This year's homecoming festivities will include a number of activities Friday night in preparation for Saturday's football game against the Kansas Jayhawks.

Kicking off the activities Friday will be a practice under the lights that will be open to the public.

The practice was moved from its original time Friday afternoon to 6:30 p.m. in order to give the players a chance to get used to the night-time playing conditions.

Immediately following the practice, the annual Homecoming Rally will take place in the south endzone of Oklahoma Memorial Stadium at 7 p.m.

Head Coach Howard Schnellenberger will attend the event, along with the players on the football team.

After the Homecoming Rally, fans are encouraged to march from the stadium to the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity house and take part in a bonfire.

The bonfire at the Pike house takes place the night before every home game this season.

Schnellenberger said the activities Friday will help make Homecoming and the game stand out even more than usual.

"The Friday night activities for Homecoming can really be helpful to our team and make weekends more memorable for our students and alumni," he said.

He also said he thought the activities will help the team's performance in the game.

"It's much better for our team to practice in front of a crowd because it's the closest that you can get to a game day atmosphere.

"But more important than that, the practice and the rallies bring us all together and make homecoming more than just a game."