What are the BAR 2025 dates?
The Black Alumni Reunion will be celebrated on campus from Thursday, April 10, 2025 - Sunday, April 13, 2025.
Black Alumni Reunion 2025 FAQ
When will the list of BAR events be made available?
The BAR schedule will be released in the Fall semester 2024, and we will continue updating and adding to the schedule in the months that follow. Check back often!
Will I have to register to attend BAR events?
Yes, please let us know you’re coming! Sharing your plans to attend by registering, allows us to tailor events and make accommodations accordingly. Stay tuned for more details on registering for BAR weekend in the Fall semester.
How can we get a hotel room for BAR?
The OUAA has connected with local hotels in an effort to hold as many room blocks as possible for BAR. That said, hotels will fill up quickly as they do for all major weekends on campus. Please visit the Athens County Visitor’s Bureau’s website for complete information about lodging in and near Athens.
Here are a few hotels with room blocks set aside for BAR. We kindly ask that you please do not reserve more than two rooms to ensure everyone has a chance to come back and enjoy this special weekend. Please be advised that there is a finite number of blocked rooms, and they will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Fairfield Inn
Ohio University Inn
Holiday Inn
Hampton Inn
The Lodge at Hocking College
Will the OUAA provide discount codes for hotels?
The OUAA has no control over any local hotel rates during big weekends in Athens county — including Commencement, Homecoming, BAR, Family Weekends, etc. — and is not able to offer discount codes.
Will there be any BAR events for alumni to network and interact with the students?
Yes. The planning committees are looking for meaningful ways to include students in the weekend.
Why isn’t the BAR being held in the Fall?
Immediately following BAR 2022, a fall weekend was tentatively set aside for 2025. When that weekend was later announced as when the OHIO Bobcats would take on The Ohio State University Buckeyes in an away football game, BAR organizers began to consider alternative options for the reunion. Spring was identified quickly as the best option for the gathering.
As some of you may remember, BAR moved to the Fall when Ohio University switched to semesters in (2012). Prior to that, BAR had been in the spring to ensure students were able to participate and experience this celebration of OHIO’s Black alumni community. The ongoing question of when to hold BAR is a very complex one that factors in many variables such as local events, campus wide events, family weekends, athletic competitions, and more.
Weekends in September and October are already heavily programmed with First Year Convocation, Welcome Week, home Football, Homecoming, Parents Weekend, and more. The semester begins on August 25. Hosting BAR during an academic semester requires collaboration with campus partners through the University’s event space scheduling process, which begins a year in advance. This process, and all access to event space, is managed by University Event Services, an office within the Division of Student Affairs. During this process student organizations, academic units, and non-academic units (including the OUAA) request space. Competition is tremendous, and Event Services places priority on student and academic events (NOTE: Student fees fund Baker Center and its operations; therefore, student events get priority access to that space).
Who can I contact for information on the BAR?
Call your Ohio University Alumni Association (OUAA) at 740-593-4300 or email alumni@ohio.edu.