{"id":55753,"date":"2026-10-17T14:05:18","date_gmt":"2026-10-17T19:05:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/?p=55753"},"modified":"2026-10-17T14:05:40","modified_gmt":"2026-10-17T19:05:40","slug":"homecoming-reunion-tradition-renamed-in-honor-of-darrell-brown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/homecoming-reunion-tradition-renamed-in-honor-of-darrell-brown\/","title":{"rendered":"Homecoming Reunion Tradition Renamed in Honor of Darrell W. Brown"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

STEPHENVILLE, Texas \u2014 A cherished Homecoming tradition at Tarleton State now bears the name of a man who dedicated himself to bringing Texans together. During a special ceremony Saturday, Oct. 17, the university renamed its annual Reunion Hall event in honor of the late Darrell W. Brown, recognizing his lasting contributions to campus life, alumni engagement and the Stephenville community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"President
Tarleton State President Dr. James Hurley and First Lady Kindall Hurley join family and friends of the late Darrell W. Brown to celebrate the naming of the Darrell W. Brown Alumni and Friends Reunion during Homecoming.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The annual Homecoming gathering, now known as the Darrell W. Brown Alumni and Friends Reunion, celebrates Brown\u2019s vision of creating a welcoming place for alumni to reconnect, share memories and strengthen the relationships that unite generations of Texans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

University President Dr. James Hurley announced the dedication during a ceremony attended by Brown\u2019s family, friends, alumni and members of the university community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDarrell understood that the heart of Tarleton State has always been its people,\u201d said Dr. Hurley. \u201cHe had an extraordinary gift for bringing people together and making everyone feel they belonged. By placing his name on this special Homecoming tradition, we are ensuring that his vision and legacy continue to inspire generations of Texans.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brown worked for the University Police Department in the 1980s and \u201990s, then returned to the university in 2012 to 2019, making meaningful contributions to student life, fraternity and sorority life, student organizations and alumni engagement. His dedication to building relationships extended beyond campus through his involvement in the Stephenville community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among his contributions was the creation of Reunion Hall, a Homecoming event designed to give returning alumni an opportunity to reunite with classmates and friends following the annual parade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What began as an effort to strengthen connections among alumni became a beloved part of the university\u2019s Homecoming celebrations, reflecting Brown\u2019s belief that the Tarleton State experience extends far beyond graduation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDarrell envisioned Reunion Hall as a place where alumni could return, reconnect with old friends, share stories and celebrate the experiences that forever connect us to Tarleton State,\u201d Dr. Hurley said. \u201cDarrell gave so much of himself to this university, and it is only fitting that his name becomes a permanent part of a tradition he helped establish. Each Homecoming, as alumni return and new memories are made, we will have another opportunity to celebrate the lasting impact he made on the Tarleton State family.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the family\u2019s request, the ceremony concluded with the singing of the “Tarleton State Color Song,” a tradition Brown frequently used to close university events.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

STEPHENVILLE, Texas \u2014 A cherished Homecoming tradition at Tarleton State now bears the name of a man who dedicated himself to bringing Texans together. During a special ceremony Saturday, Oct. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":595,"featured_media":55755,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","wds_primary_category":382,"footnotes":""},"categories":[382,425,421],"tags":[431,432,442,446,462,456],"class_list":["post-55753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homepage","category-campus-community","category-featuredstories","tag-administration","tag-alumni","tag-community-events","tag-division-of-student-engagement-success","tag-lozano-long-division-of-global-community-and-first-gen-initiatives","tag-stephenville"],"acf":{"image":false},"author_meta":{"display_name":"jpartin","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/author\/jpartin\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2026\/10\/Darrell-W.-Brown-Alumni-and-Friends-Reunion-300x200.png","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["_Homepage<\/a>","Campus & Community<\/a>","Featured Stories<\/a>"],"unlinked":["_Homepage<\/span>","Campus & Community<\/span>","Featured Stories<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["Administration<\/a>","Alumni<\/a>","Community Events<\/a>","Division of Student Engagement & Success<\/a>","Lozano Long Division of Global, Community and First-gen Initiatives<\/a>","Stephenville<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Administration<\/span>","Alumni<\/span>","Community Events<\/span>","Division of Student Engagement & Success<\/span>","Lozano Long Division of Global, Community and First-gen Initiatives<\/span>","Stephenville<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":0,"relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 9 hours ago","modified":"Updated 9 hours ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on October 17, 2026","modified":"Updated on October 17, 2026"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on October 17, 2026 2:05 pm","modified":"Updated on October 17, 2026 2:05 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/595"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55753"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55753\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55759,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55753\/revisions\/55759"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}