Homecoming honors: Campbell, Custer named Royalty
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A celebration of cherished traditions and pride that unites the Mountaineer family culminated at West Virginia University Saturday, Oct. 17, with the crowning of Lakyn Campbell and Gabrielle Custer as the 2026 Homecoming Royalty.
Surrounded by members of the Homecoming Court and family, the Mountaineer Marching Band, and thousands of cheering fans and alumni, the winners were announced during the halftime ceremony at the Stripe the Stadium football game against Cincinnati at Milan Puskar Stadium.
Lakyn Campbell, a member of the Honors College, is a senior journalism and political science dual major from Parkersburg who serves as the president of Chi Omega Sorority and a news anchor for WVU News. She is also a student ambassador and social media coordinator for the WVU College of Creative Arts and Media. Campbell volunteers for the American Cancer Society Relay for Life and has helped raise more than $15,000 for Make-A-Wish. She was sponsored by the Chi Omega Sorority.
Gabrielle Custer, also a member of the Honors College, is a marketing major from Charleston who serves as the vice president of recruitment for the WVU Panhellenic Council and a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority. She was named a Future Leader for the 304 Marketing Agency in the WVU John Chambers College of Business and Economics, and she is the founding owner of Unhinged Society, a small business focused on self-expression. Custer was sponsored by the WVU Panhellenic Council.
The other candidates, all seniors, include: Nicholas Albright, a business administration major with a focus on organizational leadership from Martinsburg; Emma Bates, a forensic biology major from Lexington, Virginia; Zoe Burleson, an accounting major from Martinsburg; Ariana Davidson, a journalism major with an emphasis in broadcast from Sharon, Pennsylvania; Izayah Everett, an exercise physiology major from Morgantown; Reagan Frazier, an agribusiness management and applied economics major from Frederick, Maryland; Ruby Jackson, an industrial engineering major from Elkins; and Alison Stone, a marketing and entrepreneurship major from Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania.
The three-phase Homecoming Royalty selection process begins with an application review by a panel of student and staff judges. Judges then advance the top 20 applicants to the interview phase, and the 10 candidates with the highest combined scores from applications and interviews are named to the Homecoming Court. The two winners are ultimately chosen based on a score that is weighted equally between their application and interview performance, and peer voting.
The WVU Alumni Association also presented the 2026 Homecoming and Alumni Service Awards at halftime.
Anitra Hamilton ('00, '01, '04), who has spent her career serving others through healthcare, education, public leadership and community advocacy, earned the distinctive title of 2026 Outstanding Alumni, and Richard "Rick" Pill ('74, '77) is the recipient of the David W. Jacobs Lifetime Service Award.
Joshua Meadows ('17, '19, '21) is the recipient of the Margaret Buchanan Cole Young Alumni Award, Marilyn T. McClure-Demers ('88, '91) the James R. McCartney Community Service Award, John Dowling ('89) the Paul B. "Buck" Martin Values and Traditions Award, and Heather Dishman ('08) the John F. Nicholas Jr. Award.
Jordan Harrison, WVU women's basketball standout and May 2026 graduate, served as the grand marshal for the annual Homecoming Parade on Friday.