An annual rite of fall at colleges and universities across the country is Homecoming, the autumn weekend that sends hundreds of alumni in school colors back to their alma maters to renew acquaintances, cheer on sports teams and see what college is really like these days.

Those opportunities and more await Cornell University alumni who return for Homecoming festivities Sept. 26-28.

"Unlike Reunion, which is held in the summer and focuses on selected class years, Homecoming invites all alumni back and offers them the opportunity to chat with future alums -- our current students," said Margaret M. Gallo '81, director of reunions and alumni programs. "Homecoming also welcomes back alumni in the fall, which helps rekindle those memories of returning to school as a student."

Throughout the weekend, guided walking tours of the campus are offered almost hourly during the day, and most schools and colleges will hold open houses or informational forums. Homecoming weekend is also the time when most alumni associations hold their meetings.

As a pre-homecoming event, the Student-Athlete Advisory Council has planned a bonfire and pep rally on Thursday, Sept. 25, beginning at 9:30 p.m. on Libe Slope.

On Friday, Cornell will induct 13 new members into its Athletic Hall of Fame during its 20th annual ceremony at 7:15 p.m. in the Richard Ramin Room of the Field House. The inductees are Charles Berman '49, Rocco Calvo '52, David Doupe '78, David Dresser '60, Lawrence Fullan '72, Holly Gross '81, Lauren Kulik '85, John Meakem Jr. '58, Norman Padula, Dale Porter '75, Phillip Ratner '66, George Witherbee 1894 and Norwood Wright '28.

Traditionally, the centerpiece of Homecoming is played out on the gridiron, where this year the Big Red takes on the Colgate Red Raiders. Kickoff is noon Saturday at Schoellkopf Field, and during halftime, the new Hall of Fame inductees will be honored. For ticket information, call (607) 255-7333.

Prior to the game Saturday, alumni and friends are invited to a 10 a.m. outdoor reception with President Hunter Rawlings, Elizabeth Trapnell Rawlings and Athletic Director Charles Moore '51. Also participating will be new and former Hall of Fame members, the Big Red Marching Band and the Big Red cheerleaders. A limited number of tickets ($8) are available at the door. Lunch will be served under a tent in the Lynah Rink parking lot.

The social scene immediately following the football game includes an All-Alumni Gathering with a chance to meet Big Red student-athletes and coaches. The reception will be held from 3 to 4 p.m. in the Hall of Fame Room of Schoellkopf Hall. In addition, a young alumni post-game party in the Lynah Rink parking lot tent and a Big Red Barn bash will take place immediately following the game.

Additional Homecoming highlights include:

-- A symposium, "It Takes A Village," sponsored by the Cornell Education Society. This informal panel discussion will examine Cornell's emerging involvement in the national move to build linkages among higher education, communities and public schools. The featured presenter is Howie Schaffer '80, a Washington, D.C.-based consultant for community/school linkages. The program begins Saturday at 10 a.m. in 101 Kennedy Hall.

-- An appearance by Cornell alumna Kristin Esterberg, MA '88, Ph.D. '91, author of Lesbian and Bisexual Identities: Constructing Communities, Constructing Selves. Esterberg will sign books at the Campus Store Saturday from 11 to 1 p.m. and will speak at 4 p.m. in the Founder's Room of Anabel Taylor Hall. Also participating in book signings are: Professor Roald Hoffmann, Old Wine, New Flasks: Reflections on Science and Jewish Tradition; John McCarthy, Finger Lakes Revisited; Satja Mohanty, Literary Theory and the Claims of History: Postmodernism, Objectivity, Multicultural Politics; and Richard Uva, Weeds of the Northeast.

-- The 50th anniversary celebration of Epoch magazine, Cornell's national literary magazine. The celebration will feature poetry and fiction readings on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Thursday's readings, beginning at 4:30 p.m. in Hollis E. Cornell Auditorium of Goldwin Smith Hall, will feature Cornell professors A.R. Ammons, Kenneth A. McClane, Phyllis Janowitz and former Epoch editor C.S. Giscombe.

Friday's readings will feature National Book Award winner Don DeLillo, author of the newly released novel Underworld. DeLillo will read at 7:30 p.m. in David L. Call Alumni Auditorium of Kennedy Hall.

Saturday's readings will feature O. Henry Award prize-winners Robert Morgan, Cornell professor of English; Patricia Elam Ruff, a writer, commentator and lawyer from Washington, D.C.; and Arthur Bradford, a former Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford University; with an introduction by Larry Dark, editor of Prize Stories: The O. Henry Award. The program begins at 7:30 p.m. in Call Alumni Auditorium. All sessions are free and open to the public.

-- The Glee Club will present its annual Homecoming concert Saturday at 8 p.m. in Sage Chapel. Tickets are $6 in advance and $7 at the door and are available at the Willard Straight Hall ticket office, (607) 255-3430, and the Lincoln Hall ticket office, (607) 255-5144.

For complete details on Homecoming activities, contact the Office of Alumni Affairs, (607) 255-7085, or visit the Homecoming Web page at . The Alumni Affairs office, at 626 Thurston Ave., will be open Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday, 8 a.m. to noon.