Jim and Julie Higgins Hobo Day Plaza dedicated at SDSU

South Dakota State University leaders, students, alumni and friends gathered on the eve of Hobo Day to dedicate the Jim and Julie Higgins Hobo Day Plaza and celebrate the couple whose support made it possible. 

The plaza expands the area outside the Hobo Day Gallery, where the Weary Wil and Dirty Lil statues stand on the north side of the University Student Union. It honors Jim and Julie Higgins, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, for their exceptional generosity and support of SDSU’s Hobo Day tradition. 

The Oct. 11 dedication recognized the couple’s $500,000 gift to the Hobo Day Legacy Fund Endowment, the largest gift ever to support the university’s most unique and endearing tradition. The gift included a challenge to raise $25,000 for every $100,000 the couple donated, to put the endowment to about 75% of its eventual $1 million goal. 

High school sweethearts from Wessington Springs, the Higginses went to different colleges — Julie to Augustana College and Jim to SDSU, where he played basketball and served as the 1972 Hobo Day Grand Pooba. However, Julie became a Hobo by choice, accompanying Jim and committee members in the summer parade events and the National Hobo Convention in Britt, Iowa. 

SDSU President Barry Dunn thanked the Higginses for their gift. 

“You’ve created a lasting legacy for SDSU’s most treasured and important tradition. … Your gift will provide an annual flow of resources to help future Hobo Day Committees successfully cast their vision for Hobo Days for decades to come,” Dunn said. 

Victoria Hansen, 2024 Hobo Day Grand Pooba, said, “Jim and Julie Higgins’ commitment of $500,000 to sustain and grow this wonderful tradition is truly amazing. … Their willingness to commit that shows just how powerful and important Hobo Day is to this university and the people who have had the pleasure to be a part of it.” 

Jim shared memories of his involvement in SDSU’s homecoming tradition that started as freshman class president, building floats and building and guarding student-built structures, and evolved to serving as chairman, planning fundraising concerts, and more. 

Julie thanked the crowd on hand for the dedication and for sharing the day with them. The Hobo Day Committee devotes enormous amounts of time to putting on the annual tradition, and members’ loyalty lasts a lifetime. 

“(The Hobo Day Committee) is not just a group that gets together for a year or two. It’s a group that has this bond that is never broken,” Julie said. “And I just want to thank the SDSU Foundation for giving us the opportunity to be a part of the legacy of Hobo Day and keeping it strong and going for decades. It is our pleasure, and we are so happy to be a part of it.”