Greensboro, North Carolina: Home of North Carolina A&T’s “Greatest Homecoming on Earth”

Many colleges and universities hold annual homecoming festivities, but the people who know about North Carolina A&T’s celebration in Greensboro confidently declare theirs is the “Greatest Homecoming on Earth.”

GHOE, as it’s known, is a weeklong celebration of Aggie pride. Greensboro comes alive with street festivals, alumni events, student activities and a parade throughout the week — and this year, it all culminates with a Halloween day football game between North Carolina A&T and nearby Elon.

The latest celebration is the 100th anniversary of GHOE in Greensboro, marking a century of tradition for the southeastern HBCU. To capture the energy and tradition around the iconic North Carolina A&T homecoming, SportsTravel spoke with Greensboro City Manager Nathaniel “Trey” Davis and Aggie alumna Shayla Sharpe, who runs “Aggies on Elm,” a game day block party in downtown Greensboro, with her husband, Desmond Sharpe.

“I’m not just saying this because I’m an Aggie — Aggies are different in a lot of ways,” said Shayla Sharpe. “A&T is different. … I can’t explain it. I think it’s because we’ve always pursued excellence, and we want to push, grow and outdo ourselves every year.”

The Economic Impact of GHOE

Greensboro, North Carolina, anchors the state’s Piedmont Triad region, about 75 miles from Raleigh and 90 miles from Charlotte. Perhaps best known as “Tournament Town” for frequently hosting the ACC men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, the city is also home to North Carolina A&T, the largest Historically Black College and University in the United States, with an enrollment of 15,275 students in fall 2025.

Davis, who has served as Greensboro’s city manager since 2024, has lived in Greensboro for 24 years. He’s watched how the variety of weeklong events — which include pep rallies, a drone show, block parties and university yard activations — celebrate school pride and show off Greensboro hospitality.

 

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“There’s everything from a youth hip-hop concert to a gospel concert — both are longstanding traditions in the culture of Aggie Pride Nation,” Davis said. “We get excited here in the city.”

Davis said Greensboro and its public safety partners are expecting a crowd of more than 200,000 people to visit the city for GHOE, which is projected to drive up to $57 million in economic impact throughout the week.

“I’ve had conversations with some local business owners; they’re really excited,” Davis said. “The alumni that come back into town historically patronize our businesses at a significant pace. Hospitality and tourism has really stepped up to make sure that those who are coming here are welcome.”

A Downtown Tradition: Aggies on Elm

Shayla and Desmond Sharpe, two North Carolina A&T alumni who met while coordinating university events, own and operate Sharpe Pursuits, an event management company. Shayla Sharpe recalled a conversation from five years ago, when she and her husband discussed the growing size of on-campus homecoming events. They came up with an idea to bring a less crowded, family-friendly celebration to downtown Greensboro: Aggies on Elm.

 

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Greensboro’s Elm Street is a historically significant venue for North Carolina A&T homecoming celebrations, as it was the site of the Greensboro sit-ins, a series of nonviolent civil rights protests. In 1960, four North Carolina A&T freshmen sat at the whites-only Woolworth’s lunch counter on South Elm Street and requested service, spearheading a broad-reaching movement against segregation. That former Woolworth’s is now the International Civil Rights Center and Museum in downtown Greensboro.

“We fought to be on Elm Street, so why not celebrate homecoming on Elm Street?” Sharpe said. “Aggies belong on Elm Street. That’s the narrative that we’ve really been wanting to push this year too — that ‘Hey, this is our home too.’ Campus is our home, but so is Elm Street, and we should take advantage of that.”

Aggies on Elm officially kicked off in 2023, bringing tailgates, social tables, live DJs and a big screen for the football game to a pedestrian-friendly stretch of Elm Street. The event has been steadily growing since then, with an estimated 10,000 people attending the free block party in 2025.

Among the most iconic Aggies on Elm attractions are its row of DJs playing music across various eras. On one block, attendees hear songs from the 1960s and 1970s. A few steps over, the 1990s have taken over. Toward the end, you can dance to modern tracks from the 2000s and forward.

“The way we space out the audio, it really does kind of just merge,” Sharpe said. “They don’t overlap, and it just flows from one to the other, and you literally feel like you’re walking through a time warp of music.”

GHOE was already busy for the Sharpes before Aggies on Elm was established, and Shayla recalled the exhaustion while setting up for the event’s first edition in 2023. She remembered asking herself, “Why are you adding more to your plate?”

But then she caught a glimpse of a couple, dressed head-to-toe in Aggie gear, sitting in foldable North Carolina A&T chairs watching football on Elm Street’s big screen. Sharpe spoke to them and learned they’d found the event on social media, driving all the way from New York just to be at Aggies on Elm celebrating their school with their people.

 

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“It still gives me chills when I say it now,” Sharpe said. “Even if just a handful of people get it, and it takes people a while to catch onto things, especially in this area, then we did what we were supposed to do.”

It takes time and effort to establish a new tradition within a celebration that has been around for 100 years, but Sharpe has seen interest in Aggies on Elm grow. She has spoken with alumni who build an Aggies on Elm stop into their day of activities, and there are even attendees who prefer the downtown vibe over campus crowds.

With 100 years of history and a broad range of traditions across Greensboro, North Carolina A&T’s homecoming captures school pride and local spirit across generations.

“We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to celebrate the centennial Greatest Homecoming on Earth this year,” Davis said. “We’re celebrating a tremendous Aggie legacy, and we’re going to showcase Greensboro and just how we can host.”