Yuengling Center Balloon Drop welcomes freshmen, returning Bulls to new year

This year’s Week of Welcome kick-off hosted over 4,000 students in USF’s Yuengling Center. ORACLE PHOTO/COLE ABRUZZESE

On Aug. 23, USF’s Center for Student Involvement hosted the annual Week of Welcome Balloon Drop as a way to kick off the new academic year.

Week of Welcome is a series of events hosted by New Student Connections before and during the first week of classes, according to their website.

The Week of Welcome kickoff had been held in the Marshall Student Center (MSC) in the past, but was moved to the Yuengling Center, USF’s on-campus arena, for this year’s event.

Allison Crume, associate vice president for student success and dean of undergraduate studies, said that the balloon drop tradition began in 2011 as a New Year’s-themed event, with the balloons referencing New York City’s Times Square Ball Drop.

“The MSC’s maintenance crew designed a device and worked with the balloon decorating vendor to release a net full of beach balls and balloons over the atrium to meet the request, and the balloon drop tradition was born,” Crume said.

She said the decision to move the Balloon Drop to the Yuengling was part of this year’s goal to elevate the Week of Welcome and engage more students.

“The opportunity presented to move the event to the Yuengling Center on Sunday night when significantly more students were on campus and could attend this high-energy, beloved USF tradition in the larger venue,” Crume said.

Crume said the event had been capped at 2,500 attendees in the past due to safety restrictions imposed by the Fire Marshall in the MSC, but this year’s event had 4,100 people in attendance.

While the balloon drop is the big finale, the event is used for several other announcements, performances, and speeches, such as a special performance from the cheer team and a speech from USF President Moez Limayem.

For Jade Howard, a freshman health science major, the balloon drop was a part of getting her excited for her first year and feeling more connected to campus life.

”I felt really excited because I saw that USF had so many new opportunities that I never would have experienced before,” Howard said. “But I was also anxious because I would be on my own.”

Howard said she believes that Week of Welcome is a good way to get ready for student life at USF.

“The Welcome Week event basically silenced all the anxieties I had about being at college,” she said. “I felt even more connected to my friends and student life there.”

Howard, who moved in on Aug. 20, went with a high school friend and another student she met that same day. She said that she left the event feeling encouraged to make connections and get involved.

“I feel like I learned that I could basically walk around and hang out with whoever at all times of the day and do numerous different activities,” she said.

Howard said the event also boosted her attitude and excitement for the new year.

“By going, I felt more excited to be an incoming Bull,” she said.

Mia Veiga, a sophomore majoring in criminology, started her freshman year in spring 2026 and didn’t get the chance to experience the typical fall semester activity lineup.

“There wasn’t a balloon drop [in spring], to my knowledge — that’s only a fall thing to welcome in the ‘new year’ of classes,” she said.

Veiga said even though her spring semester welcome events were different, she didn’t feel like she missed out by starting later.

“I don’t think that my first semester being in spring was weakened,” she said. “I think it honestly depends on the type of person you are. I happen to be very positive, optimistic, and I’m an extrovert, so making friends and having a good time on campus was easy after some time.”

Still, curiosity about the fall tradition drew her to this year’s event. Veiga said there was something meaningful about finally getting to see a tradition she’d only heard about from friends who started in the fall.

“I wanted to go to the balloon drop because there wasn’t one in spring, and I saw about it online, so I was interested in experiencing it,” she said. “There was definitely a good population of other classes other than freshmen, so that was nice.”

Despite her excitement about the event, Veiga had some mixed feelings about the event being moved from the MSC.

“The energy in the upper seats wasn’t really there, so that was a bit of a bummer,” Veiga said. “I can see how the idea of it being held in a stadium would be a better vibe, but it just didn’t pan out right, I think.”

Robert Dennison, a junior history major, said this year’s Balloon Drop was his first Week of Welcome event after skipping it for two years, and he said he left with a stronger desire to get involved.

“I know nothing directly has changed compared to the last two years,” Dennison said. “[But] now I have this small feeling like, ‘Hey, I did something, I’ll keep doing something.’”

Dennison said the event was a great experience for upperclassmen to remember to stay involved on campus

“I’d say go, if not just for the chance to see the Tampa campus,” he said. “It’s a nice opportunity to wander around a part of the school you wouldn’t otherwise go to.”

He said there were a lot of people at the event, but the crowd made the experience more memorable.

“I definitely think [the Yuengling Center] is a good spot for [the event],” Dennison said. “It’s a really good way of showing how many students were involved.”

For Dennison, the event was a kind of “reset”, or a chance to approach the year differently than he had in the past.

“I know next year I’m probably not going to have that chance since it’ll be my last, so we’ve got to make this one count,” he said.

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