“Ball for All” has been Homecoming King Caleb Ball’s campaign slogan for everything he has run for since his freshman year of high school.
Now, the senior political science major can say that those words ring true — at least at the University of Mississippi.
Ball’s plans to run for Homecoming King were a secret to all except Vanessa “Nessa” Bonner, who coincidentally won Homecoming Queen. The two longtime friends have discussed running for their respective positions since the summer after their freshman year.
“The summer after freshman year, (Nessa) and I were doing orientation together, and that’s when I told her my dream was to become Homecoming King,” Ball said. “And she was like, ‘I would love to be Homecoming Queen.’ We’ve said that to each other ever since then.”
Coming from a graduating class of just 40 students at Ingomar High School, Ball said getting involved has defined his college experience.
Ball served as an orientation leader after his freshman year and has given countless campus tours as an Ole Miss Ambassador. Ball also participates in club volleyball, is a referee for little league volleyball and has been a member of the Associated Student Body since his freshman year. Ball was a Senator for the College of Liberal Arts for his first three years and now serves as the President Pro Tempore of the ASB Senate.
“I knew if I wanted to meet people, I had to get involved,” Ball said. “So I just sort of put myself out there and started getting things. Then senior year came along, and I thought to myself, ‘I love this place so much because of the people I’ve met.’”
Ball also finds joy in what some may consider the mundane aspects of college life at the University of Mississippi.
“A fun fact about me is that I’m an avid bus rider,” Ball said. “I even used to have my bus driver on Snapchat. I like to act like I’m in the big city with my headphones in, even though I’m really just in small town Oxford. I get off the bus, and the first thing I love to do is walk through the Union Plaza because I always see people I know.”
Ball was surrounded by his friends at the Lyceum the night he was crowned Homecoming King, a moment he said he cannot stop replaying.
“When I heard my name called, I didn’t think it was real,” Ball said. “My friends were all around me, and it’s a moment I’ve watched back maybe 1,000 times.”
Ball attributed the success of his campaign to many of his closest friends. His campaign manager, junior integrated marketing communications major Makayla Russell, played an instrumental role in his win, Ball said.
“I told Makayla I could take care of tabling, and I can do the socializing,” Ball said. “I can’t do graphics, I can’t do posts, and I don’t even know what colors I want to use. She was huge in making my campaign what it was.”
That type of connection and support is what makes UM feel like home, Ball said.
“(Ole Miss) means home; it means family; this place is to be known.” Ball said. “It’s so rare that you get this at an SEC school.”
As Ball awaits this weekend’s homecoming football game versus Kentucky he shared what he will be thinking about as he walks down Hollingsworth Field.
“I’ll probably just be thinking about baby Caleb and how proud he would be of how far I’ve gotten,” Ball said.
