Looking back at moments from Parents’ Weekend 2026 at The Citadel

Beneath overcast skies, The Citadel Class of 2027 marched across Summerall Field, flanked by families who brought their own fold-out chairs to witness the prelude to one of the most meaningful milestones in a cadet’s life.

The moment had been years in the making.

Inside the Summerall Chapel, cadets and military students prepared to receive their class rings, bands of gold symbolizing the hard work, resilience and core values that will guide them long after graduation.

The class rings also bind them to something greater than themselves. The rings symbolize a bond with the alumni who came before them and the generations of graduates who will follow, said Citadel President Gen. Frank McKenzie, USMC (Ret.), ’79.

McKenzie raised his hand to display his own class ring, a symbol of his place in that same tradition.

McKenzie said the first third of his life included three major events: Getting his class ring, graduating from The Citadel and marrying his wife, Marilyn. He told students that he wore his class ring into combat multiple times.

“I never took it off. It was something that was very dear to me. It will be the last thing I wear,” McKenzie said, later adding, “Getting that ring was a defining moment. It’s a symbol of the college. It marks us as something very different.”

The ring ceremony was just one part of the Parents’ Weekend events this year, which continued into early Monday with the freshmen letter presentation ceremony. There, each freshman received a symbolic collar device from their cadet leadership that represents their promotion from cadet-recruit to cadet-private. It marked the official recognition that the freshman class has completed its cadre training period.

Here are some of the moments from around campus during one of the college’s four major weekends, bringing family and friends to campus to experience milestones and traditions alongside their cadets.

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