

Saturday creates opportunities far beyond nightlife.

CRUSH merchandise.

Creator interviews.

Student entrepreneurs.

Alumni businesses.

Photography.

Sponsor activations.

Tailgate content.

Street interviews.

Fashion coverage.

CRUSH Magazine reporting.

Every part of Homecoming can create media.

And every piece of media can introduce another person to the CRUSH ecosystem.

Savannah should therefore become one of the most heavily documented weekends of the entire fall tour.

Because after Savannah, there is time to show everybody what happened.

And then comes the finale.

NOVEMBER 6–7

GEORGIA SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY

STATESBORO, GEORGIA

CRUSH UNIVERSITY FALL TOUR FINALE

One final Georgia road trip.

Statesboro.

Georgia Southern has designated Saturday, November 7 against Marshall as its 2026 Homecoming game.

And after Atlanta, Athens, Albany and Savannah, CRUSH University arrives with something it didn’t possess on October 2:

a season of content.

Photos from Atlanta.

Video from Athens.

Interviews from the AUC.

Albany moments.

Savannah footage.

Merchandise in multiple cities.

Campus ambassadors.

Promoter relationships.

Sponsor activations.

Audience data.

And six weeks of accumulated recognition.

FRIDAY

Arrival.

Kickoff event.

Campus engagement.

Creators.

Merchandise.

Content.

SATURDAY

Homecoming.

Football.

Tailgating.

Then one final night.

If the strategy works, Statesboro won’t be marketed as another isolated party.

It will be marketed as:

THE CRUSH UNIVERSITY FALL TOUR FINALE.

That distinction matters.

THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE HOMECOMING MOVE

There is another story underneath every Homecoming weekend.

The economic story.

Homecoming supports an entire network of people who may never step onto the football field.

Promoters.

DJs.

Restaurants.

Bartenders.

Security professionals.

Barbers.

Stylists.

Makeup artists.

Clothing brands.

Photographers.

Videographers.

Hotels.

Airbnb hosts.

Food trucks.

Drivers.

Designers.

Printers.

Venues.

Artists.

Student entrepreneurs.

Content creators.

Homecoming is culture.

But culture also creates commerce.

CRUSH Magazine intends to cover both.

CAMPUS CREATORS: WE’RE LOOKING FOR YOU

CRUSH University isn’t looking only for customers.

We’re looking for collaborators.

Across Georgia, the tour intends to identify emerging:

Photographers

Videographers

DJs

Hosts

Models

Writers

Campus journalists

Designers

Artists

Student entrepreneurs

Promoters

Influencers

Fraternity and sorority leaders

Student organization leaders

The person documenting Homecoming in 2026 could be directing campaigns in 2030.

The student selling clothing from a dorm room could own a national brand.

The campus DJ could become tomorrow’s touring artist.

The photographer everybody knows on campus could become a major creative director.

CRUSH wants to find those people early.

LOCAL BUSINESSES: HOMECOMING IS YOUR WEEKEND TOO

Every CRUSH University market needs local partners.

Restaurants.

Food trucks.

Hotels.

Transportation companies.

Clothing stores.

Beauty brands.

Barbershops.

Salons.

Venues.

Retailers.

Professional services.

Real estate professionals.

Automotive businesses.

Fitness companies.

Entrepreneurs.

Homecoming brings customers into a city.

The objective should be keeping as much of that economic activity circulating through local businesses as possible.

BRANDS: COME TO CAMPUS WITH SOMETHING TO OFFER

CRUSH University is also opening the conversation with regional and national brands.

But the philosophy is straightforward.

Don’t simply advertise to students.

Give them something valuable.

Samples.

Experiences.

Discounts.

Merchandise.

Food.

Transportation.

Charging.

Photography.

Technology.

Career opportunities.

Scholarships.

Contests.

Giveaways.

Entertainment.

Create something worth remembering.

Then let the students tell the story themselves.

WEAR THE TOUR

CRUSH UNIVERSITY™ merchandise will connect the cities physically.

The vision includes limited-edition apparel and accessories carrying the CRUSH identity across the fall.

Imagine seeing the same CRUSH UNIVERSITY shirt:

in downtown Atlanta,

then Athens,

then Albany,

then Savannah,

then Statesboro.

The merchandise becomes more than inventory.

It becomes evidence that the movement traveled.

And selected releases can remain intentionally limited.

When they’re gone, that chapter of the tour is over.

THEN WINTER COMES.

The stadiums quiet down.

Homecoming ends.

Students finish semesters.

The temperature drops.

But CRUSH doesn’t disappear.

Because another countdown begins.

SPRING 2027.

MIAMI — MARCH

SAVANNAH / TYBEE — APRIL

ATLANTA — MAY

JACKSONVILLE — JUNE

The jackets come off.

The beaches open.

The pools return.

And the community that met CRUSH during Homecoming gets another invitation.

Different season.

Different cities.

Same ecosystem.

FALL BUILDS THE COMMUNITY.

SPRING MOVES IT.

CRUSH University is about connecting campuses.

The Spring Tour connects destinations.

CRUSH Magazine connects the stories.

Merchandise carries the identity.

Creators document the culture.

Businesses participate in the economy.

Sponsors help expand the experiences.

And the audience carries everything from one city to another.

Six university moments.

Five Georgia cities.

Four spring destinations waiting on the other side.

One growing platform.

CRUSH UNIVERSITY™

COLLEGE × CULTURE × COMMERCE × COMMUNITY

FALL 2026

ATLANTA → ATHENS → ATLANTA → ALBANY → SAVANNAH → STATESBORO

SPRING 2027

MIAMI → SAVANNAH/TYBEE → ATLANTA → JACKSONVILLE

CRUSH MAGAZINE™

FROM CAMPUS TO COAST.