Court Warming History

The University of Missouri-Kansas City began putting on an annual Homecoming banquet and dance in 1955. At that time the University did not have a football or a basketball team, so the dance honored the alumni of the university. Although the students danced the night away at the dance, the tradition was not like it is today. It was not the week full of events that we all look forward to now.

The tradition came to an end in the mid 1970’s when the dance started to become less successful. One of the University newspaper headlines read “Homecoming Flops”. It is assumed that the change of spirit and student involvement came when all Korean War Veterans came back from the war and went back to school. The student population suddenly became comprised largely of adults, which drastically changed the environment of student activities on campus.

The Activity & Program Council revived the tradition in 1996 under a new name to honor and promote UMKC school spirit and athletics, especially the basketball program. Today, Court Warming features a week packed with fun events both on and off campus. In addition, two student leaders from campus compete to be crowned Roo Royalty. The highlights of the week is the Yell Like Hell event, and the Court Warming Roo Royalty are crowned during halftime of the KC Athletics Basketball game on Saturday.

Court Warming 2026 - Roos in Oz

Court Warming 2026, Roos in Oz, will take place February 13th-21st, 2026. Court Warming 2026 candidate applications are now open and must be turned in by 11:55PM on November 30, 2025. Student organizations can sponsor/nominate one person from their organization to be a part of Court Warming. Their candidate will participate in events, get creative with their organization, and gather votes to be part of the Roo Royalty Court. The 2 students that are awarded Roo Royalty will win $100 in RooBucks that will be added to their student account. We hope to see many different organizations represented this year and have candidates that embody Roo Spirit! Applications can be found on Roo Groups at Court warming application  

Court Warming 2026 Voting will open in January 2026!