Today's the day for one of the most anticipated Homecoming Week traditions at Ball State. 

It's Bed Race time. 

The annual tradition that started nearly 40 years ago is still going strong, and teams are fired up to race down Riverside Avenue starting at noon. 

Since 1980, the Bed Race has been an annual tradition on campus. The event originally started when students used beds from the nearby fraternity houses, attaching welded wheels onto the frames and running down the street with the beds. The university even opened a welding shop that made the beds for participants for the Bed Race. 

Safety precautions and setup have changed quite a bit, however, since the popular Homecoming tradition first began. Today, each Bed Race team consists of five people — four pushing the bed, and one riding on it, according to the Homecoming website. During each race, two teams will compete against the clock along the 100-yard stretch of Riverside Avenue in hopes of winning a trophy. 

“There’s divisional prizes for independent males and female. There is a faculty and alumni category," Michelle Johnson, Homecoming adviser and senior director of alumni engagement said. "We also give trophies to the fastest team and team with the best costumes, which is called the overall winner.” 

The College of Agriculture and Planning donated this year's resources for the Bed Race trophies.

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