The football team may have a 2-5 record, but there are plenty of reasons to come out and have some fun at this year's Homecoming Rally Friday night in Red Square. The rally starts at 8 p.m. tomorrow and will feature a pep talk by Coach Willingham, the Husky marching band, free food and prizes.

"It's your chance to feel the Husky tradition," said Michelle Huynh, marketing coordinator of the UW Alumni Association, the group that's sponsoring the rally. "This is our kickoff to our big Homecoming game on Saturday. It's bringing everyone together with the Alumni Association, ... alumni and students coming together for that one thing we all have in common: We're all Huskies."

There will be free food from sponsors along with the announcements of winners in several competitions. The members of the homecoming student royalty will be revealed, and the winners of the five-second "Pride in 5" videos will be shown on two big screens. In the "Pride in 5" competition, students were encouraged to showcase their Husky pride on film in a creative way within the five-second time limit.

This year's homecoming also has official support from the state government. Gov. Chris Gregoire, a Husky alumna, has proclaimed Friday "Purple and Gold Day" to celebrate Homecoming and Husky pride. Other alumni will also return to the campus to be a part of the festivities.

"We have some guest judges from local media who are coming out," Huynh said. "A lot of the local TV personalities on air are coming back to the UW to be engaged, and that's what we're looking for, that engagement between alumni and students."

Also featured at this year's rally are student Dawg Sleds. Created by former ASUW President Cullen White and ASUW President Tyler Dockins, the Dawg Sleds are created by Registered Student Organizations (RSOs) to celebrate Husky pride. Each sled is a four-by-six shopping cart donated by Costco.

"There's tons of supplies that come from the [RSO] resource center, but after that it's really whatever the RSOs come up with," said Adriana Hilliard, ASUW director of programming in charge of this year's Dawg Sled competition.

This year, there are 21 Dawg Sleds from a diverse range of RSOs. Up for grabs are $3,000 worth of prize money to go to funding the first- and second-place sleds. The judges for the Dawg Sleds and the "Pride in 5" competitions will be local celebrities drawn from news stations like Fox.

"It's a really great time to come out and see why people love this institution and what about it gets people so fired up," Hilliard said.

[Reach reporter Andrew Doughman at news@thedaily.washington.edu.]